The Green Mountain Film Festival Presents: Will (1981)

Credited as the first feature directed by a Black woman in the United States, and yet difficult to access for most of the past four decades, Will follows the titular character, Will, a former All-American basketball player trying to kick a heroin addiction. Will befriends Little Brother, a young street kid headed down the path of drugs, takes him in, and finds new strength as a caretaker and role model.Together he and Little Brother begin coaching a girl’s basketball team, and, for a time, both of their lives seem to be turning around. Jessie Maple’s Will is a singular film, part heartwarming story of friendship and hope, part brutal reflection on the struggles of daily life in 1980s Harlem. Teaming with compassion and richly capturing its characters and the Harlem streets, this landmark American film speaks to the power of chosen family and the possibility of rising above addiction.