Charles Lane
Directing
Biography
Charles Lane (born December 26, 1953) is an African-American actor and filmmaker. While attending SUNY Purchase as a film student, he made a short titled "A Place in Time" based on the famous Kitty Genovese incident. This short gained him a certain amount of attention, including a student Academy Award win. Lane then directed and starred in feature films True Identity, a vehicle for British comedian Lenny Henry funded by the Walt Disney Company, and Sidewalk Stories, the later of which won several awards, including one at the Cannes Film Festival.[1] This modern-day, silent black-and-white story of a homeless man and a little girl he tries to help was released by Palm Pictures, but is now out-of-print. Charles also had a starring role in the Mario Van Peebles film Posse, as Weezie, often the butt of jokes. He has starred with James Earl Jones, Lenny Henry, and Frank Langella and offered one of the first film roles to The Sopranos actress Edie Falco. Lane often includes various friends and family star in his films, including brother Gerald, friend George, and daughter Nicole Alysia. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Known For
The epic story of the actors, writers, directors, and producers who fought for their place on the page, behind the camera and on the screen. From blackface to Black Panther, this series is a definitive chronicle of more than a century of the black experience in Hollywood and a powerful reexamination of a quintessentially American story – in brilliant color.
Hollywood Black
A group of mostly black infantrymen return from the Spanish-American War with a cache of gold. They travel to the West where their leader searches for the men who lynched his father.
Posse
In order to escape from the mob, an African-American man must disguise himself as a white man.
True Identity
Christmas at the Messiah Church in Washington D.C. A young preacher and, later in the day, a mysterious pregnant girl arrive at the church doors looking to begin new lives. The preacher, the Reverend Oliver Crawford, is not the judgmental church committee's first choice to be the Messiah's new pastor; an unwed father of a teenage son, he is given only two days to prove his worth to his new parishioners. Meanwhile, Katherine, a sixteen-year-old girl who is about to give birth, has come to the area to escape an abusive home and to search for a grandfather she doesn't know. With the help of local homeless advocate "Big" Willie Thorton, Crawford attempts to revive the spirit of the church and provide solace to the displaced girl.
Hallelujah
A New York City street artist rescues a baby girl after her father is murdered. He then sets off to find the mother, but has to first learn how to care for the child. Ultimately he ends up in a horse drawn chase for the murderers.
Sidewalk Stories
The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt.
Alma's Rainbow
A New York City street artist witnesses a crime and resolves to redeem his earlier inaction. A silent film in pantomime, this early work by director Charles Lane brings a unique deftness and grace to its social realist narrative. He would later revisit this theme in his next film Sidewalk Stories (1989).