Harlem Filmmaker Honors WWI Hero Henry Johnson in Short Film "Blood Tax"
Harlem-based filmmaker Rory Clarke is bringing the legacy of a long-overlooked war hero to the big screen. His latest short film, Blood Tax, has been officially selected for this year’s People’s Film Festival and will screen at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at Maysles Cinema, located at 343 Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem.
Blood Tax tells the story of Sgt. Henry Johnson, a member of the famed Harlem Hellfighters, an African American infantry unit that served with distinction in World War I. Johnson became a legend after fighting off a German raiding party single-handedly in 1918, saving his fellow soldiers’ lives while suffering severe injuries himself. Despite his heroism, Johnson returned home to a country that denied him proper recognition for decades.
“Henry Johnson fought bravely in France, but his toughest battle was here at home—for dignity, for memory, for truth,” Clarke said. “This film is about honoring his courage, and asking why it took a century to do so.”
In 2015, nearly 100 years after his act of valor, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Johnson the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest military distinction.
Blending war and romance in a 19-minute narrative, Blood Tax is a striking dramatization of sacrifice, erasure, and the long road to justice. The version screening at the festival is a shortened cut of the original 28-minute film.
Tickets for the screening are $16, and seating is limited. Audiences are encouraged to secure tickets in advance by visiting thepeoplesfilmfestival.com.
A trailer for the film can be viewed at RAC23.com, and additional updates are available on Instagram via @bloodtaxfilm.
No comments:
Post a Comment