The Force is strong with Richard Chew. The Harvard Law dropout went on to film an important Sierra Club documentary and become an Academy Award-winning editor (for his work with Paul Hirsch and Marcia Lucas editing Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in 1977). And last night, he shared the film that inspired him to his career path, Nothing But a Man, with an Audience at the DIA's Detroit Film Theater.

 

Although the 1964 Michael Roemer film (edited by Luke Bennett) is available on DVD from Netflix, theatrical prints have become rather scarce. When cinematographer Robert M. Young heard that Richard Chew wanted to show the film in Detroit, he loaned the DFT his own personal print of the film. The film concerns Duff Anderson (Ivan Dixon), a Black man in the South too proud to act in the stereotypical manner expected of him.

 

Prior to the feature showing, selected clips were shown from a wide variety of films Chew has edited, spanning his career from Star Wars to Bobby, and he chatted with DIA film curator Elliot Wilhelm. Earlier that day, he gave the keynote address at an event for Wayne State University film students. The event also included workshops: one on résumés with Richard Jewell of Raleigh Michigan Studios, and one on film criticism with Tim Dugdale, former Metro Times film critic.