PERSONAL PROBLEMS (1980)

A film by Bill Gunn. Presented by Ishmael Reed and Steve Cannon. Released in UK cinemas by Other Parties in July 2026.

Bill Gunn's “video soap opera” — shot on tape in Harlem between 1980 and 1981 and built out of long, unguarded improvised conversations about marriage, desire, work and survival. Developed from an idea by Ishmael Reed, produced with Steve Cannon, and performed by an ensemble drawn from New York's Black literary and artistic underground, including Vertamae Grosvenor, Walter Cotton, Jim Wright and Sam Waymon.

PRESS

★★★★ — the Guardian, July 2026

★★★★ — Danny Leigh, Financial Times

MADE FOR THE RELEASE

A limited cassette mixtape cut with Screwboss and Marcy Mane, and a long-sleeve edition.

Personal Problems — full film page
Personal Problems editions