ABOVE PHOTO: From left: Christopher “Quest” Rainey, Isaiah Byrd, Christine’a “Ma Quest” Rainey, Patricia “PJ” Rainey in “Quest”. (Photo: Carina Romano)
First Run Features is pleased to announce the theatrical release of “QUEST,” Jonathan Olshefski’s moving chronicle of a close knit African-American family living in North Philadelphia. Filmed with vérité intimacy for almost a decade, “QUEST” has swept top documentary awards at festivals across the country since it premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, including the Grand Jury prize at the Full Frame Festival.
It will open in Philadelphia on December 1 (Landmark’s Ritz at the Bourse), New York on December 8 (Quad Cinema) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica) on December 15. A wider national rollout will follow.
From left: Christopher “Quest” Rainey, Christine’a “Ma Quest” Rainey in “Quest”. (Photo: Colleen Stepanian)
Beginning at the dawn of the Obama presidency, the film follows the Raineys: father Christopher “Quest” Rainey, who juggles various jobs to support his family; Christine’a “Ma Quest,” who works at a women’s shelter; Christine’s son William, who is undergoing cancer treatment while caring for his baby son, and PJ, Quest and Christine’a’s young daughter. In a neighborhood besieged by inequality and neglect, they nurture a community of hip hop artists in their home music studio. It’s a safe space where all are welcome, but this creative sanctuary can’t always shield them from the strife that grips their neighborhood. Epic in scope, “QUEST” is a vivid illumination of race and class in America, and a profound testament to love, healing and hope.
“[A] superb film. A living, breathing, stunning documentary study of an African-American family in North Philadelphia weathering a tumultuous decade.”
– Guy Lodge, “Variety”
“Class and race intersect meaningfully in the wonderful documentary Quest, a decade-plus labor of love.”
– Manohla Dargis, “The New York Times”
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