An emotional portrait, a social critique and a passionate plea for human equality, this 1989 film is a vérité feast. In archival excerpts from over one hundred sources and nine different countries, Baldwin shares his message with first-person urgency: exploring what it means to be born black, impoverished, gay and gifted – in a world that has yet to understand that “all men are brothers.”

Baldwin’s eloquence is illuminated by intimate interviews and original footage: scenes from his extraordinary funeral service; explorations of his homes on three continents; insights from family, friends, colleagues and critics. Witnesses include his brother David Baldwin; biographer David Leeming; writers Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, William Styron, Ishmael Reed and Yashar Kemal; painter Lucien Happersberger and entertainer Bobby Short.

Back in 1989, THE PRICE OF THE TICKET was honored at festivals in over two dozen countries—including Sundance, London, Berlin, Tokyo—and received stellar reviews. Now considered a classic, the original 16mm film has been restored and re-mastered by the James Baldwin Project for international distribution and public engagement, one community at a time.

Cinéma Vérité Passé.