Chameleon Street

Wendell B. Harris Jr, Timothy Alvaro, Dave Barber, Marti Bowling

One of the most singular independent films to emerge from the hotbed of 1990s Sundance, Wendell B. Harris Jr’s Chameleon Street defies categorisation but is undoubtedly a work of genius that begs to be seen more widely.

A modern trickster tale, based on extensive interviews Harris conducted with real life con artist William Douglas Street, Harris – playing the lead role himself – shows the wild lengths Street took to avoid the marginal life alloted to an African American man in 1980s America. Street conducted numerous surgeries while posing as a surgeon; inveigled his way into the circle of sports superstars by posing as a journalist, faking his way from job to job.

Scabrous and uncategorisable, Chameleon Street was awarded the Grand Jury Prize by Sundance in 1990 (in a jury led by Steven Soderbergh). Yet it languished with minimal distribution, held back by a remake deal (reportedly with Will Smith!) that never materialised. Luckily this new 4K restoration shows Harris’s subtlety and mastery for all to be beguiled by in this century.

4K restoration by Arbelos Films. Presented by Revenante Films.