Some of you may or may not know that Jamaa Fanaka passed away April 1st at the age of 69. Some of you may not know who he is. He is best known for directing the Penetentiary movies in the '80's, as well as being the director of Soul Vengeance (a.k.a., Welcome Home, Brother Charles), which is, in the humble opinion of this blogger, the greatest movie of all time. It is without question the Citizen Kane of killer penis movies, or if you believe the recent critics polls, the Vertigo of killer penis movies. Regardless, all of his films are essential viewing for any fan of exploitation cinema.
Mr. Fanaka was also a very outspoken critic of the Director's Guild for it's lack of black members and the difficulty black directors had finding work in the studio system, and he claimed to have been blacklisted for a period because of his criticism. Whether that's true or not, despite the limited number of films to his credit, there can be no mistaking his impact on exploitation films, and, to a degree, independent films.
I won't give away too many details of Soul Vengeance if you haven't seen it, but you will not believe it. pick up a copy and watch it. You'll be glad you did. Check the link below to watch the trailer.
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYs5Ly8a-WA
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