IN CINEMA
WEST INDIES: THE FUGITIVE SLAVES OF LIBERTY
Tickets: $15 General Admission / $7 Reduced Price
Thursday, September 5th at 7PM
Med Hondo 1979, 116 min.
Co-Presented with the African Film Festival
Mauritanian French director Med Hondo’s WEST INDIES: THE FUGITIVE SLAVES OF LIBERTY proved a watershed event for African cinema—the continent’s first musical as well as a sui generis amalgam of historical epic, Broadway revue, Brechtian theater, and joyous agitprop. Using an enormous mock slave ship as the film’s only soundstage, Hondo mounts intricately choreographed reenactments and dance numbers across his multipurpose set to investigate more than three centuries of imperialist oppression. The story traverses the West Indies, Europe, and the Middle Passage; jumps across time to depict the effects of official French policy upon the colonized, the enslaved, and their descendants; and surveys the actions and motivations of the resigned, the revolutionary, and the powers that be (along with their lackeys). No mere extravaganza, WEST INDIES is a call to arms for a spectacular yet critical cinematic reimagining of an entire people’s history of resistance and struggle.
Digitally restored by the Harvard Film Archive and Ciné-Archives using the original 35mm picture negative and magnetic track. Financial support provided by the McMillan Stewart Foundation. Film services by Blackhawk Films and Lumières Numériques.
Post-screening discussion with Malika Lee Whitney and Nara Roberta Silva!
Nara Roberta Silva earned her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Sociology from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil. Her research and teaching focus on the areas of social movements, global Marxism, post/anti-colonialism, and the links between classical and contemporary sociological theory to illuminate issues on race, class, and gender in the making of subjectivity and collective action. She has taught at Lehman College – CUNY and has been a visiting research scholar at the CUNY Graduate Center. Nara has also been an academic advisor at the Brazilian Foundation, mentoring students with a Brazilian background as they navigate the U.S. educational environment.
Malika Lee Whitney is Artistic Director of Pickney Productions, an arts, culture, and education collective based in Harlem. As a performance artist, storyteller, author, radio host and producer she is known for presenting culturally relevant content for audiences of all ages. Global travels to Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America have enriched her creative endeavors. Whitney is author of the acclaimed biography, Bob Marley Reggae King of the World. Moving pictures have always been of great interest leading to moderating, hosting and production support invites. The African Film Festival, Lincoln Center, Reel Sisters, Museum of Modern Art, Film Forum, The Metrograph, Urban World Film Festival, Anthology Film Archives, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Maysles Cinema represent a short list of film programming associations.
Malika Lee Whitney’s community engagement includes the Significant Elders Intergenerational Oral History Project and coaching the Double Dutch Dreamz, a fun filled sport and fitness initiative. WBAI Radio listeners have enjoyed her insightful arts, public affairs and children’s broadcasts for many years. As a life-long learner, she is a recent graduate from the Bard College MicroCollege community based program.
