Bankrupt
By Marshaline Letcher
Directed by Jacqueline Wade
(Helen Sanders will also perform a selection from, “Do Lord Remember Me”)
Spirit Sisters
By Diane DeVeaux
Directed by Jacqueline Wade
(Jacqueline Wade will also present a selection from a new work)
After the Plays:
Refreshments will be served and an audience discussion will be held
Dir. Demetrius Wren (2010) 78 min.
A fast-paced documentary that follows the lives of eight men whose lives are changed by soccer and sport, this film tells a story of redemption and the different realities of Post-Apartheid South Africa.
After the Movie:Reception & Talkback with Demetrius Wren
7:30 pm
The Best of Shabba @ Showdown
Shabba performing at the height of his Grammy Award-winning career, working the crowd at Jamaica’s famous club, Showdown, with his raunchy and humorous vocals. Also featuring performances from top dancehall artists Ninja Man, Papa San, Junior Demus, Risto Benjie and more.
8:30 pm
Smile Orange
Dir. Trevor Rhone (1976) 86 min.
Smile Orange makes satire of the exploitative tourist trade in '70s Jamaica. From The New York Times: “The tourist is funny and crass; the native who serves and exploits him is crass and funny.” Carl Bradshaw (Harder They Come, No Place Like Home) stars as Ringo, a hotel worker who has mastered the art of “getting over” - he sleeps with the guests, cons tourists and imparts dark advice to his younger co-worker: “If you’re a black man and won’t play a part you’re going to starve to death.” Beneath the humor lies serious commentary on the complex negotiations of black male subjectivity in post-colonial Jamaica.
Fuzzystar!!!!
I am Billy Joel
Dir. Nicholas Daniele (2009) 5 min.
Audio from an early Billy Joel interview and video shot in the rainy streets of Harlem and Hell's Kitchen combine to reveal a lesser known side of the artist.
EARTHMEN …From Outer Space!
Dir. Nicholas Daniele (2010) 7 min.
It is the year 3012, humans have been pushed to the brink of extinction, two renegades are sent back in time to save the earth from itself.
Entre Luz y Sol (Betweeen Light and Sun)
Dir. Kevin Lopez (2005) 15 min.
An excerpt from Kevin Lopez’ award-winning documentary about Cuba. This film, which was partly funded by the Miramax Minority Scholarship Fund, explores the current social effects of tourism on Cuban society.
Winner Best Short Documentary at Sin Fronteras Film Festival, Albuquerque, NM and Dead Center Film Festival, Oklahoma City, OK.
Keep It Movin'
Dir. Anthony Sylvester (2010) 5 min.
Music video for the song "Keep It Movin'" by Harlem’s own LAMEC
3012
Dir. Anthony Sylvester (2010) 5 min.
Music video for the song "3012" by Harlem’s own LAMEC
MANHOUSE
Dir. Anthony Sylvester (2010) 5 min.
The latest installment in the MANHOUSE series, this film chronicles the adventures of two renegades who live by their own rules.
I Am Batman
Dir. Dan Cooper (2010) 5 min.
Who is Batman? A fictional comic book hero, or a mild-mannered waiter from 128th Street? This film seeks to find out.
With additional footage from the Fuzzystar Vault.
Live Performance From Harlem’s Own LAMEC!!!!
Reception Sponsored by Sugar Hill Beer
(Films for Harlem, by Harlem)
The Harlem Children’s Zone Presents:
The Photovoice Project
More than disease or genetic disorder, firearms rob young African Americans of their lives. In the spring of 2010, seven students at the Harlem Children’s Zone and eight adult community members took a stand against this crisis. The group photographed their community, documenting causes of gun violence and solutions to the epidemic. The members of this inter-generational group met to discuss their work and to craft concrete steps for action. This documentary follows the participants as they take photographs of their community, discuss the meaning of their work, and present their photographs to elected officials in Albany.
The screening will serve as a platform for future action against gun violence in Harlem, as the group’s concrete steps for action will be presented. A photo exhibit will accompany the screening.
100 Percent Free!!!!!!!
Thursday, May 27th
Jock Docs: Cycling
Pedal
Peter Sutherland, 2001, 56 minutes
A fast-paced documentary film about surviving in the streets of New York City as a bicycle messenger. It features messengers from all walks of life as they battle traffic in a race to make their next delivery on time. Directed by Peter Sutherland and produced by Ana Lombardo, Pedal the documentary lets viewers live the spectacle of the delivery itself. It premiered in 2001 at the South by Southwest film festival, and was later acquired by the Sundance channel, where it aired until 2004.
