As part of our See Change initiative, we strive to showcase the work of women and non-binary individuals and their behind-the-scenes involvement in a production.
This film is edited by Hye Mee Na.
Set in contemporary Chicago, where sidewalks are washed with blood, and human hearts beat to the rhythm of gunfire, Chi-Raq takes as its inspiration Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the fifth-century B.C.E. comedy in which women organize a sex strike to end the Peloponnesian War. Lee and his co-writer Kevin Willmott aren't just updating Greek satire; they're doing it mostly in verse, which adds a degree of artificiality, obviously, but also means the dialogue feels like an extension of the hip-hop on the soundtrack which marked a return for Lee to the vigorous, agitprop filmmaking that first brought him attention.
The girlfriend (Teyonah Parris) of a Chicago gang leader (Nick Cannon) persuades other frustrated women to abstain from sex until their men agree to end the senseless cycle of violence.
Reviews
"The movie is angry and horrified and mournful but also warm, sensual, life affirming, and so blisteringly funny that critics and political commentators are sure to blast it as distasteful." –Roger Ebert
Film Stills
