The streets of the West Village in Manhattan have become a kind of haven to African-American gay and transgender youth, and this is the tentative subject matter of “Saturday Church,” a first feature from writer-director Damon Cardasis that functions as a coming-of-age story and a small-scale musical.
Cardasis, who is Caucasian, has said that he was inspired to tell this story after volunteering at St. Luke in the Fields in the Village, which has a church program focused on at-risk youth in the area.
Luka Kain stars as 14-year-old Ulysses, who is first seen at the military funeral for his father.