Trailer for Sundance Hit PARIAH

One of the more popular films to come out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Dee Rees’ Pariah.  The movie centers on Alike (Adepero Oduye in a must-see performance), a black teenage lesbian trying to hide her sexuality from her parents and struggling to find a loving homosexual relationship. While I thought the film fumbled the ending, overall it’s a strong drama that mostly manages to transcend the cliches of African American- and homosexual-centric narrative features.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is another Precious and I think this new trailer does an admirable job of trying to avoid that facile comparison.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Pariah also stars Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, and Kim Wayans. No release date has been announced, but it’s safe to assume we can expect in the second half of 2011.

Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.

Here’s the official synopsis for Pariah:

A rousing success at its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, this deeply felt human drama is the feature debut of writer/director Dee Rees. Adepero Oduye portrays Alike (pronounced “ah-lee-kay”), a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents (Kim Wayans and Charles Parnell) and younger sister (Sahra Mellesse) in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. A gifted student, Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the support of her best friend Laura (Pernell Walker), she is especially eager to find a girlfriend. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity.

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