Pariah is a film about a 17-year-old black girl who comes to terms with the fact that she is lesbian, while living at home with her parents and younger sister in Brooklyn.
The debut feature film from director Dee Rees, draws from her personal struggle of coming out and finding her own voice.
Pariah features Adepero Oduye as the main character Alike and Kim Wayans as Alike’s mother Audrey.
Throughout the movie, which runs only 86 minutes, Alike strives to get through her adolescence with grace, humor and tenacity; sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.
In an interview with theGrio, Adepero Oduye and Kim Wayans dished on their roles in the film.
Oduye, who is 33, revealed how she was able to transform into a 17-year-old on camera and talked about how she got cast to play the role of Alike in the film.
“I wasn’t expecting to get cast as the lead,” said Oduye. “I thought I would play an extra or something.”
Wayans, who America came to know and love as a cast member of the 1990’s sketch comedy series In Living Color, discussed how she has struggled to get dramatic roles in Hollywood and also talked about an In Living Color reunion.
“People just think of me as a comedian. The hardest hurdle was getting to show people what I could do,” Wayans said.
Pariah is now playing in select theaters and opens nationwide Jan. 6, 2011.
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