Ashes and Embers

Nay Charles is an African-American Vietnam veteran who no longer fits in. He can’t find a job and has difficulty establishing a connection with his politically committed girlfriend. Charles’ alienation from both middleclass African-Americans who have accommodated themselves to the system and radicals willing to change society, is rooted in the institutionalized racism of white society, which for the most part remains an invisible but powerful presence. Depressed, the film’s antihero leaves his home state of Washington for a new, better life in Los Angeles. But will this really change his life to the better? (Filmfest München)