IU Day was a huge success!!

Please accept my and the BFCA team’s deepest thanks for your generous donations. Because of your generous contributions, the BFCA exceeded its fundraising goal. The team and I are humbled by your giving spirits and support for the very important work in which the BFCA engages. Your donations will go a long way in helping us further advance the BFCA’s mission and we will be forever grateful to each of you.

With Deep Appreciation,

Dr. Novotny Lawrence

Kathe Sandler’s A Question of Color

On April 20, we had the debut screening of the new 4K restoration of documentarian Dr. Kathe Sandler’s A Question of Color (1993) at IU Cinema. IndieCollect used original elements that Sandler donated to the BFCA to restore the landmark film. Dr. Novotny Lawrence moderated the post-screening Q&A with Dr. Sandler that spanned topics such colorism, the film’s reception, and how the director’s ongoing relationships with the cast and crew have evolved since A Question of Color’s original release. IndieCollect President Sandra Schulberg joined Dr. Sandler for the screening and a tour of the BFCA.

Carrie Dailey Visits the BFCA

On April 23, we welcomed distinguished guest (and IU alum) Carrie Dailey Moore, who was on the IU campus to examine the Lilly Library’s collection of materials on her late husband, the great African filmmaking pioneer Ousmane Sembène. Ms. Dailey Moore spent time identifying subjects of photographs in our Paulin Vieyra Collection, perusing posters in the BFCA’s FESPACO Film Festival collection, and relaying memories about several Black filmmaking luminaries with whom she’d spent time.

Deborah De La Torre’s class visit

On April 17 and 22, we provided tours of the BFCA to undergraduates in LATS L-111: Introduction to Latino Film. Thank you to all who attended!

Dr. Novotny Lawrence’s class visit

On April 18, Archivist, Dan Hassoun gave a tour to Dr. Lawrence’s class, MSCH 392-F: Blaxploitation Films of the 1970s. Highlights included recently acquired Blaxploitation lobby cards, elements from the Richard E. Norman Race Filmmaking and the Black Filmmaker’s Hall of Fame Collections, and a glimpse inside the internal vault! The tour expanded upon class information and gave students the opportunity to see materials and ephemera from films they had studied during the semester. The students appreciated the opportunity and many of them shared that they plan to regularly visit and get involved with the BFCA!

Roundtable discussion with Farah Clémentine Dramani-Issifou

While the debate about the restitution of African heritage focuses typically on objects, a growing number of artists, filmmakers, and institutions are concerned with assessing and restoring to African audiences the African film collections housed in Western institutions. French and Beninese film programmer, curator, and independent scholar, Farah Clémentine Dramani-Issifou, created Restitute African Film Archives to contribute to the ongoing discussions and restitution initiatives. On April 22, we welcomed Dramani-Issifou for a tour of the BFCA, and the following day, she shared her work at a roundtable event titled, “From Collecting to Restituting: The Ethics of Restitution in Curating African Films.” Thanks to the Department of French and Italian, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Media School, and the Center of Excellence for their work on organizing this program.

Co-panelists: Ibee Ndaw, Coordinator of the Yennega Center, Dakar (Senegal), and IU scholars Michael Martin, Professor of Cinema and Media Studies and Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Black Camera: An International Film Journal, Novotny Lawrence, Director of the Black Film Center & Archive and Associate Professor of Media Studies, Claire Fouchereaux, PhD Student in French and Francophone Studies.

Moderator: Akin Adeṣọkan, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies and Comparative Literature

Below are photos from Farah Clémentine Dramani-Issifou’s tour of the BFCA and the Auxiliary Library Facility

Congratulations to the 2024 Graduates!

to the class of 2024! Graduating is a wonderful achievement and we hope that every undergraduate and graduate student who earned degrees embraced and enjoyed the moment and will continue to reflect on their accomplishments. We’d also like to recognize all of the graduates that the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center honored during its Black Congratulatory Ceremony. “It was a pleasure to participate in the inspirational event and to witness the honorees’ pride, enthusiasm, and joy,” said Dr. Lawrence.

May all members of the class of 2024 use their education to work toward creating a warmer, safer, equitable, and just society.

Congratulations to the BFCA’s very own, Sarah Petras, who earned her Master’s Degree in Library Science! Last fall, Sarah joined the BFCA as the graduate student assistant for the Paulin S. Vierya Collection. She has been a tremendous asset to that project, and a wonderful addition to the BFCA family. Sarah, we are so very proud of you and wish you all good things in the future!

Summer Film Challenge

There are sixteen weeks between final exams and the start of Fall 2024 semester. Why not spend that time watching films? When you need inspiration, check the image below for our Summer Film Challenge prompts. Follow along with us on page 10 of the​ latest issue of our zine PERF and on social media, where we’ll share what we’re watching here in the office!

A Look Ahead: Summer Events

For our friends in Indianapolis and those willing to travel for noteworthy events, here are two dates to add to your summer calendar!

June 15 – Juneteenth Celebration at the Center for Black Literature & Culture 

The central branch of the Indianapolis Public Library is home to the Center for Black Literature & Culture, which holds 10,000+ books, CDs, magazines, movies, and research tools showcasing Black history and culture. Juneteenth is signature programming at the CBLC, so it’s always packed and offers plenty of things to do and lots of people to meet. In addition to the on-site screening of Two Centuries of Black American Art (Carlton Moss, 1976) hosted by the BFCA, enjoy performances by CBLC Poet Laureate Januarie York, the African drummers of Siteaw Inc., and musician Jamie Johnson. NY Times Bestselling & USA Today Top 100 Author JaQuavis Coleman will be the featured speaker.

June 22 – Indiana Youth Film Festival 

Filmmaker and IU alum Deonna Weatherly established the Weatherhouse Institute to provide local young creatives hands-on experience in film and video production. This year, the Weatherhouse Insititute is raising the bar with its inaugural Indiana Youth Film Festival. Spread the word and come out to support the next generation of filmmakers right here in the state of Indiana! Your #1 source for Indy’s Hood Happenings, Precious Jewel will host. BFCA Director, Dr. Novotny Lawrence, is also scheduled to speak.

BFCA Hours Update

Due to various projects and schedules, the remainder of May will be by appointment only. Please email us at bfca@IU.edu to schedule your appointment, today.

Social Media Highlights

Barkhad Abdi

On April 10, we wished happy birthday to acclaimed actor Barkhad Abdi (born 1985)! Mr. Abdi burst onto the scene in his debut role as Abduwali Muse, a multi-layered, sympathetic Somali pirate leader in Captain Phillips (2013). His portrayal earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. In the decade since Captain Phillips, Mr. Abdi has appeared in films like Eye in the Sky (2015), Good Time (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017), establishing himself as one of the most prominent Somali-Americans in the film industry.

African Film Festival at Indiana University

The New York African Film Festival selects titles from their lineup each year to travel across the US, widening the reach of emerging talent from the African film scene. Last month, the BFCA screened of four features and five shorts to IU Bloomington audiences. Eleven countries and nine languages were represented under the theme “Visions of Freedom.” Thank you to all who attended the screenings for laughing, crying, and engaging in thoughtful exchanges with us throughout the week. A special thanks as well to our sponsors: the African Studies Program, the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, and the Office of International Services. Expect to see African Film Festival programming again next year!

Nganji Mutiri Visits the BFCA

Filmmaker Nganji Mutiri joined us from Belgium during African Film Festival week for a screening of his film Juwaa (2021). Dr. Akin Adesokan moderated a Q&A that touched on the challenges of shooting an explicitly political film in the Congo, multiple script revisions, the visual artist behind the work onscreen, and more. Mutiri engaged the audience so well that many lingered afterward for one-on-one conversation and to pose for photos.

Nganji also toured the BFCA, paying particular attention to Charles Burnett’s materials. He also participated in an interview that we will store in the archive. We’re looking forward to your next film and visit, Nganji!

Visit and Donation from T. Michael Ford

In March, the BFCA accepted several generous donations from IU retiree and cinephile T. Michael Ford. Highlights include: VHS recordings of Dionne Warwick’s 1988 That’s What Friends Are For AIDs benefit concert and the 1987 biographical documentary Fats Waller: This Joint Is Jumpin’; mounted posters for the films The Walking Dead (1995) and Tales from the Hood (1995); and an original program from his attendance at the 1970 Broadway stage production of Purlie, starring Robert Guillaume and Patti Jo. The BFCA relies heavily on donors who often gift rare items that help fill in gaps in our collections. Mr. Ford, thank you for ensuring that these materials have a permanent archival home where they will be accessible to researchers and students!

Visit from filmmaker Brett Story

On March 22, we shared the magic of the BFCA with documentarian Brett Story! Story was on campus for a Jorgensen Guest Lecture and to screen her films The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016) and The Hottest August (2019) at the IU Cinema.

Congratulations, Ja Quita!

March 26, 2024 marked Ja Quita Joy Roberts’ 10-year anniversary at the Black Film Center & Archive! Please celebrate her with us! Ja Quita began working at the BFCA under the leadership of Dr. Michael Martin and she has been an anchor as our Finance & Office Administrator, through several personnel transitions, renovations, acquisitions, events, and so much more. She is hardworking, thoughtful, and well-connected both on campus and in the broader Bloomington community. She came to town as a student in 1999 and is building a legacy here, raising her two ambitious children Javenique and JaQualon Roberts, founding and continuing to advise the Women of Color Leadership Institute (WOCLI), serving on the Union Board, and many other passions and duties that keep her busy!

Current BFCA director Dr. Novotny Lawrence gathered the team and beloved guests to surprise Ja Quita—a momentous feat considering she’s usually the one organizing the surprises. We love you, Ja Quita Joy! Congratulations, and thank you for ten years.

Other Staff news: Dan is the new archivist!

We are thrilled to announce Dr. Dan Hassoun as our new Archivist! He has been working as the BFCA’s Assistant Archivist since 2021. Previously, he worked as an Archival Assistant in IU’s Moving Image Archive and as an Instructor for the Department of Communication & Culture and The Media School from 2013 to 2019. Congratulations, Dan! We love you!

BFCA Student Volunteer Program

We are looking for volunteers to help at the Black Film Center & Archive! Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with our collections, engage with filmmakers, and much more! If you’re interested in being part of our amazing BFCA team, please contact us at bfca@indiana.edu with “Volunteer” in the subject.

April‘s First Thursday Celebration April 4th, 2024

The Black Film Center & Archive participated in April‘s First Thursday celebration in the IU Auditorium’s Grand Foyer. We had several activities, BFCA swag, and more! It was wonderful meeting so many of you! Special thanks to IU Cinema’s Noni Ford for collaborating with us.

IU Day 2024 is April 17th!!

