"Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge" by Elevator Repair Service, extracts

Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro? This question was posed to the writer James Baldwin and to conservative thinker William F. Buckley Jr. in 1965. Surrounded by students at the University of Cambridge, the two men debated, their arguments recorded for posterity. Inspired by the contemporary resonances of their arguments, John Collins and Greig Sargeant of the New York company Elevator Repair Service immerse us in the historical debate. A narrow room, a pulpit, an audience within arm’s reach… To be at the heart of the debate, struck and carried away by strong convictions and timeless ideas. The arguments used couldn’t be more timely, leading us to think about relationships of discrimination, but we also watch James Baldwin and slowly get to know the private side of this public figure. Past and present collide. The power of words prevail.