Melvin Van Peebles

Melvin Van Peebles (1932, Chicago) was a painter and made several short films, after which he spent some time in Paris. He published five novels of which La Permission formed the basis for his début film, THE STORY OF A THREE?DAY PASS (1968), about a weekender leave that a black soldier used to spend with a white French girl. With the money he earned directing WATERMELON MAN (1970), he financed his real début SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAAD ASSSSS SONG.