SXSW Film Preview: Medicine for Melancholy

At a time when so many indie dramas focus on directionless white twenty-somethings, it's refreshing (if not downright invigorating) to see a film about two black twenty-somethings who have no ostensible interest in dancefighting, and who have plenty to say about relationships, identity, and cultural displacement.

Director Barry Jenkins' debut feature, Medicine For Melancholy, follows urbanites Micah and Jo as they shake off the haze of a drunken one-night-stand. As they bicycle around the streets of San Francisco, they slowly get to know each other--and themselves--for better or worse, and their temporary tryst becomes the lens through which all kinds of issues are viewed, from race and class to cultural cliques and urban politics.

But Medicine For Melancholy is also a love/hate letter to the city of San Francisco, with the steep hills, city streets and hidden landmarks saying just as much as the characters themselves. It's a quiet, funny, beautifully photographed film that you should definitely check out. And, it has a great soundtrack--including songs by Austin bands White Denim and The Octopus Project.

Medicine For Melancholy will have its World Premiere Sunday March 9th at the Alamo Ritz as part of the SXSW Film Festival. For more info, check out the Film Threat / B-Side SXSW Guide.