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• Description

Description

Bush Mama, the impressive first feature and UCLA thesis project by director Haile Gerima, tells the story of the resistance, growth, and transformation of a struggling mother in Watts. Dorothy tries, despite the odds, to raise her daughter decently in an environment of harsh poverty. She becomes pregnant, the main in her life becomes incarcerated, and the Welfare Department insists that she have an abortion. After protecting her daughter from a rapist, Dorothy herself is jailed. Produced with active community involvement, the film takes a hard look at the strained relationship between African Americans and the LAPD.
[Source: Scratching the Belly of the Beast Catalogue, 1994]