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Jessie Maple began work on Will, a spirited tale about addiction and community ties in contemporary Harlem, in the late ‘70s. The project was completed in 1981 and is widely recognized as the first independent feature written, directed, and produced by a Black American woman. Last Friday, some four decades later, Maple’s debut film received its first full theatrical release via Janus Films.

Janus opened a 4K restoration of the film at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

A true landmark of independent American cinema, Will was shot on location in Harlem with a budget no greater than $12,000. Obaka Adedunyo stars in the film as a former All-American basketball star who has fallen from grace due to drugs. With the support of his wife, Loretta Devine, making her screen debut, Will (Adedunyo) finds a renewed sense of purpose in the community while mentoring a streetwise 12-year-old named Brother (Robert Dean) and...

Sometimes the hardest battles are fought in silence, and nowhere is that truer than in Jessie Maple’s 1981 drama Will. This film didn’t just put a spotlight on heroin addiction; it shone a glaring beam on the raw grit and complexity of a man clawing his way back from the abyss, all while navigating the delicate ecosystem of family and community.

Watching Obaka Adedunyo’s portrayal of Will, a former basketball star wrestling with withdrawal and personal demons, reminds me that “the toughest climbs reveal the strongest souls.”

It’s not just a film about addiction; it’s a portrait of resilience, hope, and the wrenching tension between self-reliance and reaching out for help. Loretta Devine’s debut as Jean, Will’s wife, grounds the story with warmth and realism. Years later, seeing where these actors landed in Hollywood feels like witnessing the echo of that original fight, the struggle to be seen,...

Exclusive: Janus Films has struck a new 4K restoration of Jessie Maple’s groundbreaking debut feature, Will, and will begin a theatrical run for the film next month in New York.

Theatrical screenings of Will are set to begin on June 13 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This release from Janus marks the first official theatrical run for Maple’s Will, which was first seen by limited audiences in 1981.

Shot on location in Harlem with a budget of $12,000, Will stars Obaka Adedunyo as a former All-American basketball star who has fallen from grace due to drugs. With the support of his wife, Will (Adedunyo) finds a renewed sense of purpose in the community while mentoring a streetwise 12-year-old (Robert Dean) and coaching a local young women’s basketball team.

A landmark of independent American cinema, Will was among the first independent features directed by a Black American woman.

Presented by the Women’s Film Preservation Fund, on Monday, November 1st at 6:30Pm, at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.

As an Fyi, Jessie Maple is considered to be the first African American woman to direct an independent feature-length film, after working/training at Channel 13 and Third World Cinema, apprenticing as an editor on films like Shaft’s Big Score (1972), as well as handling camerawork and editing for New York’s ABC, CBS and NBC affiliate TV stations.

Will, shot on location in 1980s Harlem, focuses on Will (played by Obaka Adedunyo), a girls’ basketball coach fighting through a heroin addiction, while mentoring a 12-year-old street kid, adopted by Will and his wife (played by Loretta Devine).

After reading the post (Here) about Jessie Maple, I felt guilty for not knowing of her. I got my tickets immediately and was eager to know and learn about Mrs. Maple.

Thanks to an invite sent to me from the Women’s Film Preservation Fund, this Monday, November 1st at 6:30Pm, I’ll be attending a screening of Jessie Maple’s 1981 feature-length film, Will, at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, and other New Yorkers are encourage to do the same, as it’s open to the public.

As an Fyi, Jessie Maple is considered to be the first African American woman to direct an independent feature-length film, after working/training at Channel 13 and Third World Cinema, apprenticing as an editor on films like Shaft’s Big Score (1972), as well as handling camerawork and editing for New York’s ABC, CBS and NBC affiliate TV stations.

Will, shot on location in 1980s Harlem, focuses on Will (played by Obaka Adedunyo), a girls’ basketball coach fighting through a heroin addiction, while mentoring a 12-year-old street kid, adopted by Will and his...