On Friday, October 14th, Jamaa Fanaka’s films Penitentiary and A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan screened at the Billy Wilder Theater. Fanaka was in attendance and participated in a Q&A after the screening.
The Q&A revealed that Fanaka, like his films, possesses a quirky sense of humor, and a strong sense of morality.
While most “director’s cuts” tend to feature added material, Charles Burnett’s director’s cut of My Brother’s Wedding is actually shorter than its theatrical cut. According to the UCLA archive, when Milestone acquired the rights to the film in 2007, Burnett cut 30 minutes from the theatrical version.
"Through brotherhood and family and togetherness we shall progress and succeed," explains Walter Gordon of his self-chosen Swahili name, Jamaa Fanaka. Names carry great implied meaning, and Fanaka lived up to his chosen name in his life and career by building family success, and advocating for racial equity in the film and television industry.
Unable to find any previous reviews of A Day in the Life of Willie Faust, or Death on the Installment Plan (1972) by Jamaa Fanaka, I reached out to the filmmaker on Facebook and pleasantly, to my surprise, he responded. In the interview that resulted, I gained insight on the film, how it was made and the inspiration behind it.
On October 7, 2011, we premiered the first fully timed second answer print of Daughters of the Dust. Below is an abridged version of my opening remarks:
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