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Cora Unashamed

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Cora Unashamed
Based onCora Unashamed
by Langston Hughes
Teleplay byAnn Peacock
Directed byDeborah Pratt
StarringRegina Taylor
Cherry Jones
Ellen Muth
Michael Gaston
Kohl Sudduth
Arlen Dean Snyder
CCH Pounder
Theme music composerPatrice Rushen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersRonald Colby
Rebecca Eaton
Anne Hopkins
Stephen Kulczycki
Marian Rees
CinematographyErnest Holzman
EditorDebra I. Moore
Running time93 minutes
Production companiesAlt Films
WGBH
Original release
ReleaseOctober 25, 2000 (2000-10-25)

Cora Unashamed is a 2000 American made-for-television drama film from The American Collection directed by Deborah Pratt, starring Regina Taylor and Cherry Jones. The film was shot on location in October 1999 in central Iowa. Cities such as Ames, Cambridge and Story City were used. The movie is based on a short story by the same name in The Ways of White Folks, a 1934 collection of short stories by Langston Hughes.[1] Cinematographer Ernest Holzman won an American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Award, for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series'/Pilot for Network or Basic Broadcast TV, for his work on this film.[2] David Herbert Donald called the short story "a brilliantly realized portrait of an isolated black woman in a small Middle Western town, who stoically survives her own sorrows but in the end lashes out against the hypocrisy of the whites who employ her."[3]

Synopsis

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This adaptation of Langston Hughes' powerful tale, set in the 1920s and 30s, tells the story of Cora Jenkins, the daughter of the only African-American family in the small Iowa town of Melton. Cora supports her mother and her daughter, Josephine, by working as a domestic in the home of the socially driven Mrs. Studevant, where she serves almost as a surrogate mother to the Studevants' daughter, Jessie. Cora's own daughter dies, and Cora's relationship with Jessie grows even deeper. When Jessie dies as a result of an abortion arranged by her mother and the latter lies about the cause to preserve her social standing, Cora must risk her livelihood, her security, and her place in the community in order to speak the truth and honor the memory of the child she loved and lost.

Cast

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Home media

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The film was released on VHS on December 4, 2001.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Cora Unashamed (2000) (TV)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  2. ^ "Cora Unashamed (2000) (TV) - Awards". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  3. ^ Donald, David Herbert (September 1, 1996). "Good Race Men". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  4. ^ Wolf, Jessica (September 27, 2001). "Warner Offers Retailers Free DVD Players". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2001. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
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