Wednesday, May 26th, 7:30 pm
Jock Docs: Cycling
A Sunday In Hell
Jorgen Leth, 1976, 111 minutes
This is a bike-fanatics dream of a movie, portraying the discipline and heroism of the winners alongside the painfull realisation of own limits of the losers. The race takes place in the northern parts of France and lower countryside of Belgium, with a spectacular finish on the old stadium of Roubaix. Shot with 20 cameras and a helicopter, you can see every bead of sweat on the cyclists and every smashed-up ankle. Considered to be one of the best cycling films ever made.
Homeward: A Screening Series Exploring the Concept of Home
Curated by Denisse Andrade
Sponsored by Third World Newsreel
May 20th-21st
The lack of a home may be different than a lack of home; this series addresses the meaning of home and the definitions individuals, cities, nations and cultures work with when referring to such concept. Themes ofdisplacement, (im)migration, uneven development, autonomous spaces, architecture and memory are recurring in the program.
Thursday, May 20th, 7:30pm
Doña Ana
Marlon Vásquez Silva, David Sanchez, 2 min.
Animation, Colombia
Ana is a woman who sells medicinal plants in the city of Medellín ,Colombia. While she eats strawberries and talks about their properties, we find out much more.
Here to Stay
Mansee Kong, 2008, 7 min.
Documentary, USA
Illustrates the effects of gentrification in Manhattan’s Chinatown as anelderly man and fellow tenants in an endangered single-room occupancy building await the results of an anti-eviction lawsuit
Cusps
Sara Zia Ebrahimi, 2008, 14 min.
Documentary, USA
In this personal documentary Sara Zia Ebrahimi explores her experiences livingas an urban nomad and immigrant in the post-industrial landscape of Philadelphia.
The documentary first began exploring the role artists play in gentrification.
Four Places Like Home
Simone Viger, 2008, 4 min.
Documentary, Canada
Do you know the history of your home? How much of the past can be read? This portrait of a neighborhood travels to four different reconverted buildings in the South West region ofMontreal, presenting varied notions of home.
Tactical Tourist
Dara Greenwald, 2007, 14 min.
USA
A DIY portrait of the squatting movement in Barcelona, Spain. A tourist walks through the city led by squatters – the tour points out buildings turned from abandoned or speculative properties into communal homes and radical cultural spaces.
Dear Tourist
Cristian Bermudez, 2006, 7 min.
Video letter, Costa Rica
An ordinary house in an ordinary suburb was painted in white and fuchsia colorstripes. A year later, a letter was sent to the neighbors explaining the reasons forthis choice. The same letter was used as script for this film that deals with issues such as identity, immigration and the use of art out of the white cube.
2 Home Movies
Masha Godovannaya, 2009, 9 min.
Experimental documentary, Russia
One can say with some certainty that all of us,with cameras–have shot home movies in their lives.
Now, imagine how a home moviewould look like if it was shot inWarsaw Ghetto at the beginning of 1940s by a German worker during this vacation…
No Place Like Home
Supafriends, Global Action Project, 2009, 1 min.
PSA, USA
A public service announcement focusing on homelessness among LGBTQ youth.
Featuring a conversation with Rob Robinson, of Picture the Homeless, filmmakers and others TBA.
Friday, May 21, 7:30pm
Ici Et La-Bas(Here and There)
Natalia Rodriguez, 2003, 20 min.
Documentary, France
An immigrant couple in France see their daughters becoming French. In this home of double culture, hopes of going back still exist.
The Cost of Separation
Liz Miller, 2009, 9 min.
Documentary, Canada
“The Cost of Separation” highlights the daily effects of prolonged separation from family members on three parents with refugee status in Canada.
Still
Alana Kakoyiannis, 2009, 18 min.
Documentary, Cyprus
A poetic documentary reflecting on the notion of home through the lens of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriotdisplacement on the dividedisland of Cyprus. The testimonies of twofemale voices living on opposingsides of the Green Line combined with the filmmaker's own observations ofthe present day, capture the potency ofthe political conflict throughpersonal perspectives.
Disillusionment
Voices of Women Media, 2007, 12 min.
