Cotton Eyed Joe

One day in the life of a rail-rider named Joe, who rode his last boxcar into LA and settles on an uninhabited hilltop that overlooks the city.

The simple but compelling true story of an African-American vagabond named Joe. A former rail-rider, he has settled as a squatter in a secluded spot near downtown Los Angeles to live out his life in the small hut he has made his home. Dependent on the city and yet terrified of everything in it, Joe seeks a quiet life-style of simple needs and simple wants. The camera follows Joe through a day in this life, never intruding, showing only glimpses of his existence, painting a portrait of a unique individual.

“…an eloquent, wordless documentary.”
Charles Champlin, Los Angeles Times

Featuring music by B. B. King and Nina Simone

Produced as my senior thesis at the University of Southern California, Division of Cinema, 1971.