5 Black Pride Films to Urgently Watch on Black Film Archive
+ The first Los Angeles Black Film Archive event on Juneteenth at Philosophical Research Society at 7 pm
In moments of societal and personal weakness, I refer back to June Jordan’s “Civil Wars,”1 her 1981 collection of writing. In the foreword she writes of an idea that was implanted in her after the 1964 Harlem Riots:
“It came to me that this condition, if it lasted, would mean that I had lost the point: not to resemble my enemies, not to dwarf my world, not to lose my willingness and ability to love.”
The Harlem Riots of 1964 began in response to the slaying of a 15-year-old Black boy, James Powell, at the hands of a NYPD officer. Powell’s offense? Gathering on a stoop after summer school classes. The murder of Powell sparked 6 days of protests across Harlem and Brooklyn. The demonstrations turned violent at the hands of the NYPD as they viscously beat countless residents who demanded justice. This is an inflection point we are all to familiar with as history mirrors our current moment.
June Jordan continues to write in reflection of the riots, “I resolved not to run on hatred but, instead, to use what I loved, words, for the sake of the people I loved. However, beyond my people, I did not know the content of my love: what was I for?”
Each moment working towards a revolution, we are infinitely becoming… who or what are we for? Perhaps you’ve asked yourself the same question as you march in the streets, lend a hand to a neighbor, check in on your community, and demand the freedoms of those we know and don’t. Agony of the unknown cannot dwarf us into invisibility. We are here and to be here means to know what’s done is never final as long as we maintain our hearts.
Los Angeles: The first Black Film Archive event in L.A. is happening at 7 p.m. on Juneteenth (6/19) at Philosophical Research Society. Bridgett M. Davis and I will gather for an intimate conversation on writing as freedom and the ways Davis has used her craft to chronicle Black truth and the intricacies of our soul through her career as a memorist (The World According to Fannie Davis) and filmmaker (“Naked Acts,” 1996). This will be our first public conversation since its been announced I will soon be her film distributor. I’m giving away two tickets to the event. Entry information below.2
+On 6/20 at 7:30, we will screen “Naked Acts” at Vidiots followed by a conversation with us. Each ticket purchase comes with a DVD of “Naked Acts” courtesy of Milestone Films :-)
In moments of noted societal harm and during fascism’s reign, I am often challenged on how can film reflect the wholeness of Black lives; queer lives. I think of June Jordan, the bisexual poet who makes the future feel tangible, as she witnessed the riots and committed herself to art-making or those who committed themselves to marching in the past and present. Before there is a final solution, there is an offering. As Essex Hemphill, legendary Black queer poet, writes in his poem “When My Brother Fell:”
“When my brother fell I picked up his weapons. I didn't question whether I could aim or be as precise as he.”
Film can often be that offering to reflect and contemplate the wholeness of queer lives as Black queer filmic works transcend the rigidity of form. The selections below— with films ranging from comedy and animation— offer visual windows you may not have seen before. Watch them as you tend to the world and make our future feel possible. View all the films on Black Film Archive here.
Greta’s Girls (1978) dir. Greta Schiller
In this narrative short, one of the first narrative films to focus on lesbians, we see the lives of a tender couple and their dog as they make a home and way out of New York City.
The Mark of Lilith (1986) dirs. Bruna Fionda. Polly Gladwin, and Zach Mack-Nataf
When Lillia encounters Zena (Pamela Lofton), a Black lesbian vampire, who is studying goddess across time and the horror genre, Lilla, a white bisexual vampire, is awakened from the slumber of life’s doldrums.
Greetings from Africa (1994) dir. Cheryl Dunye
Cheryl Dunye, playing a comedic version of herself, rolls her camera on this diaristic short addressing the tensions and pleasures of lesbian dating in the 1990s.
Adam (1996) dir. Andrea Stoops
“Adam” is a joyful exploration of gender identity. A young girl relishes in being mistaken for a boy on the playground in this claymation short.
If She Grows Up Gay (1983) dir. Karen Sloe
Jan, the working class mother at the center of this intimate documentary, comes to terms with the weight of the world, her queer identity, and choosing a life with her woman partner, Renee, as she raises her daughter.
View all the films on Black Film Archive here.
I’m giving away two tickets for Black Film Archive’s Juneteenth Philosophical Research Society event with Bridgett M. Davis. To enter, reply to this email in your inbox or write(maya@blackfilmarchive.com) with the subject line “tickets.” I will pick two winners at random by Tuesday 6/17. Hope to see you there.
P.S. - Thank you all for your kind words on the announcement I will soon become the president / owner of Milestone Films. I am deeply appreciative.
Entry information directly above these footnotes. Good luck :-)
Thank you++
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