Video portraits, The Netherlands
Migrant women flee their homelands in search of a new country offering security,freedom and peace. They leave families and their cultures behind for a chance to improve their political and personal situations. In February 2007, undocumented migrant women residing illegally in a housing shelter in The Netherlands were given media tools to create six intimate videoportraits offering a brief glimpse into this transient period oftheir lives.
Steel Homes
Eva Weber, 2008, 10 min.
Documentary, UK
A poetic exploration of memory and loss, Steel Homes takes the viewer inside the world of a self-storage warehouse, uncovering the hiddent treasures andsecrets behind closed doors.
Warm Place Tonight
Nic Bettauer, 1996, 7 min.
Documentary, USA
This film documents two homeless men’s Sisyphean struggle to safe the life of their friend on thestreets of downtown Los Angeles. The film expresses the men’s feelings ofhelplessness, hopelessness and powerlessness tied to their grief, loss and homelessness.
Sunday, May 16th
7:30 pm
Keeling's Caribbean Showcase
Gregory Isaacs: Live at the Rocket
Dir. Dan Crouch (2003) 40 min.
Gregory Isaacs, the smooth crooner of Lovers' Rock performs a long list of classics and new hits before a capacity crowd.
8:30 pm
Rockers
Dir. Ted Bafaloukos (1978) 100 min.
Jamaican Patois with English subtitles
In the history of Jamaican cinema Rockers is a close second to The Harder They Come as a crucial depiction of the politics and culture of its time.
Legendary session drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace is the main character in a plot loosely resembling De Sica's Bicycle Thief. But the story is secondary to the documentation of a political and cultural context in which a new musical form, Steppers, emerged. With the increase in political violence on the island, the Steppers or Rockers beat appeared as a more rapid, militant variation on Reggae. Peter Tosh's anthem "Stepping Razor" is characterizes the role played by the many of the all star cast (including Big Youth, Jacob Miller and Burning spear) as cultural warriors fighting for recognition, against a racial elite and for basic survival.
Saturday, May 15th, 7:00pm
Lava 1 & 2's Extravaganza Graf Art Exhibit
For everybody who thought grafitti started in the early 80's, Lava AKA StraightMan is here to set the records straight, man. LAVA 1&2 (he claimed 2 so no one else could - don't even think about the URL, cause he got that too) started writing in 1970 when we wasn't taking care of business as Supreme Commander of all Captains of the Black Spades in the borough of Manhattan or creating the first Hip Hop Flyers with PHASE 2. The Black Spades went on to become Zulu Nation and Graf blew up in the 80's but a whole generation of pioneers stayed in the shadows. LAVA'a Extravaganza gives a who's who of 70's writers s a chance to shine.
Special Guests: SONIC, REE, PRIZ, DOSE, INK76, CRANE, STAN, BAMA, CORNBREAD, NIC 707, CLYDE, KET, STAYHIGH149, SEN-ONE, TRACY168, MIKE171, SJK, RIFF170, FLINT707, BOM5, COCO144, JAMESTOP, SPAR, FDT56, & SELO456.
Hosted by "STRAIGHTMAN", Music by D.J. CHUCK CITY
Wednesday, May 12th - Friday, May 14th 7 pm
Documentaries in Bloom: New Films Presented by Livia Bloom
The Philosopher Kings
Dir. Patrick Shen, 2009, 70 min.
In search of wisdom found in unlikely places, The Philosopher Kings travels the halls of prestigious colleges and universities across America to learn from the staff members who see it all and have been through it all: the janitors. This thought-provoking, feature-length documentary weaves together the untold stories of triumph and tragedy from the members of society who are often disregarded and ignored, and seeks out the kind of wisdom that gets them through the day. "Most of us know what it feels like to have something to say and no opportunity to share it. The Philosopher Kings reveals what happens when seemingly "ordinary" people, who have never had an opportunity to speak publicly, openly share their experiences and the things they care most deeply about," says director Patrick Shen.
Thursday, May 13th, 7:00 pm
Documentaries in Bloom: New Films Presented by Livia Bloom
The Philosopher Kings
Dir. Patrick Shen, 2009, 70 min
Friday, May 14th, 7:00 pm
Documentaries in Bloom: New Films Presented by Livia Bloom
The Philosopher Kings
Dir. Patrick Shen, 2009, 70 min
Sunday, May 9th 5pm
The People's Choice
Selected by Kathleen Sullivan, in celebration of Mothers Day.
