Around a year ago, I had an emergency appendectomy surgery. No, this film is not about that, but just stick with me for a minute. After a wild night in the emergency room and a lot of good drugs, the excellent doctors and nurses took out my appendix (but refused my request to take it home in a jar). I then found myself in the post-op room, slowly emerging from some powerful anesthesia. I only vaguely remember this, but Nurse Barbara told me upon waking up, I was yelling for her to come to my bedside from across the room. She ran over, thinking something was horribly wrong. Through my oxygen mask, I apparently told her, "Barb, you gotta watch this documentary called QUEST. Write it down. It's called QUEST. About a family in Philly." I then proceeded back into a loopy haze. When I fully woke up and became a coherent human again, Barb came over and pulled a yellow post-in from her pocket with "QUEST the documentary" written on it. We laughed, but I assured her my recommendation held true even after the drugs had worn off.

So what kind of documentary could be so memorable, so powerful, that it was literally the first thing I thought of after surgery? That would QUEST, one of the most enveloping, grabbing films I've seen.

To best convey what this film is about, I'd like to use the filmmakers' own words. They say it best: "Filmed with vérité intimacy for nearly a decade, QUEST is the moving portrait of the Rainey family living in North Philadelphia. Beginning at the dawn of the Obama presidency, Christopher 'Quest' Rainey, and his wife, Christine'a 'Ma Quest' raise a family while nurturing a community of hip hop artists in their home music studio. It's a safe space where all are welcome, but this creative sanctuary can't always shield them from the strife that grips their neighborhood. Epic in scope, QUEST is a vivid illumination of race and class in America, and a testament to love, healing and hope."