Dear Mr. P… A Love Letter to James Lloydovich Patterson

In 1936, three-year-old James Lloydovich Patterson was the most popular child film star in Soviet Russia. Now at 91, Patterson lives a quiet life in a Washington, DC retirement home. Dear Mr. P documents Patterson’s extraordinary story as the son of a Black American father and Russian mother who rocketed into fame for his childhood role in the Soviet classic film Circus. He would go on to become a sailor in the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and a published author before moving to the United States following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Kennan Institute hosted a free screening of Dear Mr. P followed by a discussion with Amy Ballard, the film’s producer and Mr. Patterson’s guardian, and scholar Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon.