Name: Chameleon Street: The Black Film They Could Not Sell
Director: Elvis Mitchell
Genre: Documentary, TV Movie
Released: 1991-07-01
Duration: 13 min
Cast: John Singleton, John Powers, Steven Soderbergh, Wendell B. Harris Jr., Russell Schwartz

The Sundance winner that Hollywood buried — and the cigarette-smoking truth teller who exposed why.

archival chaosindie ragesmoke-filled confessional

Overview

Documentary TV Movie

Elvis Mitchell uncovers why Chameleon Street (1989) by Wendell B. Harris Jr. failed to secure a proper distributor deal. Originally aired as a segment on "20/20".

Content warning

interview independent film celebrity interview racism film critic hollywood black cinema denver, colorado director interview freeze frame+5 more

Standout Aspects

Direction

Mitchell's freeze-frame interviews feel like cinematic indictments.

Writing

Dense, cigarette-ash wisdom packed into 13 furious minutes.

Best for:Solo·Streaming

Heads up:Triggers

Director

Elvis Mitchell

ReleasedJul 1, 1991

Runtime13m

StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast

Intensityhigh

Tonedark

Feelheavy

Top Cast

John Singleton

Self - Director, 'Boyz N' the Hood' (archive footage)

Steven Soderbergh

Self - Director, 'Sex, Lies & Videotape'

Wendell B. Harris Jr.

Self - Director, 'Chameleon Street'

Elvis Mitchell

Self - Film Critic

Will Smith

Self (archive footage)

Warrington Hudlin

Self - Producer, 'House Party'

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Cultural

This 20/20 segment aired when 'hood films' were becoming Hollywood's only accepted Black stories, making Harris's cerebral con-man film commercially 'invisible.'

Trivia

Steven Soderbergh appears here fresh off Sex, Lies success — he later helped revive Harris's career by casting him in small roles, including Out of Sight.