Donnie's Story - The Life of Donald Goines (2004)

The life of Donald Goines was fraught with hardship and tragedy. Only after his death did it develop into a success story of creative inspiration for the black community. Born in Detroit in 1937, Goines eschewed his intended path of managing the family laundry business in favor of entering the air force when he was still underage. Returning from a tour of duty in Japan as a full-fledged heroin addict, Goines embarked upon a life of crime, robbing, pimping, hustling, and gambling in order to support his habit. In and out of jail, he wrote his first novel WHORESON while still in prison. Upon his release, Goines filled his days with an almost compulsive outpouring of creativity, churning out novels of gritty truth that depict the realities of life in African American communities. This documentary tells the life story, as raw as anything to be found in his novels, of this prolific literary hero, whose books continue to be bestsellers both nationally and internationally. Shot on Super 35 mm, Super 16, High-Def, Super 8 and Digital DV, the Goines family provides an inside perspective on the urban icon, and interviews with Fab 5 Freddy, DMX, Ice Cube, Capone, and others, make this the most penetrating and insightful exploration of Goines to date.