Join us virtually on our social media pages as we participate in the 2024 IU Day celebration on April 17th! The Black Film Center & Archive is the only repository in the world solely devoted to the collection, preservation, and commitment to making available historically and culturally significant films. Our research materials extend beyond the films, and include posters/promotional materials, personal papers and journals, interviews, books, photographs, and more. You can support our programs, outreach, and mission by clicking the link below and donating today! #IUday

Kathe Sandler’s A Question of Color

On April 20, the BFCA is debuting a new 4K restoration of Kathe Sandler’s film A Question of Color (1993) at the IU Cinema. One of the first documentaries to directly address issues of colorism within the Black community. IndieCollect used original elements donated to the BFCA by director Kathe Sandler to restore the landmark film. Dr. Sandler will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. Tickets are available at the IU Cinema.

BFCA’s zine – PERF #6 coming soon!

The next issue of PERF is on set design and has a funky neon design—you can’t miss this one! Learn the basics of location scouting, find out which films stir up a bit of set envy in our editors, and take a glimpse at logistical pages of Sidney Let’s Do It Again (1973) shooting script. This issue also features our Summer Film Challenge! If you’re spending time away from Bloomington and the BFCA in the coming months, you can still get your fill of Black film by participating.

The zine will be available in various locations around campus and the city, as well as in our office.

A Look Ahead: Summer Events

For our friends in Indianapolis and those willing to travel for note-worthy events, here are two dates to add to your summer calendar!

June 15 – Juneteenth Celebration at the Center for Black Literature & Culture 

The central branch of the Indianapolis Public Library is home to the Center for Black Literature & Culture, which holds 10,000+ books, CDs, magazines, movies, and research tools showcasing Black history and culture. CBLC programs signature events for Juneteenth and there are always plenty of activities and wonderful people to meet. In addition to the on-site screening of Two Centuries of Black American Art (Carlton Moss, 1976) hosted by the BFCA, enjoy performances by CBLC Poet Laureate Januarie York, the African drummers of Siteaw Inc., and musician Jamie Johnson. NY Times Bestselling & USA Today Top 100  Author JaQuavis Coleman is the featured speaker.

June 22 – Indiana Youth Film Festival 

Filmmaker and IU alum Deonna Weatherly established the Weatherhouse Institute to provide local young creatives hands-on experience in film and video production. This year, the Weatherhouse Institute is raising the bar with the inaugural Indiana Youth Film Festival. If you are a director between the ages of 12-24, there’s still time to submit! Find more information here. For everyone else, spread the word and come out to support the next generation of filmmakers right here in the state of Indiana! Your #1 source for Indy’s Hood Happenings, Precious Jewel will host.

BFCA Hours Update

Due to various projects and schedules, Fridays will be by appointment only. Please email us at bfca@IU.edu to schedule your appointment, today.

Social Media Highlights

Vinnette Justine Carroll

March 11 marked the birthday of pioneering playwright and theater director Vinnette Justine Carroll (1922-2002)! A lifelong advocate for African Americans in the arts, Ms. Carroll was best known as the first Black woman to direct a Broadway production with Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope in 1972. An occasional movie actor, Ms. Carroll appeared in the independent 1964 film One Potato, Two Potato, one of the first films to seriously address the taboo subject of interracial relationships.

(16mm screenshots from One Potato, Two Potato from the Michael T. Martin Collection; headshot from the Mary Perry Smith Collection)

Shola Lynch

On March 20, we wished a happy birthday to acclaimed filmmaker Shola Lynch (born 1969)! Ms. Lynch earned Master’s degrees in history and journalism and honed her filmmaking skills as a researcher and producer for Ken Burns and HBO Sports. She then directed her first documentary, Chisholm ’72: Unbought and Unbossed (2004), which focuses on pioneering congresswoman and presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm.

Her second feature, Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2006), remains one of the most vital cinematic portraits of legendary activist Angela Davis. Ms. Lynch currently serves as the moving image curator at the NY Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In 2013, Ms. Lynch visited Indiana University to deliver a keynote at the Regeneration Conference. During her visit, she recorded an interview with then-BFCA director Michael T. Martin.

(Photos from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Khady Sylla

Happy birthday (March 27) to foundational Senegalese director Khady Sylla (1963-2013)! A teacher, activist against female genital mutilation, and author of several novels and short stories, Ms. Sylla began filmmaking in the 1990s under the mentorship of famed ethnographer Jean Rouch. Rarely seen in the U.S., her innovative documentaries Colobane Express (2000), An Open Window (2005), and The Silent Monologue (2008) offer poetic and reflexive portraits of domestic labor and mental illness among African women. At the time of her death, she was working with her sister on a documentary about their grandmother, which was released posthumously as A Single Word (2014).

(DVD screenshots from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Lillian Cumber

On April 1, we recognized the birthday of trailblazing film talent agent Lillian Cumber (1920-2002)! Working as a newspaper columnist and publicist for various firms over 25 years, Ms. Cumber recognized an egregious lack of representation for Black actors in the segregated Hollywood industry. In 1956, she left her job to found her own company, the Lil Cumber Attraction Agency, becoming the first Black woman to serve as a film talent rep (though it would take 5 years before her firm was officially recognized by the Screen Actors Guild). For her pioneering efforts to uplift others in the industry, Ms. Cumber was selected as one of the first inductees into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1974.

(Headshot from the Mary Perry Smith Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Collection)

In Memoriam

Louis Gossett, Jr.

The Black Film Center & Archive remembers beloved actor Louis Gossett Jr. (1936-2024), who passed on March 29. Though perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning role in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), making him the third Black actor to win an Oscar, Mr. Gossett enjoyed a long and eclectic career across music, stage, television, and film. Gossett had difficulty securing leading film roles despite his Oscar win, but his performances across domestic dramas (A Raisin in the Sun), comedies (Skin Game), horror (J.D.’s Revenge), sports dramas (Diggstown), and action films (the Iron Eagle series) testified to his versatility. He amassed a deeper resume on TV, most memorably as Fiddler in the original Roots miniseries (1977), in addition to dozens of TV movie credits that made him a familiar name to viewers throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. His final screen role was a cameo in 2023’s musical rendition of The Color Purple. Our condolences to his friends and family.

(16mm screenshots from A Raisin in the Sun and Skin Game, Umatic screenshot from Roots: One Year Later, and lobby card from J.D.’s Revenge all from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Happy Women’s History Month!!

March is Women’s History Month! The BFCA’s reception area in Wells Library continues to showcase our ongoing poster exhibit celebrating Black women in film (entitled “A Woman’s Touch: Black Women and the Power of Solidarity”). If you are in Wells, stop by our reception space for a quiet space to hang out or study while being surrounded by beautiful historical examples of Black women promotional art!

The second half of our Black History Month went a little something like this…

Wow! We had an amazing Black History Month! Thank you to everyone who showed up to all of the events! Special thanks to the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, the City of Bloomington, Indiana Memorial Union Board, and all other collaborators that helped make this Black History Month even more meaningful and exciting! Take a look at some of our pictures from the second half of the month below. (If you missed the first half, check out our February 2024 newsletter.)

Black Market – February 17, 2024, Bloomington City Hall 

This event featured a coalition of organizations, Black-owned businesses, Black creators, and artists. It provided a medium for local talent, business owners, and groups to share information and sell goods. The Black History Month “Black Market” pays homage to the original Black Market that was located in downtown Bloomington and was destroyed by a firebomb on December 26, 1968. The BFCA team had a great time hosting an informational table and engaging with the Bloomington community.

20th Annual Black History Month Gala – February 24, 2024

The annual Black History Month Gala was filled with stars and legends, as we honored Elizabeth Ann Bridgwaters, affectionately known as “Betty,” as the 2024 Living Legend. Betty’s remarkable contributions to our community were celebrated alongside the Outstanding Black Leaders of Tomorrow award recipients.

We commemorated Betty’s legacy of unwavering dedication and service at an event filled with fine dining, live music, and dancing. The Gala promised to be a vibrant celebration of Black history and culture, bringing together individuals from all walks of life to honor the achievements and resilience of our community, and it did not disappoint! The 20th edition was a night to remember—especially with BFCA director Dr. Novotny Lawrence on the mic as emcee! Great job, Dr. Lawrence!

Many thanks to Dr. Lawrence, BFCA Publications & Programming Associate Essence London, and BFCA Finance & Office Administrator Ja Quita Joy Roberts for participating in the Black History Month planning and attending to represent the Black Film Center & Archive.

The Kick It… Black Cinema, Black Love, and Food – February 28, 2024

We celebrated Black films that depict how food brings our community together. We watched some clips, then got a taste of what our favorite characters were eating on screen. Thank you for coming to sit at our table! This event was inspired by the food issue of PERF, the Black Film Center & Archive’s zine. The latest issue “iconic on-screen couples” is out now! (Details included below, in this month’s newsletter.)

Black History Month Celebration at the IMU – February 27, 2024

Our BFCA Finance & Office Administrator Ja Quita Joy Roberts was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Black History Month celebration at the Indiana Memorial Union! She engaged the audience on inventions, the importance, excellence, and resilience of Black History Month, and challenged attendees to continue to show up, speak up, and unite. Thank you to Ja Quita and the BFCA Team that attended, as well!

Lecture New Black Genres by Dr. Rebecca Wanzo – February 29, 2024

Thank you to Dr. Rebecca Wanzo for coming to the BFCA and sharing your expertise with us! Additional special thanks to Dr. Cara Caddoo and Ashley Hayes!

Dr. Rebecca Wanzo is Chair and Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and author of both The Suffering Will Not Be Televised: African American Women and Sentimental Political Storytelling (SUNY Press, 2009) and The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging (NYU Press, 2020). Her research interests include African American literature and culture, critical race theory, fan studies, feminist theory, the history of popular fiction in the United States, cultural studies, theories of affect, and graphic storytelling. She has published in venues such as American Literature, Camera Obscura, differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, Signs, Women and Performance, and numerous edited collections. She has also written essays for media outlets such as CNN, the LA Review of Books, Huffington Post, The Conversation, and the comic book Bitch Planet. Visit https://www.rebeccawanzo.com for more information.

African Film Festival National Traveling Series at IU – March 18-22, 2024

The week after Spring Break, BFCA is bringing the African Film Festival to you! This program of four feature films and five shorts provides a glimpse into emerging and lauded talent in the African film scene. Eleven countries and nine languages are represented, united under the theme “Visions of Freedom.” Director and actor Nganji Mutiri will join us from Brussels, Belgium for a Q&A on Tuesday, March 19 immediately following Juwaa (2021). Special thanks to Dr. Akinwumi Adesokan for moderating the conversation and to the Office of International Services for their partnership. The full screening schedule and brief descriptions of each film are below.

Monday, March 18, 2024 | 7:00pm
Phyllis Klotman Classroom, Wells Library 044B 

TUG OF WAR (Amil Shivji, 2021) 

A young freedom fighter meets an Indian-Zanzibari woman in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. Passion and revolution ensue in this coming-of-age political love story. 92 mins, Narrative. Tanzania, South Africa, Germany, Qatar.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | 7:00 pm
Phyllis Klotman Classroom, Wells Library 044B 

JUWAA (Nganji Mutiri, 2021) + filmmaker Q&A! 

