| Personal Problems | |
|---|---|
 2018 re-release poster | |
| Directed by | Bill Gunn |
| Written by | Ishmael Reed |
| Produced by | Walter Cotton |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Robert Polidori |
| Edited by | Bill Gunn |
| Music by | Carman Moore |
Release date |
|
Running time | 165 minutes |
| Country |
|
| Language | English |
| Budget | $40,000[1] |
Personal Problems is a 1980 film described as a "meta soap opera" directed by Bill Gunn and written by Ishmael Reed that depicts the life and personal relationships of an African American nurse (played by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor) living in Harlem. The film was originally intended to be broadcast on television, but the public television network PBS and others did not pick up the soap opera.[1] It was shown across the United States at smaller screenings throughout the 1980s until it found renewed popularity after a screening in the late 2000s at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[1] The film was restored in 2018 by Kino Lorber and re-released at the Metrograph theater in New York City.
The original soundtrack by composer Carman Moore was released for the first time in 2020 by Reading Group.[2]
- ^ a b c Reed, Ishmael (August 27, 2020). "The Black Artist Hollywood Couldn't Buy". Criterion Collection. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
- ^ "Personal Problems". Reading Group. Retrieved May 13, 2024.