Documentary in Bloom
/October 10th - October 16th at 7:30 p.m.
Curated by Livia Bloom
Two Films by John Akomfrah: Seven Songs for Malcolm X and The Last Angel of History
In conjunction with the theatrical premiere of John Akomfrah's The Nine Muses (2011) at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Maysles Cinema presents the U.S. theatrical premiere of two foundational films by the British-Ghanaian pioneer filmmaker.
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1207
Seven Songs for Malcolm X
Dir. John Akomfrah, produced by the Black Audio Film Collective, 1993, 52 min.
An homage to the inspirational African-American civil rights leader, Seven Songs for Malcolm X collects testimonies, eyewitness accounts and dramatic reenactments to tell the life, legacy, loves, and losses of Malcolm X. Featuring interviews with Malcolm's widow Betty Shabazz, Spike Lee, and many other, SEVEN SONGS looks for the meaning behind the resurgence of interest in the man whose X always stood for the unknown.
The Last Angel of History
Dir. John Akomfrah, 1996, 45 min.
An examination of the relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and computer technology, Akomfrah's Afro-futurist documentary posits science fiction as a metaphor for the Pan-African experience of displacement, alienation and otherness. The film intertwines the work of musicians including George Clinton and Sun Ra with the writing of black science fiction authors Samuel R. Delaney and Octavia Butler. Images of Pan-African life from different periods of history are edited together with interviews with leading cultural figures including DJ Spooky, musician Derek May, astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr., Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, novelist Ismael Reed, and cultural critics Greg Tate and Kodwo Eshun.