Years after a traumatic night, son and mother reconcile and slowly peel away the layers of their complex relationship. Dr. Akinwumi Adesokan will moderate the Q&A with Mutiri immediately after the screening. 85 mins, Narrative. Belgium & Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Wednesday, March 20 | 7:00 pm
Franklin Hall Screening Room #304 C 

AMA: AN AFRICAN VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY (Nii Kwate Owoo & Kwesi Owusu, 1991) 

A golden floppy disc becomes a prophetic device through which a young Ghanaian girl living in England rediscovers her African identity. In a 2023 interview, co-director Owusu reflected on the themes of his debut: “The whole idea that our culture has to be frozen in time is something I was keen to transcend. Culture is living and evolving.” 100 mins, Narrative. Ghana & UK.

Thursday, March 21 | 7:00 pm
Franklin Hall Screening Room #304 C 

THE LAST SHELTER (Ousmane Samassékou, 2021) 

The House of Migrants is a refuge at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. When two teenage girls arrive to regain the strength to continue their journey, they form a freindship with a migrant woman in her forties whose memory has faded over the years. 85 mins, Documentary. France, Mali, & South Africa.

Friday, March 22 | 1:00 pm
Phyllis Klotman Classroom, Wells Library 044B 

A PROGRAM OF 5 NARRATIVE SHORTS:  

EGÚNGÚN (Olive Nwosu, 2021) 

BOTLHALE (Reabetswe Moeti, 2022) 

MMA MOEKETSI (Reabetswe Moeti, 2018) 

FRIEDA (Tisa Chigaga, 2022) 

PRECIOUS HAIR & BEAUTY (John Ogunmuyiwa, 2021) 

A woman returns to a home where she once had to hide herself. Fast friends fantasize about living in high society. Miners strike for wage increase. An undocumented immigrant grapples now with unemployment. A dynamic community is framed by and around the window of an African hair salon in London. 93 mins total. Nigeria, UK, South Africa, USA.

BFCA’s zine – PERF 5 now available

It’s the one-year anniversary of the BFCA zine PERF! The newest issue is themed “iconic on-screen couples.” Eurydice & Orfeu of Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959), Nina & Darius of Love Jones (Theodore Witcher, 1997), Chiron & Kevin of Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016) are a few of the great loves who grace the pages of this issue. Did we include your favorite? Also featured: romantic documents from the Phil Moore collection, tips on filming intimate scenes from a professional intimacy coordinator, a sweet anecdote about how Mrs. Jessie Maple Patton’s 20 West got its start, and more.

We’d love to hear what you think about PERF! Complete the survey at this link for a chance to win an exclusive prize bundle.

Special Guest Visits

Ira Mallory

On February 15, we were honored to welcome a visit from Indianapolis filmmaker Ira Mallory, who recently donated his films Hadassah: Queen Esther (2021) and The Dreidel (2019) into the BFCA’s collections! Mr. Mallory graciously donated a signed poster for Hadassah: Queen Esther and spoke with staff at length about the importance of honoring legacies and representing Black Jewish identity onscreen.

Matthew Solomon

We were excited to show off the Black Film Center & Archive to filmmaker, Matthew Solomon, who was in town for the showing of his documentary Reimagining Safety, on February 23, 2024. In addition to the screening, Mr. Solomon was the guest speaker in a workshop on DIY activist filmmaking and served on a panel discussion on policing and safety. Thank you for visiting us and we look forward to your return!

BFCA Volunteer Program

We are looking for volunteers to help out with various projects around the Black Film Center & Archive! Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with our collections, engage with filmmakers, and have advance notice invitations to BFCA events. If you’re interested in being part of our amazing BFCA team as an ambassador, please contact us at bfca@indiana.edu with “Volunteer” in the subject.

The Girl in the Yellow Scarf — Sandra Chapman

On March 18, the IU Cinema will hold a free screening of Sandra Chapman’s vital new documentary The Girl in the Yellow Scarf (2023). The film chronicles the notorious 1968 murder of 21-year-old Black woman Carol Jenkins in Martinsville, Indiana, and the 50-year struggle to overcome local police missteps and bring the perpetrators to justice. Director Sandra Jenkins will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. Tickets are available at the IU Cinema.

April Upcoming Events

• First Thursday, April 4th: The Black Film Center & Archive is excited to participate in April’s First Thursday celebration, as part of a super tent being coordinated by IU Cinema’s Noni Ford. Be sure to look for us and stop by.

• IU Day 2024 is quickly approaching on April 17th!  Join us virtually on our social media pages, as we participate in the IU Day celebration! The Black Film Center & Archive is the only repository in the world solely devoted to the collection, preservation, and commitment to making available historically and culturally significant films. Our research materials extend well beyond just the films, to also include posters/promotional materials, personal papers and journals, interviews, books, photographs, and more. Help us to continue our mission and make a commitment to direct your IU Day donation to the Black Film Center & Archive!

• A Question of Color: On April 20, the BFCA is debuting a new 4K restoration of Kathe Sandler’s film A Question of Color (1993) at the IU Cinema. One of the first documentaries to directly address issues of colorism within the Black community, this landmark film has been restored through IndieCollect using original elements donated to the BFCA by director Kathe Sandler. Ms. Sandler will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. Tickets are available at the IU Cinema.

Social Media Highlights

Phil Moore

On February 20, we celebrated the birthday of composer, arranger, and musician extraordinaire Mr. Phil Moore (1918-1987)! An unsung giant in pop music history, Moore was the first Black composer contracted to a Hollywood studio, contributing nearly 3 dozen mostly-uncredited scores to productions like Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Dumbo (1941), and Cabin in the Sky (1943). After leaving the film industry, Moore worked as a talent coach for a who’s who list of the biggest names of the 20th century, including Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, Diahann Carroll, the Supremes, and Marilyn Monroe (who credited Moore with boosting her confidence as a singer). A series of jazzy bebop Christmas records he released in 1953 are considered precursors to modern hip-hop. The Black Film Center & Archive’s Phil Moore Collection retains hundreds of Mr. Moore’s manuscripts, personal artifacts, and recordings, including notes for his unpublished autobiography!’ 

(Photos from the Phil Moore Collection)

Tunde Kelani

Happy birthday on February 26 to Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani (born 1948)! Known affectionately as “TK,” Mr. Kelani has shot and directed nearly 2 dozen films since the early 1990s through his production company Mainframe Films. A noted chronicler of indigenous African (particularly Yoruba) culture and history, TK is noted for his many literary adaptations, including Koseegbe (1995), Oleku (1997),Thunderbolt (2001), and Dazzling Mirage (2015).

(DVD screenshot from Thunderbolt from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection; headshot from Mainframe Productions)

Shaka King

Happy March 7 birthday to acclaimed director/screenwriter Shaka King (born 1980)! A graduate of NYU’s film program, Mr. King expanded his thesis project into his first feature Newlyweeds (2013), which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. His second feature, the bold historical drama Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), chronicles the 1969 FBI murder of activist Fred Hampton and earned 5 Oscar nominations, winning 2 (including Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya). In his press interviews for Judas, King spoke openly about racial discrimination in Hollywood and the importance of telling provocative, revolutionary stories to a mass audience.  

(Headshot by Terrance Purdy Jr. for The New Yorker; DVD screenshot from Newlyweeds from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Happy Black History Month!!

Kickoff: Blaxploitation: Then and Now, by Dr. Novotny Lawrence & tour!

We started our Black History Month celebrations a day early and have been rocking and rolling ever since! Can you dig it?! BFCA Director Dr. Novotny Lawrence gave a talk on the Blaxploitation Movement and its lasting influence on contemporary pop culture. We were dressed in our 1970s threads as an ode to the movement. We had many archival items especially curated for the event on display throughout the BFCA, including newly acquired Black cinema lobby cards.

Lobby card acquisitions: Once a central part of motion picture promotions, lobby cards were small collectible posters often displayed in storefronts or theater lobbies advertising upcoming releases. The Black Film Center & Archive holds hundreds of historic lobby cards showcasing Black film stars from across the 20th century, and we just acquired 173 more to add to the collection! Purchased from collector Michael Bowen, these rare U.S. and international lobby cards represent various 1960s and 1970s films like Aaron Loves Angela, Claudine, Shaft, Thomasine and Bushrod, The Learning Tree, Cleopatra Jones, Black Belt Jones, and many more. Over the coming year, BFCA staff will be digitizing these cards for easier scholarly and educational access!

The world premiere of Jessie Maple’s film Will (1981) 4K Restoration!!

On Thursday, February 1st at 7pm at the IU Cinema, the Black Film Center & Archive presented the world premiere 4K restoration of Jessie Maple’s landmark film Will (1981), with author E. Danielle Butler joining BFCA Director Dr. Novotny Lawrence for the Q&A! We appreciate everyone that attended the screening and reception! The highlights of this event were welcoming Maple’s family, who spoke and shared fond memories of Mrs. Jessie with us and offered additional context to materials in the Jessie Maple Collection. Also, BFCA Finance & Office Administrator worked to secure a proclamation from the City of Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson to proclaim February 1st as Mrs. Jessie Maple Patton Day! We look forward to future events and helping to continue her legacy.

The Will (1981) restoration was a joint project between the Black Film Center & Archive (BFCA), the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture’s Time-based Media Archives & Conservation staff, and Center for African American Media Arts. The source material used for the restoration was a 16mm color print held by the BFCA at Indiana University. The print was donated to the BFCA in 2005 by the director, Jessie Maple, and is preserved within the larger Jessie Maple Collection. Restoration work was completed from 2020-2023, with generous funding provided by: the SI-NMAAHC Robert Frederick Smith Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History; Prasad (image restoration); ColorLab (film scanning, color grading, and laboratory services); and Audio Mechanics (audio mastering).

The City of Bloomington Black History Month Exhibit

Stop by Bloomington City Hall during the month of February and check out our special exhibit in celebration of Black History Month! Packed with beautiful posters and lobby cards from across Black American film history, as well as a special proclamation from Mayor Kerry Thomson announcing Mrs. Jessie Maple Patton Day, this exhibit is located in the Showers Building display case where it will remain through February 28!

African American Read-In

In conjunction with a national effort, the Indiana University School of Education hosted an African American Read-In at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The Read-In is part of the National African American Read-In Chain sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English. Education faculty and students joined local high school students in reading selected poems and passages by African American authors. This year’s event featured author E. Danielle Butler who engaged the attendees and read passages of Mrs. Jessie Maple’s memoir, The Maple Crew (2019).

NMBCC Black Lit – February 2, 2024 – 6:00pm – Cook Center

The Black Lit Reading is another staple event on the Black History Month calendar, hosted by the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Library. In recent years, the Cook Center has expanded it into a month-long exhibit featuring work by local writers and artists. Audience members were also invited to share before the close of the event, and many brought and read poems! BFCA Publications and Programming Associate Essence London participated, reading three poems. Thanks for sharing your creativity with everyone, Essence!

B(l)ack in the Day – Lunch and Learn

We ventured back down memory lane with a showcase of artifacts and historic tech items to an amazing crowd! People were able to pick-up and touch some items, while others were viewing access only. The BFCA & NMBCC Family are so grateful for your attendance and the many people that brought items to share!

