Mr. Adams is a documentary film about Michael Henry Adams, a Harlem-based historic preservationist and architectural historian. Since 1985, Adams has waged a tireless one-man crusade to save Harlem’s historic buildings from demolition. For Adams, in addition to having value because they are beautiful, Harlem’s buildings are the embodiment of New York City’s Black history. He argues that they have long been neglected by the city’s historic preservation establishment and fights (sometimes through ostentatious protests) to change the status quo before it is too late, and the buildings are swept away. The film explores the beauty of Harlem’s built environment as well as Adams’ personal journey into the world of historic preservation, from his origins as a gay Black boy in Ohio drawn to the legend of the Harlem Renaissance to his present-day efforts to manage his passion while working with others towards a better future for Harlem.

Malcolm St-Pierre is a filmmaker from Montreal, Canada who has worked in documentary film for over a decade. After studying history in college, he worked for several years as a researcher for Academy Award-winning director Malcolm Clarke—most recently, on Clarke’s theatrical documentary Better Angels (ARTeFACT Entertainment, 2018). St-Pierre subsequently directed and produced his first film, a documentary short called Moustafa & Maram (2021) which told the story of a Muslim-American father and daughter in New York City. It received an Award of Excellence from Impact DOCS Now and was screened at the Big Apple Film Festival, the New York City Independent Film Festival, and Doc Utah. St-Pierre continues to direct and produce documentary films in both New York and his native Montreal, while also working as an editor for Toronto-based creative agency Cold Ice Creative.