Docs on Nukes — nuclear narratives through the art of film
Witness to Hiroshima
Dir. Kathy Sloane (2010) 16 min.
Japanese citizen Keiji Tsuchiya, using his 12 powerful watercolors, recounts his experiences in Hiroshima as a 17-year-old soldier immediately following the dropping of the atomic bomb, and relates those experiences to his subsequent life-long commitment to saving the Japanese horseshoe crab and its habitat.
And Special Sneak Preview:
Atomic Mom.
Dir. M.T. Silvia (2010) 87 min.
Atomic Mom is a documentary about two women, both mothers, who have opposite experiences of the atomic bomb. After decades of silence, a daughter's quest for truth leads to the exchange of an olive branch between an American Scientist and a Hiroshima Survivor.
Post screening panel discussion with filmmakers, Kathy Sloane and M.T. Silvia and Kathleen Sullivan, PhD, Program Director of Hibakusha Stories.
Bring your mom, bring your friends, bring your anti-nuclear family.
Saturday, May 8th 7:30 pm
Faux Real
Curated by Kevin Jarvis
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun
(Gunki hatameku motoni)
Dir. Kinji Fukasaku, 1972, 96 min.
Of the many fine films by Kinji Fukasaku released, Under the Flag of the Rising Sun is arguably the most unforgettable. Fukasaku claimed this was the film that crystallized his signature visual style, employing color, black and white, freeze-frames, negative images, documentary photographs, and shocking violence to tell the powerful story of a long-grieving widow in contemporary early 1970s Japan (Sachiko Hidari), still struggling to determine the truth behind her husband's court martial and execution on the New Guinea front during the final days of World War II. As she interviews surviving members of her husband's garrison in an effort to clear his name, a Rashomon-like tapestry of conflicting testimony unfolds to form a harrowing, collage of wartime atrocity, endurance, and survival by any means necessary.
Friday, May 7th 7:30 pm
Harlem Homegrown
Luther T. Jones
George Lamboy (1991) 60 min.
Released the same year as Spike Lee's glossy Jungle Fever, the verite gem Luther T. Jones, tells the story of a Harlem based black man and his fetish for white women. However, in the end through a series of bittersweet, comic events Jones comes to appreciate the girl next door. Shot in and around Harlem in real apartments, local nightclubs, bars and parks Luther T. Jones evokes early 90s, real deal NYC perhaps on a level that most films (documentary or narrative) can't claim. Luther T. Jones features James Dickson as the title character. Dickson, a Harlem resident, has appeared in a wide range of stage, screen, and television productions including We Wear the Masques, New Jack City and The Cosby Show. Stars Dickson as well as Lorin Johanson, Jessie Eccles, Carole Lynn Oswald.
Q&A with James Dixon
Wednesday, May 5th, 7:30 pm
Collector's Showcase
Curated by Shaka Shakur
The Other Side of Hip Hop: The Sixth Element
Dir. Dion Michael Ashman (2008) 60 min.
A narrated portrayal of celebrated Hip Hop photographer and activist, Ernie Paniccioli. Q&A with Ernie Paniccioli who will also share his photographs, wisdom and some wild stories.
Monday, May 3rd, 7:00pm
Docwatchers
Curated by Hellura Lyle
Three Short Documentaries
!VALA!: The Power of Black Students at Columbia University 1968-2008
Kamau Suttles, 2008, 28 min.
On April 23, 1968, African American students risked their academic standing, future careers, and possibly their lives, when they took over the Hamilton Hall Building at Columbia University. VALA! tells the real story of well-organized rebellion which was staged to protest the Vietnam War and the university’s proposed construction of a gymnasium in Harlem.
Freddy Ilanga: Che's Swahili Translator
Katrin Hansing, 2009, 24 min.
In April 1965, Freddy Ilanga, a fifteen-year-old Congolese youth became Che Guevara’s personal Swahili teacher and translator, during Guevara’s secret mission in the Congo to train anti-Mobutu rebels. After seven intense months by Che Guevara’s side, the Cuban authorities sent Freddy to Cuba. During his early years, Freddy thought that his stay in Cuba would be temporary. However, 40 years passed during which time he lost all contact with his family and homeland.
Keep On Steppin’
Christine Noschese, 2008 25 min.
