One of the key filmmakers in the L.A. Rebellion film movement, Zeinabu irene Davis joins us for this screening of her first feature film.
Inspired by Ohio-native Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem of the same name, Compensation tells two parallel love stories: one set in the early 20th century, one in the present day, with both featuring a Deaf woman and a hearing man. The couples, both played by John Earl Jelks and Deaf actress Michelle A. Banks, must navigate the communication and cultural barrier between them as well as the ever-present toll of structural racism on their lives.
Notable for its use of American Sign Language and silent film–style title cards, the film also features newly created open captions designed by filmmaker Alison O’Daniel (The Tuba Thieves). Davis received a Wexner Center Artist Residency Award and an inaugural Ohio Humanities Film Fellows at the Wex grant in 2023. (93 mins., 4K DCP)
After the screening, stay for a talk between Davis and Octavian E. Robinson, Ohio State associate professor in the Department of Women‘s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and director of the Center for ASL and Deaf Equity.
IMAGE CAPTION
Compensation, courtesy of Janus Films.
Tag(s)
Program Support
Guided and approved by director Zeinabu irene Davis, this 4K digital restoration was undertaken by The Criterion Collection, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and Wimmin with a Mission Productions in conjunction with the Sundance Institute from a scan of the 16mm original camera negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was mastered from DAT tapes by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Newly created open captions have been implemented, designed by Alison O’Daniel in collaboration with the Compensation Caption Creative Team.
FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Ohio Humanities
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation
WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Greater Columbus Arts Council
The Wexner Family
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Mellon Foundation
Every Page Foundation
Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts
CampusParc
Nationwide Foundation
Lois S. and H. Roy Chope Fund of The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation
Axium Packaging
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection
David Crane and Elizabeth Dang
Louise Lambert Braver
Close
Compensation