(Re)Considering Harlem: Legacies and Futures
Streaming for free March 5th- 19th AND
“This is the land of opportunity… Opportunity for what?” --A Dream Is What You Wake Up From
“... a world so fluid and shifting that often within the mind the real and the unreal merge, and the marvelous beckons from behind the same sordid reality that denies its existence.” --Ralph Ellison, “Harlem Is Nowhere”
Harlem has always been in a state of flux. It has a cachet that lingers, even as its landmarks are erased and its legend fades in the names of progress and industry. The push-pull of myth and reality leaves in its wake a wide berth, one in which “life in Harlem” can translate to mean any number of things.
This fourth iteration of the “Made In Harlem” film series explores how the mythologies of Harlem reconcile (or do not) with its realities, how the ghosts of Harlem’s storied past find their way into its present. The aim of the series is to consider (and reconsider) Harlem, its visuals, its narratives, its legacies, and its futures. These words are plural and always have been.
Curated by Andrea L. Battleground
Co-presented by the Documentary Forum at CCNY & Third World Newsreel
Q&A WITH FILMMAKER KAREN D. TAYLOR (IN THE FACE OF WHAT WE REMEMBER), MARCIA SMITH (PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF FIRELIGHT MEDIA), CR CAPERS (HARLEM FILM HOUSE), AND SERIES CURATOR ANDREA L. BATTLEGROUND.
From These Roots
William Greaves, 1974, 28 min
An exploration of the extraordinary artistic, cultural and political flowering that took place in Harlem during the “Roaring 20s.” This vivid portrait of the Harlem Renaissance is created entirely with period photographs. Narrated by the actor Brock Peters, with original music specially composed and performed by Eubie Blake, From These Roots is a winner of 22 international film festival awards.
The Quiet One
Sidney Meyers, 1948, 65 min.
Considered one of the earliest docudrama films and one of the first mainstream American films to feature a Black child as its protagonist, The Quiet One follows a young boy named Donald and his transformation and adjustment after attending the Wiltwyck School for Boys. Nominated for two Oscars: Best Documentary Feature and Best Screenplay.
The Torture of Mothers: The Case of the Harlem Six
Woodie King, Jr., 1980, 52 min.
In 1963 a group of young Black boys living in Harlem were involved in an incident that earned them the nickname "The Harlem Six." Intent on protecting and clearing the names of their sons, several mothers bonded together to make their story known. This work emerges as a powerful close up of police brutality, and of power dynamics of 1960's Harlem.
A Dream Is What You Wake Up From
Larry Bullard and Carolyn Y. Johnson, 1978, 50 min..
While using a documentary/drama hybrid style, filmmakers Larry Bullard and Carolyn Y. Johnson follow three Black families, one of which is living in Harlem, as they share their stories and strategize toward their survival. The film speculates across several time jumps and migrations to create a visual tapestry of testimonies. A Third World Newsreel Production.
In The Face of What We Remember: Oral Histories of 409 and 555 Edgecombe Avenue
Karen D. Taylor, 2019, 45 min.
This documentary captures the story of two legendary buildings in Harlem’s Sugar Hill whose residents included W.E.B. DuBois, Elizabeth Catlett, James Weldon Johnson, Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson, Louise Thompson Patterson, Joe Louis, Cassandra Wilson, and more.
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