Robert C. Banks

“White Boy Rick”, as he was called, was a novelty: A white teenager seemingly running a major inner-city drug operation. In May of 1987, 17-year-old Richard Wershe Jr. was charged with a non-violent, juvenile drug offense. By the time of his arrest he was already a Detroit legend, frequently making front-page headlines and leading the local television news. In this film, gangsters, hit men, journalists and federal agents struggle to explain why he remains in prison at nearly 50 years old. The possible explanation is more stunning than the crimes Wershe was alleged to have committed.

Tale of life, love and the pursuit of happiness... in Cleveland. Nine vignettes about love: an old war hero defends the honor and memory of a long-lost love; a man's past comes to light in the midst of a perfect date; a recently separated paramedic gets more than he bargains for when he is thrust in the middle of a domestic dispute; a desperate man employs his friends in an elaborate scheme to meet the girl of his dreams, a recovering sex addict returns home to start a new life. There are thousands of stories of love, lust, loss and despair all over Cleveland-these are just a few of them.

“Paper Shadows” is a surrealist, nonlinear satire about the creative & emotional angst shared by an elderly black man and a young white female art student. Shot on 35mm black and white film using anamorphic optics for the 2:35.1 aspect ratio, the central characters represent the racial, class, gendered, and generational gaps and complexities in society. The film, through image and sound manipulation, explores ideas and identity that are rarely explored and contrasted in mainstream narrative films. The characters indulge in a Walter Mitty type fantasy involving a grant fellowship competition, mysticism and espionage intrigue within the fictional philanthropic organization that effects both characters as they unite to oppose and combat.

On April 1, 2002. four corpses are discovered in the apartment of struggling filmmaker Sam Epstein. Flashback - one year earlier: fledgling director Epstein embarks on his first feature film with high hopes, but selfish backstabbing roommates, a drug-addicted crew and Murphy's Law rapidly drain his funds as production grinds to a halt. Determined to regain control, Sam turns to "Magic For Morons" and asks Satan for help. He is promised success, but the spell demands a human sacrifice. Will his burning desire to finish his independent film drive him to the ultimate act - cold-blooded murder?

Film by Robert C. Banks

An examination of 100 years of African Americans being murdered in movies.

Experimental film inspired by a 1923 scenario written by Serbian poet Salomon Monny de Boully, with a musical score composed and performed by Tad Mike.

Drawing by hand directly on 16mm film, Banks challenges commercial appropriations of the image of Malcolm X.