Che “Rhymefest” Smith grew up in the hood in Chicago without a father. After building a career as a Grammy-winning songwriter with his teenaged friend Kanye West, and Oscar-winning co-songwriter for Glory in “Selma,” he set out to find his father, who had abandoned him as a child. Directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg narrate the story of their developing relationship in “In My Father’s House.” The documentary plays Monday, July 20, in Union Chapel, Oak Bluffs, as part of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival’s summer series. Che will perform before the screening, and he, along with his wife Donnie Smith, his father Brian Tillman, and the directors, will lead a post-film discussion.
“In My Father’s House” acquired its title from the fact that the rapper decided to try and locate his homeless, alcoholic father after purchasing the Chicago house that had belonged to him. The film opens with listings of the grim statistics on fathers’ absence from the family: single-parent households have tripled since 1960; fatherless youth make up 60 percent of youth suicides; fatherless youth are 71 percent of high school dropouts; and fatherless children account for 90 percent of homeless and runaway children.
Che’s father Brian is a likeable derelict, whom Che meets up with at a Chicago library. The singer quickly takes his dad under his wing; he gets him to stop drinking, finds a home for him, and brings him into his household. It’s a story of almost miraculous recovery and the fulfillment of a dream for Che of a reunited family. But dreams are not the same as reality, and Brian fails to sustain his son’s ambitious plans for him. The story, however, does not end there.
“In My Father’s House” narrates a compelling story of how this successful singer reaches into his past to rebuild his relationship with his father and repair his family. It is a powerful story, the significance of which reverberates well beyond Che “Rhymefest” Smith and his father Brian Tillman.
“In My Father’s House,” Monday, July 20, 7:30 p.m. The M.V. Film Festival, Union Chapel, 55 Narraganset Avenue, Oak Bluffs. For information and tickets, see tmvff.org.
