Wanderings of a rebellious poet

New documentary film Claude McKay Wanderings of a rebellious poet, directed by Matthieu Verdeil, will be screened + pannel and Q&A in several universities in USA and Canada in March 2026

A rebellious voice of the Harlem Renaissance, Jamaican poet Claude McKay spent two decades traveling the world, immersing himself in artistic and political avant-gardes while building an enduring body of work.

From Jamaica to Morocco, via USA, England, Russia and France, this film is a captivating voyage through the 1920s in the footsteps of this great vagabond writer.

This remarkable documentary portrait, illustrated with rare archival footage and photographs, told by his own words narrated by Gaël Faye, and set to a stirring soundtrack, brings his legacy to life. His famous century-old anti-lynching poem If We Must Die resonates with today's Black Lives Matter movement, revealing continuities of struggles and resistance he inspired.

Teaser :

https://vimeo.com/1121862155

March 2026

13th > Atlanta - Georgia State University

Followed by a panel moderated by Curt Jackson PhD, from GSU History Department, including: Matthieu Verdeil, Filmmaker, Edvige Jean-Francois, Executive Director of GSU Center for Studies on Africa and Its Diaspora, Rashana Lydner, Assistant Professor at GSU Africana Studies Department, Dr. Harcourt Fuller, Associate Professor at GSU History Department.

16th > Atlanta - Festival de la Francophonie Villa Albertine in l'Alliance Française (Infos/register)

19th > Cornell University (infos/register)

21th > Princeton University French Film Festival, NJ (infos/register)

21th > Montreal Canada - FIFA International Festival of Films on Art (infos)

25th > New York University with the Center for Black Visual Culture, NYU Institute of French Studies and NYU Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Followed by a post-screening discussion and Q&A with director Matthieu Verdeil and distinguished scholar Dr. Robert Reid-Pharr.(infos/register)

26th > Columbia University Maison Française

Special screening of first film Claude McKay from Marseille to Harlem, presented with Brent H.Edwards (infos/register)