Chameleon Street
Encyclopedia
Chameleon Street is a 1989 independent film
written, directed by and starring Wendell B. Harris, Jr.
. It tells the story of a social chameleon who impersonates reporters, doctors and lawyers in order to make money.
The film is a satire based on the life of Detroit con artist and high school drop-out William Douglas Street, Jr., who successfully impersonated professional reporters, lawyers, athletes, extortionists, and surgeons, going so far as to perform more than 36 successful hysterectomies. A Sundance Film Festival press release in 2008 described it as "one of the first films to examine how mellifluously race, class, and role-playing morph into the social fabric of America." Chameleon Street won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
written, directed by and starring Wendell B. Harris, Jr.
Wendell B. Harris, Jr.
- Biography :Wendell B. Harris, Jr. trained in drama at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy and Juilliard School. He is the writer, director and lead actor of Chameleon Street, a Gethsemane 84, Inc./ Prismatic Images, Inc. film, which won the Grand Jury prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival...
. It tells the story of a social chameleon who impersonates reporters, doctors and lawyers in order to make money.
The film is a satire based on the life of Detroit con artist and high school drop-out William Douglas Street, Jr., who successfully impersonated professional reporters, lawyers, athletes, extortionists, and surgeons, going so far as to perform more than 36 successful hysterectomies. A Sundance Film Festival press release in 2008 described it as "one of the first films to examine how mellifluously race, class, and role-playing morph into the social fabric of America." Chameleon Street won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.