NMBCC & BFCA presents Karaoke Black Movie Soundtrack Edition

Karaoke – Black Movie Soundtrack Edition was a huge hit!! We sang along to our favorite movies with our community and had so much fun! It seemed the entire room became the back-up singers to each performance!! We’ll have to do this one again!

Black Market – February 17, 2024, 10:00am – 2:00pm; City Hall 

This event will feature a coalition of organizations, Black-owned businesses, Black creators, and artists. It will also provide a medium for local talent, business owners, and groups to share information and sell goods. The Black History Month “Black Market” pays homage to the original Black Market that was located in downtown Bloomington and was destroyed by a firebomb on December 26, 1968. Our staff looks forward to hosting an informational table about the only repository in the world that is solely dedicated to the collection and preservation of all things Black Cinema, the Black Film Center & Archive.

African American Choral Ensemble Black History Month Performance – February 21, 2024, 11:45am; School of Education Atrium

In celebration of Black History Month, the IU School of Education will hold a performance by the African American Choral Ensemble on February 21st, 2024, at 11:45am. According to the African American Arts Institute, the critically acclaimed African American Choral Ensemble helps to preserve the legacy and influence of African American choral music through their interpretations of this unique art form.

Founded in 1975, the ensemble features a broad range of spiritual and contemporary gospel music along with formally composed works by Black composers. IU professor of practice Dr. Raymond Wise instructs the ensemble.

The African American Choral Ensemble is offered as a credit-bearing course through IU’s Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.

Free and open to the public, the performance will take place in the Wendell W. Wright Education Building in the atrium.

Black Knowledge Bowl – February 21, 2024, 6:00pm; Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center – Grand Hall

This 40+ year tradition is a signature event at the NMBCC and an opportunity for students to test their knowledge of Black history and culture. We invite student organizations or simply groups of friends and classmates to form teams and register to participate via this link: https://go.iu.edu/BKB2024. This event is free and open to the public.

20th Annual Black History Month Gala – February 24, 2024, 6:00pm; Woolery Mill – BFCA Director Dr. Lawrence will be the Emcee – Tickets will be available on February 1st.

The Bloomington community is cordially invited to attend the annual Black History Month Gala on Saturday, February 24 at 6 p.m., as we honor Elizabeth Ann Bridgwaters, affectionately known as “Betty,” as the 2024 Living Legend. Betty’s remarkable contributions to our community will be celebrated alongside the Outstanding Black Leaders of Tomorrow award recipients.

Join us in commemorating Betty’s legacy of unwavering dedication and service at an event filled with fine dining, live music, and dancing. The Gala promises to be a vibrant celebration of Black history and culture, bringing together individuals from all walks of life to honor the achievements and resilience of our community. The 20th edition is sure to be a night to remember—especially with Dr. Novotny Lawrence on the mic as emcee!

Event tickets are available in-person or online at the Buskirk-Chumley Box Office. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of a memorable evening as we pay tribute to Betty and the Outstanding Black Leaders of Tomorrow.

The Kick It… Black Cinema, Black Love, and Food – February 28, 2024, 7:00pm; State Room East in the Indiana Memorial Union – BFCA’s Publication and Programming Associate, Essence London will host. – RSVP Link will be available on February 1st.

The Kick It: We’re celebrating Black films that depict how food brings our community together. Watch some clips, then get a taste of what your favorite characters are eating on screen. Come sit at our table! This event was inspired by the food issue of PERF, the Black Film Center & Archive’s zine. The latest issue “iconic on-screen couples” is coming soon!

Lecture New Black Genres by Rebecca Wanzo – February 29, 2024, 11:30am – 12:30pm; Black Film Center & Archive – Phyllis Klotman Classroom

Dr. Rebecca Wanzo is Chair and Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and author of both The Suffering Will Not Be Televised: African American Women and Sentimental Political Storytelling (SUNY Press, 2009) and The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging (NYU Press, 2020). Her research interests include African American literature and culture, critical race theory, fan studies, feminist theory, the history of popular fiction in the United States, cultural studies, theories of affect, and graphic storytelling. She has published in venues such as American Literature, Camera Obscura, differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, Signs, Women and Performance, and numerous edited collections. She has also written essays for media outlets such as CNN, the LA Review of Books, Huffington Post, The Conversation, and the comic book Bitch Planet. Visit https://www.rebeccawanzo.com for more information.

BFCA @ Franklin Hall Screenings – All February 2024 – The Media School’s Franklin Hall Commons

In celebration of Black History Month, the BFCA is programming a series of pop-up screenings of films from our collections on the 24×12 foot video wall in the Franklin Hall Commons.

Other Exciting 2024 Upcoming Events

This spring, the BFCA will host the following events:

• The National Traveling Series: We will screen a selection of shorts and feature films from the New York African Film Festival.
• Screening: We’ll host documentarian, Kathe Sandler and screen a new restoration of Kathe Sandler’s poignant documentary exploring colorism, A Question of Color (1993). The screening will be followed by a Q & A with Sandler.
• Branching Out!: The BFCA will partner with the Center for Black Literature & Culture for a screening to celebrate Juneteenth!

Be on the lookout for more details about these and other upcoming BFCA events!

Social Media Highlights

Jennie Louise Toussaint Welcome

On January 10, we observed the birthday of pioneering visual artist Jennie Louise Toussaint Welcome (1885-1956)! A central figure of the Harlem Renaissance, in the early 1900s, Madame Toussaint Welcome and her husband Ernest, operated an art conservatory and several publishing and photography studios. Under the banner of the Toussaint Motion Picture Exchange, the couple produced a 12-part newsreel series titled Doing Their Bit (circa 1918), which chronicled Black American soldiers’ heroic efforts during World War I. Sadly, no copies of any of their films survive today, but Madame Toussaint Welcome’s legacy still stands as one of history’s first Black American women filmmakers.

James Earl Jones

January 17 marked the birthday of the legendary James Earl Jones (born 1931)! One of the most distinguished stage and screen actors of the past century, Mr. Jones’s deep, commanding voice is instantly recognizable to Star Wars and The Lion King fans, and his nearly-200 film, and TV credits highlight his versatility across nearly every genre. Since his film debut in Dr. Strangelove (1964), Jones has turned in unforgettable performances in The Great White Hope (1970), The Man (1972), Claudine (1974), The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976), A Piece of the Action (1977), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), and The Sandlot (1993). The Black Film Center & Archive retains a rare backstage interview with Mr. Jones at the 1992 Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Awards, where he ruminates on the past and future of Black film conservation.

(Lobby cards for The Great White Hope, The Man, and Claudine from the BFCA General Collection; interview screenshot from the Belva Davis & William Moore BFHFI Collection)

W. Kamau Bell

On January 26, we wished happy birthday to acclaimed comedian, TV host, and director, W. Kamau Bell (born 1973)! An important and savvy commentator on U.S. politics and racial identity, Mr. Bell is best known as the star of Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (2012-2013) and United Shades of America (2016-present) as well as for hosting multiple comedy and political podcasts and radio shows. In recent years, Mr. Bell has produced/directed the Peabody-Award-winning miniseries We Need to Talk About Cosby (2022), which takes a critical look at Bill Cosby’s career and crimes, and 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed (2023), a documentary about the experiences of children in multi-racial families.

(Pressbook for Totally Biased and DVD for We Need to Talk About Cosby from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Paulin S. Vieyra

On January 31, we celebrated the birthday of African film pioneer Paulin Vieyra (1925-1987)! The director of the first Francophone African film, Afrique-sur-Seine (1955), Vieyra dedicated his life to creating infrastructures for film production across the newly-decolonized African nations. Be it in his role as mentor and producer to Ousmane Sembene, his extensive writings on anticolonial cinema, or his co-founding of FESPACO (the largest film festival in continental Africa), today, Vieyra is rightfully regarded as one of the Fathers of African Cinema. In 2021, the Black Film Center & Archive acquired Vieyra’s personal papers, which are currently being processed to help trace the full story of this central figure in world cinema history.

Tressie Souders

February 7 marked the birthday of pioneering filmmaker Tressie Souders (1897-1995), the earliest known Black woman to direct a feature film. Little is confirmed about Ms. Souders’s life, but she was known to have been involved in local theater productions around Kansas City, Missouri for several years before producing her film A Woman’s Error in 1922. A January 1922 issue of Billboard suggests that the film may have received some distribution from the Afro-American Film Exhibitors Company of Kansas City, but like so many other Black silent-era films, no other details about the film survive and a print has never been found. Public records indicate that Ms. Souders moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1920s, where she may have worked as a domestic maid the remainder of her life. In recent years, the International Black Women’s Festival has created the Tressie Souders Award and Tressie magazine to honor her memory.

(No confirmed photo exists of Tressie Souders. In recent years, images of otherfilmmaking pioneers like Jessie Maple or Maria P. Williams have been mistakenly purported to be of her. This featured photo possibly features Ms. Souders, but has not been authenticated.)

Clare-Hope Ashitey

Happy birthday on February 12 to actor Clare-Hope Ashitey (born 1987)! Born to Ghanian immigrants in England, Ms. Ashitey is a busy character actor across big and small screens, starring in the Netflix series Seven Seconds (2018), as well as appearing in Master of None (2017), Doctor Who (2020), and the Jimi Hendrix biopic Jimi: All Is by My Side (2013). Ashitey is best known for her startlingly fierce and beautiful performance as Kee, a pregnant refugee in a world where humanity has become infertile, in Alfonso Cuaron’s masterpiece Children of Men (2006).

Jessie Maple Patton

Happy birthday on February 14 to pioneering filmmaker Jessie Maple Patton (1937-2023)! Ms. Maple left a successful career as a bacteriologist in the 1970s to pursue filmmaking, becoming the first Black woman admitted to the New York Cinematographer’s Union after a prolonged discrimination lawsuit. In close collaboration with her husband, photographer Leroy Patton, Ms. Maple produced socially-conscious documentary shorts before moving to feature-length narrative filmmaking in the 1980s. Her film Will (1981) stands as the earliest surviving feature directed by a Black American woman. Fiercely independent and frustrated at the lack of exhibition venues for her work, Jessie and Leroy built the 20 West Theater in their Harlem home, which continued to showcase works by Black filmmakers from 1982-1992. On February 1, a new 4K restoration of Will created from a donated print at the Black Film Center & Archive debuted at the IU Cinema in Bloomington, IN, with Mayor Kerry Thomson officially declaring the day Mrs. Jessie Maple Patton Day. Future screenings for Will are currently being planned to draw more attention to Jessie Maple as a central figure in independent film history.