Originally founded in Harlem as an alternative to “sitting around and complaining about their aches and pains,” the Steppers dance company has become a source of strength for the dancers that has empowered them to persevere through the inevitable tragedies of life.
Q&A with Directors & Reception to Follow Screening
Sunday, May 2nd, 7:30 pm
Keeling's Caribbean Showcase
Gregory Isaacs: Live at the Rocket
Dir. Dan Crouch (2003) 40 min.
Gregory Isaacs, the smooth crooner of Lovers' Rock performs a long list of classics and new hits before a capacity crowd.
8:15pm
Rockers
Dir. Ted Bafaloukos (1978) 100 min.
Jamaican Patois with English subtitles
In the history of Jamaican cinema Rockers is a close second to The Harder They Come as a crucial depiction of the politics and culture of its time.
Legendary session drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace is the main character in a plot loosely resembling De Sica's Bicycle Thief. But the story is secondary to the documentation of a political and cultural context in which a new musical form, Steppers, emerged. With the increase in political violence on the island, the Steppers or Rockers beat appeared as a more rapid, militant variation on Reggae. Peter Tosh's anthem "Stepping Razor" is characterizes the role played by the many of the all star cast (including Big Youth, Jacob Miller and Burning spear) as cultural warriors fighting for recognition, against a racial elite and for basic survival.
Sunday, May 2nd at 1pm and 3pm
MOVE movie
MOVE
(Dir. Ben Garry and Ryan McKenna, 2004, 55 min.)
A documentary detailing the controversial history of the radical African-American commune, MOVE. Narrated by Howard Zinn and woven with interviews and archival material, thisfilm foregrounds issues of Black identity, separatist living, political racism, and police brutality that have become part of a contentious national debate since the 1985 Philadelphiafire-bombing.
Ramona Afrika the only Adult survivor of the Bombing of the MOVE house will be present at the screenings to respond to any questions, as well as other members of the MOVE family whose parents are still in prison after 30yrs.
Wednesday, April 28th, 7:30pm
(A Tribute to Chantal Akerman)
Les années 80
Akerman, 82 min, 1983, VHS projection
One of Akerman’s most remarkable and essential films is not currently available in any subtitled form, so will be screened on VHS. The soft blur of the VHS format works well, though, for this impressionistic study of women’s voices and bodies, in Akerman’s beautifully edited film about film, consisting of footage of auditions for a musical she was attempting to make. “Considering Akerman’s craving to make a commercially successful film, it’s ironic that she gave the same French title, Les années 80, to both a feature-length preview of the musical she was trying to raise money for in 1983 (shown here as The Golden Eighties) and the finished musical that she finally made three years later (known in English as Window Shopping) — which certainly didn’t help matters much. It’s no less ironic that the preview — which consists of an hour of videotaped auditions with actresses, followed by 25 minutes of sample scenes from the movie in 35-millimeter — proves in many ways to be more emotionally affecting than the completed work. –Jonathan Rosenbaum
Tuesday, April 27th, 7:30pm
(The Long Take)
Recréations
Claire Simon, 54 min, 1993, Beta
In this should-be cult classic director Claire Simon shoots a group of French school children on a playground from their point of view, Peanuts-style, and keeps the camera on their games almost uncomfortably too long, past cute and to the point of shocking hilarity. Their specific shared fantasy world is revealed to be a dark, complex system of haves and have-nots, mitigated by unreasonable loyalties. And the differences between the girls’ games and the boys’ are remarkable.
(Special Sneak Preview)
A Little Death
Gina Telaroli, 79 min, 2009, DV
A debut feature film directed by Telaroli and made by Meerkat Media collective, who make films collaboratively and democratically emphasizing that process and methods are as important as the end result. Cinema aficionado Telaroli made a decision to consciously transpose some of the specific cinematic choices made by 70s art house auteurs such as Chantal Akerman, but highlighting the unique textures and capabilities of using digital instead of film. Comprised of just 28 shots, this stylistically rigorous look at a young woman's ritualistic experience spending a solitary three-months in winter, while caretaking a summerhouse in Nantucket, is a direct confrontation to media stereotypes of sex-confessional based female relationships.
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343 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard
New York, NY, 10027
(between 127th and 128th Streets)
Subways: 2/3, 4,5,6, A,B,C,D to 125th Street
Call or Text: (646) 853-1296
