Assembly follows internationally acclaimed artist Rashaad Newsome as he undertakes his most ambitious project to date—a multimedia exhibition and performance at New York’s historic Park Avenue Armory. Once a bastion of white military power, the Armory’s drill hall is radically transformed into a vibrant celebration of Black and queer culture through immersive video projections, holograms, sculptures, collages, music, dance, and African fractal patterns. This reimagining not only challenges colonial power structures but also honors the complexity, beauty, and resilience of Black experience, past and present.

The film opens with a haunting vision: Rashaad’s enslaved ancestors thrown from a slave ship into a watery grave. This spectral imagery sets the tone for a journey shaped by the presence of ancestors—those who lived, resisted, and endured, and those who were taken too soon. Later, Rashaad travels to Ghana to visit the dungeons where his ancestors were imprisoned. In a moment of deep communion, he asks them for strength and guidance as he mounts this epic show. Throughout Assembly, the ancestors—some old, some new—reappear as ghosts at the edges of the frame, bearing silent witness to Rashaad’s work. From the enslaved Africans who survived unimaginable violence to the Black gay men who died of AIDS and the Black trans women whose lives were cut short by transphobic brutality, these ancestral presences remind us of the lives that shaped Rashaad’s vision and the valiant spirits honored through his work.

The film also breaks new ground by treating its AI character, Being, as a fully realized entity with a rich emotional arc. Evolving from a conceptual artwork into a central figure, Being embodies a humanity that recalls cinematic figures like Frankenstein—creations rejected by the very worlds that birthed them. Their experience of prejudice reflects that of the human performers, highlighting shared struggles against systemic oppression. This parallel deepens the emotional stakes of Assembly, connecting the human and the technological to interrogate societal fears, biases, and the possibility of liberation across generations and forms of being.

The powerful stories of Assembly’s cast members form the emotional core of the film. Nekia, a towering Black trans woman, transforms fear into “weaponized femininity,” reclaiming strength from what society perceives as weakness. Dazié, a poet and performer, confronts the isolation of being Black and queer, blending deeply personal experiences with sharp political critique. Kyron, the choir director, channels the trauma of his religious Caribbean upbringing into soul-stirring vocal performances that reclaim identity and healing. Puma, representing the global dance community, fuses her Brazilian roots with Black queer movement styles, resisting the toxic masculinity embedded in her past through dance. Along with Rashaad — who reveals the challenges of his own upbringing in homophobic rural Louisiana — these performers embody a lineage of resilience, transforming pain into power through their artistry.

Assembly weaves these threads together across multiple storytelling layers, shifting fluidly between Rashaad’s creative process, the dynamic performances, and the lives of those who bring the work to life. The film traverses rap shows, theater, musicals, and dance, creating a multidimensional experience that defies categorization. Poignant moments, such as a memorial for murdered Black trans women and a charged protest march, expose ongoing struggles against racism, homophobia, and transphobia while illuminating the capacity of art to reclaim agency and inspire change. Through its innovative structure, breathtaking visuals, and the constant presence of ancestors—both seen and unseen—Assembly becomes more than a documentary. It is a cinematic vision of collective artistry, intergenerational resilience, and the transformative power of liberation and hope.