In Memoriam

Carl Weathers

The BFCA remembers the great Carl Weathers (1948-2024), who passed on February 1. Most recognized for his roles in the Rocky and Predator franchises, for six decades, Weathers was a beloved presence on both the big and small screens. He began his career playing small roles in the Blaxploitation films Friday Foster (1975) and Bucktown (1975), and later ascended to action star status in starring roles in Action Jackson (1988) and Hurricane Smith (1992). Weathers also appeared in dozens of dramatic and action TV series such as In the Heat of the Night (1988-1995), Law and Order SVU (1999-present), and The Mandalorian (2019-present), among many others. Versatile across genres and possessing a uniquely self-aware sense of humor, Weathers also enjoyed a late-career run in comedic roles in productions like Happy Gilmore (1996) and Arrested Development (2004 & 2013). Condolences to his loved ones.

(16mm screenshot from Bucktown and publicity photos from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

BFCA Welcomes New Interim Director Rachael Stoeltje

On August 1, Rachael Stoeltje began a term as Interim Director of the BFCA for the 2022-2023 academic year. Rachael brings decades of experience in archiving and moving image preservation. She founded and also serves as Director of the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive and is the President of AMIA (Association of Moving Image Archivists). She served on the FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives) Executive Committee (2013- 2019) and co-founded the FIAF Training and Outreach Program. Most recently, she concluded her role as the Director of the mass digitization for film project at Indiana University that wrapped up in June 2021, resulting in 23,803 digitized film reels. She has served on the Editorial board for AMIA’s The Moving Image Journal. She teaches in the graduate program of the Luddy School’s Department of Information and Library Science. Rachael frequently participants in local and international training and outreach events and initiatives, dedicating herself to mentoring burgeoning archivists and working to bridge the global archival communities in order to address shared challenges in the field of moving image preservation.

Farewell statement from departing BFCA Interim Director, Akin Adesokan

Dear staff, patrons, and friends of the Black Film Center & Archive,

I appreciate the warm welcome you all extended early this year upon my acceptance of the Interim Director role. My hope is that the seven months I served has reoriented the BFCA on a path back toward the vitality we know and love it for, and that you’ll feel it the next time you attend an event or stop by the office to say hello. In its 41st year, the BFCA is still just getting started.

We are actively nurturing the relationship with Black Camera, IU Cinema, and other departments with similar values across IU’s campus including the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center, the African Studies Program, and the African American and African Diaspora Studies department.

We are planning events that bring exciting filmmakers and scholars from across the world to Bloomington. In turn, we are dreaming up events that’ll send the BFCA and our collections across the world. We are reconnecting with you all as well—online and offline—because the BFCA can only thrive with your support. Whether it be through a donation or through advocacy, we need you.

I send my sincerest regards to Rachael Stoeltje, the Interim Director as of August 1, 2022.

Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank the staff I’ve had the honor of working with this year. In your goodbyes, you said my contributions to the BFCA are “indispensable,” but I did not do any of this on my own. You too are indispensable to the legacy of the BFCA.

Sincerely, Akin

Open House at the Black Film Center & Archive

Come and check out the BFCA on September 7th or September 8th, 3:00pm – 4:30pm! As the semester starts, we wanted to open our doors to welcome you all to come take a look, meet us, and learn about our resources, facility, and history.

We are located in Herman B. Wells Library Room 044, on the ground floor, across from Media Services and the Bookmarket Eatery.

Our BFCA team is looking forward to meeting you or reconnecting with you! Please join us and bring a friend!

Soyinka Festival Screenings/Q&A

From July 12-14, the BFCA celebrated the 88th birthday of Nigerian playwright and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka with a series of joint screenings between Bloomington and the Crown Art Factory in Nigeria. In collaboration with the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, the BFCA screened Kongi’s Harvest (1971), So Be It (1997), and Nigeria: Culture in Transition (1963). The series closed with a virtual discussion on the films titled, “Soyinka, Citizenship, and the Moving Image,” featuring panelists Rejoice Abutsa (Cornell University), Tunde Awosanmi (University of Ibadan), Deji Toye (lawyer, Lagos), and IU Media School PhD student Essence London.

Tongues Untied screening at Cook Center

On Friday, August 5, the BFCA co-hosted a screening of Marlon Riggs’s Tongues Untied (1989), at the Cook Center with the IU Arts & Humanities Council. Riggs’s life-affirming film explores his personal experience as a Black, gay man in the 1980s, the effects of racism in the gay community and homophobia in the African-American community, and the national silence around the AIDS epidemic. It was screened in conjunction with the IU Arts & Humanities Council and the Kinsey Institute’s exhibit opening of Wild Horse Running: The Courageous Journey of Tom Fox, which documents the last few months of Bloomington native Tom Fox’s experience with AIDS. We’d like to thank everyone who attended the screening and encourage you to visit Maxwell Hall before September 23 to see the photographic exhibit.

BFCA Archival Assistant MarQuis Bullock interns with Harvard Libraries!

At the start of June 2022, MarQuis Bullock, an archival assistant at the BFCA, traveled to Cambridge, MA to work with Harvard Library’s Office of Antiracism as one of their inaugural cohort of EDIBA (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Antiracism) Collections interns. For the summer, the interns were charged with conducting research to identify diverse and dissenting voices in their existing collections, collaborating with faculty across Harvard Library departments, curating recommendations, and producing a report to significantly influence the construction of a new EDIBA reading room with the Harvard Library Task Force on Inclusive Spaces.

The overall guiding objective for the reading room is to create a counterspace that disrupts normative conceptions of library spaces, generally, and across Harvard University campuses, specifically. The project aims to provide a safe, inclusive space where Harvard’s diverse student population, namely students of color, can feel seen, welcomed, and centered.

Beyond this work, the interns also spent a significant amount of time touring Harvard’s vast and decentralized campus and libraries. A particular highlight from these tours was the opportunity to visit the Hutchins Center for African and

African American Research, founded by Henry Louis Gates, which houses the Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute. At the end of the summer, the interns provided a presentation of the median stage of their work to the Vice President of Harvard Library, and their direct reports which was met with excitement and praise. MarQuis and his fellow interns will continue their work into the fall and will also assist the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences to build their Library Guide for the “Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery” report.

Social Media Highlights

Beah Richards

On July 12, we wished a happy birthday to Beah Richards (1920-2000), veteran actor of stage and screen! Beah Richards began her career in theater, where she appeared in the original Broadway runs of The Miracle Worker and A Raisin in the Sun, as well as a Tony-nominated performance in James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner (1965). Ms. Richards made her mark in Hollywood with roles in Gone Are the Days! (1963), In the Heat of the Night (1967), The Great White Hope (1970), and Mahogany (1975). In 1967, she earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, becoming the sixth Black performer to receive a competitive Oscar nomination (following Hattie McDaniel, Ethel Waters, Dorothy Dandridge, Juanita Moore, and Sidney Poitier).

Beah Richards continued a prolific career in television from the 1970s until her death, with recurring or guest roles on series like Roots: The Next Generations, ER, Frank’s Place, and The Practice (the latter two earning her Emmy awards). In 2003, filmmaker LisaGay Hamilton released Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, honoring Ms. Richards’s life and exploring her offscreen political advocacy with activists like Paul Robeson and Angela Davis.

(DVD of Beah: A Black Woman Speaks from the BFCA General Collection; portrait of Beah Richards from the Mary Perry Smith Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Collection; publicity still of Richards and Sidney Poitier from In the Heat of the Night from the African American Contributions to Film Collection.)

Juano Hernandez

On July 19, we celebrated the birthday of pioneering Afro-Latino actor Juano Hernández (1896-1970)! Born and self-educated in Puerto Rico, Hernández worked vaudeville and radio in New York before entering the film industry in low-budget “race films” like Harlem Is Heaven (1932) and Oscar Micheaux’s The Girl from Chicago (1932), Lying Lips (1939), and The Notorious Elinor Lee (1940). Hernández achieved more mainstream success in 1949 with a starring role as a farmer falsely accused of murdering a white man in Intruder in the Dust, for which he became one of the first Black actors nominated for a Golden Globe. He is recognized as among the first Latin American film stars, appearing in meaty supporting parts opposite Sidney Poitier in The Mark of the Hawk (1958) and They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) and Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt in St. Louis Blues (1958).

(Screenshots of Hernández in Intruder in the Dust and St. Louis Blues from 16mm and VHS copies in the BFCA General Collection.)

Woody Strode

On July 25, we recognized the birthday of Woody Strode (1914-1994)! Following a distinguished athletics career as one of the first Black players in the NFL, Mr. Strode dabbled in the movies beginning in the 1940s, mostly in small roles in low-budget jungle adventure films. His film career expanded in the 1960s with a Golden Globe-nominated appearance in Spartacus (1960), as well as prominent roles in John Ford-directed westerns like Sergeant Rutledge (1960) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). With additional roles in The Professionals (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), and numerous Italian spaghetti westerns, Strode cemented himself as one of the most prolific western stars of the second half of the 20th century.

(Publicity photo of Sergeant Rutledge from Mary Perry Smith BFHF Collection; poster of Strode in Black Jesus from BFCA General Collection)

Esther Anderson

On August 4, we celebrated the birthday of Esther Anderson, whose 50-year career has spanned the fields of film, music, and photography! Ms. Anderson has had a sizable impact on pop culture in her home country Jamaica, helping pioneer the island’s film industry as co-producer of The Harder They Come (1972), developing the music label Island Records in the 1960s, and, in 2011, directing the film Bob Marley: The Making of a Legend celebrating that label’s most famed musician. Her appearance onscreen alongside Sidney Poitier in the romance A Warm December earned her a NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in 1973. The BFCA’s collections feature multiple publicity and production stills from A Warm December, including rare images of Poitier (who also directed) collaborating with Anderson on set

Allen Hoskins

On August 9, we celebrated the birthday of Allen Hoskins (1920-1980), popular to pre-war audiences in the Our Gang/Little Rascals series and among the first Black American child stars. Hoskins appeared as the androgynous “Farina” in over 100 Our Gang shorts between 1922-1933, becoming the highest paid cast member of the Rascals by the early 1930s. After aging out of the role, Hoskins struggled to establish himself as an actor in the Hollywood studio system, but was stymied by limited roles and systemic racism, before leaving the industry to dedicate his professional life to rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. Near the end of his life, Hoskins was honored as an inductee in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1975.

(Photos of Hoskins as Farina from the Mary Perry Smith Collection.)

In Memoriam: Mary Alice (1941-2022), Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022), and Roger E. Mosley (1938-2022)

Mary Alice’s Emmy- and Tony-award-winning career included roles in A Different World (1987-89), Sparkle (1976), Charles Burnett’s To Sleep with Anger (1990), and Maya Angelou’s Down in the Delta (1998).

Nichelle Nichols commanded the screen opposite Isaac Hayes in Truck Turner (1974) and, of course, as Lt. Uhura in the Star Trek original series (1966-69), animated series (1973-74), and six feature films (1979-91).

Roger E. Mosley (1938-2022), best known as Theodore “T.C.” Calvin on the series Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988). Prior to his TV breakthrough, Mr. Mosley was also a prolific character actor in many action and Blaxploitation films from the 1970s. These promotional photos and lobby cards from the BFCA’s collections spotlight his roles in productions like Sweet Jesus, Preacherman (1973) and Leadbelly (1976).

