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2014 Directed by Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Synopsis
Lacey Schwartz grew up in a typical upper-middle-class Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and a strong sense of her Jewish identity - despite the open questions from those around her about how a white girl could have such dark skin. She believes her family's explanation that her looks were inherited from her dark-skinned Sicilian grandfather. But when her parents abruptly split, her gut starts to tell her something different. At age of 18, she finally confronts her mother and learns the truth: her biological father was not the man who raised her, but a black man named Rodney with whom her mother had had an affair.
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- Cast
- Crew
- Details
- Genres
- Releases
Cast
Lacey Schwartz Delgado Sarah Brokaw Bruce Corwin Joshua Corwin Marcia Corwin Matthew Corwin Elissa Federoff Mary Federoff Michael Federoff Mehret Mandefro Kristin Parker Rodney Parker Peggy Schwartz Robert Schwartz Zuhairah Scott Washington Matthew Ward
DirectorDirector
Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Co-DirectorCo-Director
James Adolphus
ProducersProducers
Lacey Schwartz Delgado Jamund Washington Mehret Mandefro Lisa Cleff Kurtz Collier Meyerson James Smith
WritersWriters
Lacey Schwartz Delgado Mehret Mandefro
EditorsEditors
Toby Shimin Erik Dugger
CinematographyCinematography
James Adolphus
Additional PhotographyAdd. Photography
Joel Fendelman Marco Williams Derek Rittenhouse Lacey Schwartz Delgado Eitan Riklis
ComposerComposer
Kathryn Bostic
SoundSound
Jacob Ribicoff
Studio
Truth Aid
Country
USA
Language
English
Alternative Titles
Petit Mensonge Blanc, Outside the Box
Genre
Documentary
Releases by Date
- Date
- Country
Premiere
02 Aug 2014
USABlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania
03 Aug 2014
- USAJewish Film Festival, San Francisco,California
19 Aug 2014
- USABlack Harvest Film Festival, Chicago,Illinois
17 Sep 2014
- Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad + Tobago FilmFestival
27 Sep 2014
- CanadaMontreal International Black Film Festival,Quebec
16 Nov 2014
- USADOC NYC, NewYork
23 Dec 2014
- IsraelJerusalem Jewish FilmFestival
20 Sep 2015
- TaiwanCNEX - Taiwan International DocumentaryFestival
Theatrical limited
21 Nov 2014
- USA
Digital
02 Dec 2014
- USA
31 Mar 2015
- USA
15 Jun 2015
- USA
17 Jul 2017
- South Africa
10 Sep 2018
- Germany
26 Feb 2021
- France
Physical
02 Aug 2016
- USA
TV
23 Mar 2015
- USA
Releases by Country
- Date
- Country
Canada
27 Sep 2014
- PremiereMontreal International Black Film Festival,Quebec
France
26 Feb 2021
- DigitalPrimeVideo
Germany
10 Sep 2018
- Digital
Israel
23 Dec 2014
- PremiereJerusalem Jewish FilmFestival
South Africa
17 Jul 2017
- DigitalBETAfrcia
Taiwan
20 Sep 2015
- PremiereCNEX - Taiwan International DocumentaryFestival
Trinidad and Tobago
17 Sep 2014
- PremiereTrinidad + Tobago FilmFestival
USA
29 Jul 2014
- PremiereWoods Hole Film Festival, Cape Cod,Massachusetts
02 Aug 2014
- PremiereBlackStar Film Festival, Philadelphia,Pennsylvania
03 Aug 2014
- PremiereJewish Film Festival, San Francisco,California
19 Aug 2014
- PremiereBlack Harvest Film Festival, Chicago,Illinois
16 Nov 2014
- PremiereDOC NYC, NewYork
21 Nov 2014
- Theatrical limited
02 Dec 2014
- DigitalWifeyTV
23 Mar 2015
- TVIndependent Lens,PBS
31 Mar 2015
- DigitalVOD
15 Jun 2015
- DigitalNetflix
02 Aug 2016
- PhysicalDVD
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Popular reviews
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Review by aftanistan ★★★
“But before I was your mother, I was a person. And I was a girl, and I was a woman. And I was me. And I think that’s the most honest explanation I can give you.”
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Review by ✧ lily ✧ ★★★★
That her last name (from her white, Jewish father) literally means "black" in Yiddish is THE MOST ironic thing I've heard about in a LOOONG time.
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Review by stevefailows ★½
In some ways the story is more interesting than the film managed to convey. And like most films made by the subject, it can feel a bit too insular at times. Could have gone deeper on the topic.
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Review by Dara Khan
Probably a good thing to show anybody who doubts that race is a social construct.
Little White Lie is the directorial debut of Lacey Schwartz, who grew up believing she was "white". White, we quickly find out, is itself a shifting target—one that enfolds Jewishness and even Lacey's dark skin—and that's before Lacey begins to culturally and physically identify as African-American, setting her on a journey to discover the truth about her parentage from her seemingly square and straight-laced Jewish-American parents.
It definitely recalls Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell, another personal doc about self-discovery and uncertain parentage. Both films have a similar story kernel and a hunger to disentangle personal truth from codified family narratives. But where Polley's film is…
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Review by Persia ★★★½
"White people will believe anything."
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Review by M.R. Turnage ★★★½
The moral of the story: If your family is really, really repressed, one of you will become a documentary filmmaker.
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Review by Kimi 🖤 ★★★★★
I relate to Lacey’s experience so much. I know both of my parents but I grew up not looking like either of them. not black enough to look like my mom but not white enough to look like my dad.
being biracial is a f*cking trip lmao
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Review by leftmt ★★★★
Little White Lie is a compelling documentary of Lacey Schwartz who decides to dive deep into the mystery of who she is -- ethnically, socially, and personally. Her investigation reveals the power of suggestion and the power to overlook certain facts can convince people (including herself) to believe a story that keeps a family secret at bay -- at least temporarily.
Anyone who has tried and pried to get parents or family members to share stories of their past and childhood will connect with her attempts to connect with the truth behind her heritage, her relationships, and her parents' relationship.
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Review by Riddly Diddly ★★ 4
It was really damn weird when that one lady said “the elephant in the room” but replaced Elephant with Gorilla.
It also felt really suspect she brought a camera man to her Bio-father’s funeral, and presumably invited a lot of her own family. It seems, only to create a scenario where they find out she was his daughter.
I also felt Lacey’s views on race were really strange, and juxtaposed a lot with the way her family saw her.
Also, the scene where they edited her “coming out” as black to her dad, and basically took the subject out of every sentence really bugged me. Bad editing choice and seems to be saying she rambled for a long time, and it just kindof justified her father’s mild annoyance at her telling him something so obvious.
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Review by Tysto Zarban ★★½
Interesting but meandering tale of family secrets & identity.
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Review by Kris ★★★
she’s just like me fr
(not sarcasm this time 💔) -
Review by Armando Vanegas ★★★★
An eyeopening documentary about identity that will stick with you for multiple reasons. The director and main focus of the movie, Lacey Schwartz, has a lot of issues to deal with. Understandably, it makes sense considering her situation. Her dealing with her racial makeup is very sympathetic as it's something a lot of people can relate to. Maybe not to this level but there are moments that are really sad to watch such as the moments with Lacey and her father. It's heartbreaking at times but it's always compelling.
