Back to Life

1989. Bensonhurst Brooklyn. An Italian mob murders a black teenager named Yusuf Hawkins. That same night across the Hudson River in New Jersey Lisa and Marc meet at a party. Lisas black. Marcs Italian.They eventually hook up. But interpersonal conflict racist family and friends and previous relationships loom. Their lives also play out in the charged political context of New York Citys mayoral race which pits David Dinkins African-American Democrat against Rudolph Giuliani law-and-order Republican.Back to Life is a heady mix of taboo relationships racial politics and social commentary that begs the question: Can love really conquer all?