As an Act of Protest (2002)

Run Time - 144 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Ryan Shriver

Attacking racism from a young, rightfully angry African-American male's perspective, director/actor Dennis Leroy Moore's intense drama As an Act of Protest demonstrates the horrifically uneven playing field black men and women must confront in nearly every aspect of their daily lives. Friends Cairo Medina (Luis Laporte) and Abner Sankofa (Dennis Leroy Moore) -- the former an acting student and the latter in the directing program at a respected drama program in New York City -- voice their disgust at the college's lack of African-American theater inclusion by opting to drop out of their respective programs. Regrouping with their own theater company, the artists face overwhelming odds as they battle with the company's board of directors and their landlord over issues of content -- so much so that Abner chooses to abandon theater altogether. Cairo, still reeling from his friend's decision, is attacked by a violent group of white hoodlums as his brother, Georgie (Mtume J. Gant), almost simultaneously dies at the hands of some local racist cops. Having gone well past the boiling point, Cairo quickly descends into such a deep rage that he is forced to seek help before he does anything irrational or, more importantly, irrevocable. As an Act of Protest was included in the schedules of a number of African-American film festivals in 2002, including the Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival and the American Black Film Festival.