Director’s Open House featuring Demetrius Witherspoon January 23rd, 2024

Winter Break is approaching fast, and Spring 2024 is following close behind. After you settle into the semester, stop by the BFCA to see us again! We’re hosting a Director’s Open House Tuesday, January 23rd at 11:30am in the Phyllis Klotman Classroom. Indianapolis-based filmmaker Demetrius Witherspoon will share his talk “How to Build a Sci-Fi Film Franchise on a Low Budget.” Please see the flyer for more information and join us for great conversation over great food. Make yourself at home!

Staff Updates

We are so excited to officially welcome Jason Byrne as the Project Archivist and Sarah Petras as the Assistant Project Archivist in our NEH grant-funded positions to process the Paulin S. Vieyra collection!

Jason Byrne has an MFA degree in filmmaking from California Institute of the Arts. He has been an archivist for over 11 years, which includes an audiovisual archivist position at the United Nations Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Academy Awards archivist at the Academy Film Archive in Hollywood, and photo archivist at 20th Century Fox Photo Archive. He is also a filmmaker that highlights the archive in his experimental documentaries. In 2010, Jason was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine. He also served as an adjunct professor of film history at Rice University.

Sarah Petras is a graduate assistant working on processing the Paulin S. Vieyra collection at the BFCA. She is pursuing a dual master’s degree in library science and English literature, and is hoping to pursue a career as an archivist after graduation. She is particularly interested in reparative archival work and uncovering the lives and stories told in the margins of preserved ephemera. Sarah has worked for the Lilly Library as a digitization assistant and a manuscript processing assistant.

We look forward to their work on the Vieyra collection and all that they discover and uncover, together!

In other staffing news, Amber Bertin resigned from her position as BFCA archivist. We are conducting a search to fill the vacancy. If you’re interested in applying, the archival position is now posted on the Jobs@IU website. We are currently accepting applications and are excited to welcome a new member to our team! Please click here to apply or share this opportunity with your networks!

I’m No Expert podcast features BFCA Director, Dr. Novotny Lawrence

Dr. Novotny Lawrence, the Black Film Center & Archive Director and Media School associate professor, explored important pieces of Black film history on the latest episode of ‘I’m No Expert.’ 

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Special thanks to host Avi Forrest and producer Karl Templeton. Original music was created by Avi Forrest and Natalie Ingalls.

St. Louis International Film Festival

BFCA Director, Dr. Novotny Lawrence, attended the St. Louis International Film Festival where he facilitated a screening and discussion of Pam Grier’s blaxploitation classic, Coffy (1973). Released 50 years ago, the film established Grier as a lead actor, and changed film and popular culture by ushering in women action heroes. After American International Pictures released Coffy, a host of movies and TV shows ensued, including Cleopatra Jones (1973), Get Christie Love! (1974), TNT Jackson (1974), Police Woman (1974-1978), Charlie’s Angels (1976-1981), and Alien (1979), among others. Today, Coffy’s legacy lives on in movies such as Salt (2010), Columbiana (2011), Atomic Blonde (2017), Proud Mary (2018), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).

PERF at the Bloomington Alternative Media Fest

Black Film Center & Archive Publications and Programming Associate, Essence London, and Student employee, Eva Stuart, created PERF, a zine geared toward IU undergraduate students. It’s colorful and scrappy, accessible, and is packed with a perfect blend of academic and fun personal information!

The first weekend in December, we shared PERF with the community at the Bloomington Alternative Media Fest. We distributed nearly 100 copies throughout the day! Monroe County Public Library, among the other participants, picked up each issue to add to their zine collections, so soon you’ll have the option to “check us out” downtown! Publications & Programming Associate Essence London also debuted her zine, How to Use Home Movies as a Rememory Tool, alongside many other awesome do-it-yourself creatives.

We invite students—and all who are interested–to use the  archive for their research projects and to enjoy our amazing events! The BFCA and PERF are for everybody!

BFCA Vault Update

Throughout 2023, the BFCA archival team has been working to transfer some of our materials from our internal vault to the Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF). Located on the Indiana University campus, the ALF is a secure, climate-controlled, special storage repository that ensures that the BFCA’s collections (including film reels, videos, papers, books, and other objects) will remain at ideal conditions for long-term conservation. ALF staff can pull and deliver these items to our office by request, so they remain accessible to students and researchers for many decades to come!

This year, with the assistance of BFCA student workers Eva Stuart and Polina Saburova, the BFCA has moved over 250 film cans, 3,200 videotapes, 200 audio reels, 300 LP records, and 100 boxes of paper to the ALF.

Click here to take a virtual tour of ALF and see the picture example below.

Smile4Kime IU Cinema premiere

On November 29, Smile4Kime (2023) graced the big screen at IU Cinema! Director Elena Guzman is an Assistant Professor in the African American & African Diaspora Studies and the Anthropology departments, a fellow at the Harvard Divinity School, and a dear friend of the BFCA. In February, following the screening of Naked Acts (1996), Professor Guzman moderated a lovely conversation with the film’s director and BFCA guest, Bridgett Davis. This time, we had the opportunity to support Guzman’s work, and our very own, Essence London, led the post-screening Q&A session!

Thanks to Dr. Guzman for sharing her film to the attendees and to IU Cinema for providing the beautiful venue and amazing staff to help make the screening a success! Also, thanks to Dr. Solimar Otero and the entire Latino Studies team for the opportunity to partner with them on this event.

2023 Acquisitions

As a living and breathing archive, the BFCA regularly acquires new materials via private donations and institutional purchases. Several highlights from the BFCA’s 2023 acquisitions include:

• The Jerald Harkness Collection, comprises films, raw interviews, and outtakes from the 30-year career of IU alumnus and award-winning documentarian Jerald Harkness. Read more here.
• Nearly 300 DVDs and Blu-rays, including 35 Criterion Collection releases, including Black Girl (1966, dir. Ousmane Sembene), Buck and the Preacher (1972, dir. Sidney Poitier), and Eve’s Bayou (1997, dir. Kasi Lemmons); various rare and new commercial releases like Aaron Loves Angela (1975, dir. Gordon Parks Jr.), Just Another Girl on the IRT (1992, dir. Leslie Harris), Serigne Lambe (2009, dir. Moussa Diop), and A Thousand and One (2023, dir. A.V. Rockwell); and independent short films donated by filmmakers, such as Hadassah: Queen Esther (2021, dir. Ira Mallory) and Mino: A Diasporic Myth (2019, dir. Ashunda Norris)
• 15 born-digital AV files of shorts like Angela’s Tale (2022, dir. Deonna Weatherly), Midnight Oil (2020, dir. Bilal Motley), and Sub Eleven Seconds (2021, dir. Bafic).
• 11 bound promotional press kits and press books.

Over 15 newly published scholarly books and journals about Black cinema history, including the 3-volume African Cinema: Manifesto and Practice for Cultural Decolonization (edited by Michael Martin and Gaston Kabore) and The Othering of Women in Silent Film (by Barbara Lupack).

BGSA, BSU, & BFCA collaboration

The Black Graduate Student Association, Black Student Union, and Black Film Center & Archive collaborated to host a Black Holiday Movie Night. Students filled the room. Some students camped out with comfy blankets in the front of the room while others filled the back rows, so they could do homework and enjoy the film. Some students may argue that the best part was the movie night snacks, which included a small popcorn maker that filled the air with the best smelling (and best tasting) popcorn!

Think of us, for your next event! Email us at bfca@IU.edu with your event idea!

115th Indiana Memorial Union Board Installation

On December 8th, 2023, Ja Quita Joy Roberts was among the Board of Directors that participated in the installation ceremony for the directors that will serve for the 115th year in 2024. Congratulations to all of the directors selected! The work continues!

Black Camera News!!

The Black Camera staff is pleased to announce the publication of the new issue of Black Camera which features a tribute to the late Jim Brown, a peer-reviewed article, Close-Ups on The Harder They Come and Jordan Peele’s films, a new dossier by Olivier Barlet on FESPACO, as well as a new entry by Beti Ellerson in the African Women in Cinema Dossier. For more information on the contents of the new issue, please see the Table of Contents below.

Vol. 15, No. 1 Table of Contents: 

Tribute

• A Tribute to Jim Brown: As Athlete, Actor, and Activist, by Joseph E. Roskos 

Call for Close-Up Submissions

• “Oh, The Places It Did Go”: The Diasporic Journeys of Blaxploitation
• Revisiting Sara Gómez

Articles

• Make Way for Tomorrow: Documenting the Struggle in Madeline Anderson’s Integration Report 1 (1960), by Matthew Eng 

CLOSE-UP: The Harder They Come: The Legacy Continues

• Introduction, by Allison J. Brown  
• Fear, Sufferation, and Mythology in the Metamorphosis of Ivan to Rhygin, by Nicole Plummer  
• The Postcolonial Jamaican Outlaw Hero in Perry Henzell’s The Harder They Come, by William A. Heade  
• “I wanted to combine realism with a sort of lighter touch”: An Interview with Perry Henzell, Director of The Harder They Come, by Bruce Paddington  
• Casting, Music, and Logistics in The Harder They Come: A Conversation with Robert Russell, by Allison J. Brown  
• A Pioneer of Jamaican Film: A Conversation with Raymond Edwards, by Alpha Obika
• Dossier: The Harder They Come, 50th Anniversary Exhibition, by Allison J. Brown 

CLOSE-UP: Jordan Peele, the “Looking Trilogy”

• Introduction, by David C. Wall
• Horror and Loss in Samuel Fuller’s Shock Corridor and Jordan Peele’s Get Out, by Alice Mikal Craven 
• Horrifying Whiteness and Jordan Peele’s Get Out, by Julia Mollenthiel  
• Black Identity and Resistance Revisited through Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us, by Jayson Baker
• The Work of Horror after Get Out, by Catherine Zimmer  

Olivier Barlet Dossier

• FESPACO, Pt. 1: A Cinema in Response Terrorism, by Olivier Barlet  
• FESPACO, Pt. 2: Women in African Cinema, by Olivier Barlet 

African Women in Cinema Dossier

• “I Dared to Make a Film”: A Tribute to the Life and Work of Safi Faye, by Beti Ellerson 

Review

• Book Review: Telling Migrant Stories: Latin American Diaspora in Documentary Film, by Álvaro Ibarra 
• Film Review: Atlantis (2021), by Babatunde Onikoyi

Lastly, Black Camera recently made several staff changes. Allison Brown will step down as the managing editor to complete and defend her dissertation (Spring ‘24) but will remain on the editorial team while Cole Nelson will become the Managing Editor. On behalf of the editorial team, we salute Allison for her expert management of and continuing devotion to the journal and we welcome Cole to this demanding post.

Now, as always, we thank you for your support and continued participation with Black Camera. And now, we move on to Black Camera Volume 15.2!

