Jonathan Demme’s Cousin Bobby
Director: Jonathan Demme Run Time: 70 min. Format: DCP Rating: N/A Release Year: 1992
Newly restored for the first time since its debut, Jonathan Demme’s COUSIN BOBBY is ripe for rediscovery.
Jonathan Demme’s stirring 1992 documentary introduced audiences to his cousin Robert Castle, a fiercely political Episcopalian minister who fights tirelessly to improve the lives of people of color both in his Harlem parish and around the country. Though one might not expect an aging white man from New Jersey to be so deeply concerned with Black and Brown lives, Castle’s life took a turn when he formed long-lasting friendships with pivotal Black Panther Party leaders who helped wake him up to the deep racial injustices that have endured throughout in the history of the USA. As Demme documents Castle leading protests, ministering to his flock, and visiting locals in the community who have been the victim of inequality, a portrait develops of an inspiring role model for anyone who wants to stand up for racial injustice in the age of Black Lives Matter, Donald Trump, Standing Rock and more.