– The Black Camera Team

Social Media Highlights

Arthur Jafa

November 30 marked the birthday of cinematographer and multimedia artist Arthur Jafa (born 1960)! As a director of photography, Jafa helped construct the iconic visuals of Spike Lee’s Crooklyn (1994) and Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (1991), the latter of which Jafa shot Spike Lee’s despite having never previously worked with a 35mm camera. More recently, Jafa has shot or co-directed music videos for Jay-Z and Solange, in addition to pursuing his career as an experimental filmmaker, visual essayist, and collage artist. Jafa continues to examine race relations and expand Black cinematic offerings in shorts like Slowly This (1985), Dreams Are Colder Than Death (2014), Love Is the Message, the Message Is Death (2016), and The White Album (2018).

(Headshot by Jindřich Nosek in 2019; 35mm screenshot from Daughters of the Dust and VHS screenshot from Slowly This from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Sammy Davis, Jr.

On December 8, we recognized the birthday of legendary actor/singer Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990)! One of the most popular American entertainers of the latter half of the 20th century, Davis helped break the color barrier in the film, TV, stage, and recording industries. His career spanned six decades during which he appeared in films such as Rufus Jones for President (1933), Anna Lucasta (1958), Porgy & Bess (1959), Ocean’s 11 (1960), A Man Called Adam (1966), and The Cannonball Run (1984).

(Headshots, including autographed portrait, from the Black Film Center & Archive’s Mary Perry Smith Collection; lobby card for Convicts 4 and 16mm screenshot from Porgy & Bess from the BFCA General Collection)

In Memoriam

Andre Braugher

The Black Film Center & Archive remembers beloved character actor Andre Braugher (1962-2023), who passed on December 11 at age 61. A veteran of film and TV for over 30 years, Braugher’s film credits include Glory (1989), The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), Get on the Bus (1996), and She Said (2022). He won wider recognition for his extensive television work as Det. Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-98) and Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-21). Our condolences to his loved ones.

(DVD screenshots from The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) and 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) from the BFCA General Collection)

Association of Black Culture Centers Conference 2023, featuring Till Screening

On Friday November 10, the BFCA had the honor of welcoming director, screenwriter, and Emmett Till advocate Keith Beauchamp, activist Elder Mmoja Ajabu, and Till’s cousin, Priscilla Sterling Till to the facility. They were on campus as a part of the Association of Black Culture Centers Conference, which our partner and frequent collaborator, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center hosted.

We provided Beauchamp, Elder Ajabu, and Priscilla, a personalized tour in which we showcased our holdings related to Emmett Till as well as materials from our Richard E. Norman, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and FESPACO Collections, among others. The tour was lively as our special guests asked insightful questions, listened as we shared insights about the various materials, and were legitimately in awe of the BFCA. Given important place that Emmett Till occupies in Black, and US history, more broadly, it was our absolute pleasure to host our esteemed guests, and a reminder of the integral roles that the BFCA plays in preserving histories, uplifting marginalized voices, and fighting social injustices. Because of that shared mission, Beauchamp, Elder Ajabu, and Priscilla’s visit felt like a family affair, which is a testament to their warmth and kindness, the staff, and of course, to the magic that is the BFCA! We’re looking forward to hosting them again and to collaborating with them on exciting events in the future!

The ABCC conference offered guests an opportunity to visit the BFCA in a group tour and attend the annual Potpourri of the Arts! Congratulations to the planning committee, board members, and all of the participants!

PERF issue #4: Food in Black Film

Can you really know a person before breaking bread with them? The newest issue of our zine, PERF, is all about food in Black film. Inside you’ll find recipes pulled from books housed at the BFCA, a guide to filming food on set, a food-centered profile on the legendary Eartha Kitt, and much more! Be sure to check out the student filmmaker spotlight on Keon Clardy and let us know if you’d like to be featured in the next issue on Black love!

Keep an eye out for the most recent copy of PERF across campus—or stop by the Bloomington Alternative Media Fest for a chance to collect all four issues. We’re only sharing a limited number of back issues, so visit our table early! BAMF is Saturday, December 2 from 11:00am-5:00pm at the Harmony School Gymnasium.

Smile4Kime Screening

Smile4Kime (2023) will have its IU Cinema premiere, Wednesday, November 29 at 4:00pm. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Elena Guzman moderated by the BFCA’s own Essence London. Smile4Kime is an experimental autoethnographic film that explores the friendship between two women: Kime, a vibrant, unapologetic Black woman who lived with mental illness, and Elena, an Afro Puerto Rican woman and devoted friend coping with grief in the wake of Kime’s death. This event is hosted by the Latino Studies Program and is one of many on the Afrolatine Film & Performance Festival. The BFCA is honored to attend, support, and participate!

Special BFCA Guests

Demetrius Witherspoon: On October 19, the BFCA was delighted to welcome Indianapolis-based director Demetrius Witherspoon for a tour of our facilities. A self-taught filmmaker with a keen interest in science fiction and transmedia storytelling, Mr. Witherspoon is the creator of the Submerge Universe franchise, which presently spans five short films in addition to comic books, novels, action figures, and apparel. Mr. Witherspoon is currently developing a feature film and an animated spin-off series connected to the Submerge brand.

From Demetirus:

“I had an incredible experience at the Black Film Center & Archive at IU! The BFCA staff was incredibly hospitable and made my visit even more memorable. I immersed myself in the rich tapestry of culture and history woven through black filmmaking. It’s truly inspiring to witness the legacy of legendary black filmmakers and the present visionaries who have beautifully infused our stories into the cinematic tapestry. Here’s to celebrating and cherishing the power of storytelling through the lens of diversity and creativity!”

Amália Coelho de Souza, known as Maya Quilolo: From October 27-28, the BFCA was honored to host Brazilian-born artist and activist Maya Quilolo. Ms. Quilolo visited The Media School at Indiana University to screen a film and lead a discussion about quilombos—Black and indigenous settlements that were founded by fugitives and survivors of American slavery. As part of her BFCA visit, Ms. Quilolo examined objects in the FESPACO Collection and showed samples of her upcoming projects, including an exclusive sneak peek of her upcoming animation series, Bucala and Abayomi Doll. To learn more about Maya and her projects, visit her website here: https://www.mayaquilolo.com/index.html

IU Arts & Humanities First Thursday Festival – October

The BFCA participated in its first ever First Thursday Festival event. The rain didn’t stop the fun, as the event was held in the IU Auditorium. Supernatural’s soundcheck, which the rapper used as an opportunity to freestyle about BFCA Finance and Office Administrator, Ja Quita Joy Roberts, surprised attendees, and boldly announced the BFCA’s participation in First Thursdays! Various artists traveled from far and wide to attend and showcase their skills in the First Thursday 50 Years of Hip Hop celebration. Approximately, 60 attendees visited the BFCA table to learn about the Center & Archive, pick up swag, and watch the episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that we screened on a monitor.

BFCA @ the Heartland Film Festival

Last month, Publications & Programming Associate Essence London attended the 2023 Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis. The theme “You Can’t Look Away” was creative, fun, and perfectly reflected the content. The Bright Side: The Johnny Bright Story by IU Alum and filmmaker Jerald Harkness, whose work is archived at the BFCA, was among the intensely moving documentaries featured in the festival. Essence formed relationships with representatives from Kan-Kan Cinema, and the Center for Black Literature & Culture, as well as with members of the Indianapolis and Bloomington communities. The staff is looking forward to hosting you at the BFCA!

Essence’s top 3 picks: American Fiction (Cord Jefferson, 2023), Black Barbie (Lagueria Davis, 2023), and Know Your Place (Zia Mohajerjasbi, 2022).

Black Homecoming Events

The BFCA participated on the planning committee for IU’s Black Homecoming Events. We did our best to attend the various functions, such as the Block Party, the NPHC Tailgate, and the Neal Marshall Alumni Club’s 26th Reunion Banquet and Awards Ceremony. We look forward to future collaborations!

Union Board Biennial Reunion

The BFCA’s Finance and Office Administrator and Union Board Director, Ja Quita Joy Roberts, participated in her first Union Board Biennial Reunion events, which featured reveals of three new Black art pieces–Reasons by Kyng Rhodes, Empowered Tresses by Tasha Beckwith, and Glorious Day by Indiana Cruse-Griffin–that will be displayed on the main and first floors of the Indiana Memorial Union.

More than twenty years after making its last purchase for the Collection, Union Board led an effort to identify new art that would appeal to students and reflect the campus. In particular, Union Board found that there was a lack of diversity among the artists and the subjects included in the Collection. Students affiliated with Union Board, IUSG, and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center selected the new pieces at the Butter Fine Art Fair. In keeping with the history of the Collection, all of the artists are from Indiana. This purchase was made possible by funding from the John Whittenberger Society and the Union Board Alumni Association.

Of course, it’s always great to connect with alumni, and even more so, when they are also one of the BFCA’s donors and friends like Jerald Harkness. Congrats to everyone who helped bring this endeavor to fruition!

Indigenous Peoples Day

The BFCA joined in the celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day. We wish to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that Indiana University Bloomington is built on Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

We are dedicated to centering Indigenous voices & perspectives, improving community relationships, correcting the narrative, and making the IUB campus a more supportive and inclusive place for Native and Indigenous students, faculty & staff. We encourage everyone to engage with contemporary communities, to learn the histories of this land, to notice who does and does not have access to its resources. Reparative work requires that we all examine our own personalities, abilities, and obligations in order to promote a more equitable and just campus.

BFCA @ Friday Finish

Friday Finish is an event to help students (and employees) finish the week strongly and on a positive note! Sponsors for November 3rd were The Media School (including the Black Film Center & Archive) and the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design. We had a great time showing Annie (2014) and watching as students and staff take advantage of massages, create paintings, as well as other activities that the various booths offered. The students were also provided breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack!

Black Women on Campus Faculty and Staff Luncheon

Black women faculty and staff were invited to meet for lunch in the Bridgwaters Lounge to network and discuss ways we can continue working together, to support each other, and help our students on IU’s campus. Salute to the phenomenal women in the picture below and to those who were unable to attend. Please be on the lookout for upcoming opportunities.

Social Media Highlights

Samba Gadjigo

October 12 marked the birthday of filmmaker-scholar Samba Gadjigo (born 1954)! One of the foremost experts on the life and work of pioneering African director Ousmane Sembene, Dr. Gadjigo served as Sembene’s agent in the U.S. and authored his official biography (published in English as Ousmane Sembene: The Making of a Militant Artist). Since Sembene’s passing in 2007, Dr. Gadjigo has continued to be a vital promoter of the great filmmaker’s legacy, including co-directing (with Jason Silverman) the acclaimed documentary Sembene! (2015). In addition to his advocacy and filmmaking, Dr. Gadjigo has been Professor of French and Africana Studies at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts since 1986, where he teaches and publishes widely on Francophone African literature and film.

(Headshot from Mount Holyoke College faculty page; pic of Dr. Gadjigo at a 2015 Indiana University screening of Sembene! by Tiantian Zhang with the IU Media School)

Ruby Dee

On October 27, we wished happy birthday to legendary actor and humanitarian Ruby Dee (1922-2014)! A veteran of stage and screen for over 7 decades, Ms. Dee turned in fierce, graceful, and resilient performances in The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), Uptight (1968), Buck and the Preacher (1972), Do the Right Thing (1989), and American Gangster (2007) (for which she earned an Oscar nomination). Alongside her spouse and frequent collaborator, Ossie Davis, Dee was also an influential figure in the civil rights movement, helping to organize the 1963 March on Washington, fundraise for the Black Panthers, and support blacklisted actors such as Paul Robeson.

(Publicity photos and VHS screenshots of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis are from the Black Film Center & Archive’s Mary Perry Smith Collection. The dress that Ms. Dee wore in the 1979 TV adaptation of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is also from this collection.)

M.K. Asante

November 3 marked the birthday of filmmaker, writer, and artist M.K. Asante (born 1982)! The acclaimed author of Buck (2013), a memoir about his childhood in Philadelphia, Asante serves as professor of creative writing and film at Morgan State University (becoming the youngest person to receive tenure at the school at age 26). In addition to his other extensive work in songwriting and publishing, Asante wrote the documentary 500 Years Later (2005), exploring the historical atrocities of slavery and the African diaspora, and directed the doc The Black Candle (2012) on the cultural origins of Kwanzaa.

(Headshot from Morgan State University; DVD screenshot of 500 Years Later
from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Ayoka Chenzira

On November 8, we recognized the birthday of director, storyteller, and educator Ayoka Chenzira (born 1953)! One of a pioneering generation of independent Black women filmmakers who emerged in the 1970s (and the first to work with animation), Chenzira has explored race and gender through a critical feminist lens throughout her long career. Her feature-length coming-of-age drama Alma’s Rainbow (1993) was not widely distributed during its initial release. Fortunately, Rainbow was restored in 4K and since its re-release in 2022, critics and scholars have declared it a cinematic masterpiece. Dr. Chenzira currently chairs the Arts Division at Spelman College, and recently directed episodes of hit series like Queen Sugar (2018-2019) and A League of Their Own (2022).

(16mm screenshot from Chenzira’s Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People and publicity photos of Chenzira from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Sheila Frazier

November 13 marked the birthday of actor Sheila Frazier (born 1948)! With her first film role as Georgia, the no-nonsense girlfriend to drug dealer Priest in Super Fly (1972) and Super Fly TNT (1972), Ms. Frazier became one of the most famed women Blaxploitation stars, appearing in other 1970s productions like The Super Cops (1974) and Three the Hard Way (1974). Ms. Frazier has made multiple TV and film appearances since the ‘70s, but has spent most of her career as a producer and talent agent for Black Entertainment Television and various community affairs and talk programs.

(Publicity headshot and lobby cards from Super Fly and Three the Hard Way
from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

In Memoriam

Richard Roundtree (1942-2023)

A note from our director, Dr. Novotny Lawrence:

“Black film pioneer and a popular culture icon, Richard Roundtree helped pave the way for Black performers such as Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Viola Davis, Michael B. Jordan, Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett and a host of others. He is best known for his film debut as the eponymous character in Gordon Parks’ Shaft (1971), which he portrayed as a confident, unapologetic Black man unlike any other in film at that time. Roundtree added such bravado, intelligence, and compassion to the John Shaft character, that in his review of Shaft for Essence magazine, Maurice Peterson described it as “the first picture to show a black man who leads a life free of racial torment.” Although Roundtree will always be synonymous with Shaft, it is important to note that he enjoyed a long career that spanned six decades during which he amassed over 150 screen credits. Let us all take a minute to reflect on Roundtree’s contributions to Black mediated representations and film and media histories more broadly. Rest in power, brother Roundtree.”

Our condolences to the entire family and everyone who knew, loved, and was inspired by him!

IU Arts & Humanities First Thursday Festival 

We are thrilled to share that the Black Film Center & Archive will be participating in our first ever “First Thursday Festival” on the Fine Arts Plaza, on October 5th, 5:00pm – 8:00pm. The First Thursdays Festival is a celebration of the breadth and diversity of arts and culture on the Bloomington campus. The Arts & Humanities Council created the festival to promote upcoming events on campus and in the community; highlight the creative and scholarly work of our faculty; and expose students, staff, faculty, and community members to campus units and organizations that contribute to the cultural life of Bloomington. This month’s theme is the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop! We will have giveaways, trivia questions, word search, coloring pages, and so much more! Make sure you stop by our table and meet members of our team. We look forward to seeing you there!

(In the event of rain, the location will be inside of the IU Auditorium.)

Lecture on Horror & Resistance: Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman

Clear your calendars! Lauded TV / film scholar Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman is scheduled to deliver a talk in the BFCA Phyllis Klotman Room on Friday, October 27th at 10:30am. Dr. Coleman is the author of several books, most recently a second edition of Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from 1890 to Present (2023). She is also Executive Producer of the documentary adaptation Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (dir. Xavier Burgis, 2019) in which she’s featured alongside Jordan Peele, director of box office hit Get Out (2017); Tony Todd, the original Candyman (1992); and award-winning novelist, Tananarive Due; and other Black horror legends. Join us for historical, cultural context around the scary films you’re watching this month (–and for lunch immediately after)!

PERF Issue #3

Keep an eye out for the current issue of the BFCA’s zine PERF as you’re strolling around campus! We’re riding the Barbie wave with a Black Film Center & Archive bent, of course. Features include Black Dolls in Film, a gallery of fun promotional materials from the BFCA vault (hi, Halle Berry 007 Barbie!), and more.

We’re already planning issue #4, themed “Food & Family in Black Film.” We would love for you to get involved! We’re considering movie reviews, think pieces, film-related visual art, and anything else you’ve made on-theme. Send your work and any questions to bfca@indiana.edu with “PERF” in the subject line. We look forward to seeing your submissions!

Special Tour Groups visit the BFCA

Black Philanthropy Circle: The BFCA was thrilled to welcome the Black Philanthropy Circle for an elaborate visit, during which we showed clips of The Flying Ace, the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Ceremony’s behind-the-scenes footage and promotional video, items such as Lena Horne’s handprint, and so much more! As the Black Philanthropy Circle’s website explains, they are “Bound by a shared commitment to help Black students achieve their educational goals at IU, the Indiana University Black Philanthropy Circle (BPC) supports the IU Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (OVPDEI) in replacing obstacles with opportunities, so that students, faculty, and staff from historically underrepresented backgrounds find a sense of belonging at IU.” We are excited about the conversations, ideas, and relationships we built during this visit!

Century of 16mm Conference: The BFCA welcomed attendees who were interested in a tour of our facilities, while they were here for the 16mm Conference. Our guests were from places as far away as, France, Paraguay, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, and even Ghana! Pictured below is Mr. Kofi Yeboah, who is already planning another visit to the BFCA to explore our collections, and director, Dr. Novotny Lawrence!

Special BFCA Guests

Alexis Garcia & Selina Morales: Director and Producer, respectively, of Daughter of the Sea (2022), which was screened on Sept. 7, at the McCalla School. The screening was part of the event “Honoring Yemayá,” First Thursday Celebration. Prior to the screening, there was an Afro-Cuban Dance and Drumming Performance on the Main Stage featuring performing artists from Indiana University and Dr. Martin Tsang from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Many thanks to Dr. Solimar Otero, Director of the Latino Studies Program, and to Prof. Deborah De La Torre.

Diana Quiñones Rivera: Film producer, director, cinematographer, and writer visited the BFCA. She was thrilled to see equipment exactly like she used on her very first film project. Ms. Quiñones Rivera was here to screen her documentary Resistimos followed by a Talk-Back at the McCalla School. After the screening, there was a Bomba performance by Ivelisse Diaz, a Boricua de Chicago, a bombera and educator, followed by a Round Table and Discussion. The event, titled, “Bomba Presences: Film Screening, Talk-Back, and Bomba Performance, was co-sponsored by the Journal of Folklore Research; the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology; IU Cinema; the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies; the Center for Latin American and Carribean Studies; the Department of Spanish and Portuguese; the Center for Research on Race & Ethnicity in Society; and the Latin American Music Center. We were excited to be included in and attend such a wonderful event!

Eric Deggans: On September 27th, WFIU’s Aaron Cain hosted a lively onstage discussion with Eric Deggans, NPR’s TV Critic and Media Analyst, at the IU Cinema. Mr. Deggans unpacked the actors’ and writers’ strike, chatted about the best and worst television has to offer, and discussed how the TV landscape will look in the future. The evening included with a Q&A. We were so happy to have Mr. Deggans join us for a special tour, which invoked great excitement. As with many first time BFCA visitors, we did not have enough time to show Mr. Deggans all our collections. However, he plans to return to do a deeper dive into the BFCA’s offerings, and of course, we are looking forward to hosting him again.

Union Board presents Meadow Motion Student Film Festival

Union Board Films, which is now, Union Board Films and Entertainment, is the country’s longest-running college film series and has been screening films for the IU community since 1914. This committee hosts comedy events, educational panels, festivals and special programs for IU’s creative community of film and industry enthusiasts.

Union Board Films and Entertainment is excited to host “Meadow Motion: Unveiling Student Creativity in Dunn Meadow,” a student film festival comprised of short films created by our university’s talented filmmakers. Students are invited to join and celebrate film diversity!

(In the event of rain, the location will be inside of the Whittenberger Auditorium.)

Social Media Highlights

Jennifer Hudson

September 12 marked the birthday of multi-hyphenate entertainer  Jennifer Hudson (born 1981)! Known to audiences across music, film, TV, and theater (and the winner of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards), Ms. Hudson has been a powerhouse in the entertainment industry since her initial appearances on American Idol in 2004. In the film world, Ms. Hudson has demonstrated her vocal and performative range across titles as varied as Dreamgirls (2006), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Black Nativity (2013), Chi-Raq (2015), and Respect (2021).

(DVD screenshots from Dreamgirls and Black Nativity from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Teyonah Parris

On Sept. 22, we wished happy birthday to actor Teyonah Parris (born 1987)! Recognized for her effervescent performances in Mad Men (2012-15), Dear White People (2014), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), The Photograph (2020), Candyman (2021), and They Cloned Tyrone (2023), Ms. Parris’s star continues to ascend with her recent turns as Monica Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2015, Ms. Parris turned in an unforgettably fierce and funny performance in Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq (including being centered in the film’s striking poster).

(Blu-ray screenshot from Candyman from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

Cliff Roquemore

September 28 was the birthday of writer and director Cliff Roquemore (1948-2002)! A mainstay of the Detroit theater scene, Roquemore wrote, produced, and directed over 200 plays, including the NAACP Image Award-winning musical The Gospel Truth and Eartha Kitt’s one-woman show. During a brief foray into writing and directing Blaxploitation movies in the 1970s, Roquemore helped to build the legend of Rudy Ray Moore with this behind-the-camera work on The Human Tornado (1976), Petey Wheatstraw (1978), and Disco Godfather (1979).

(VHS screenshot from Rudy Ray Moore: Rude (1982) and DVDs/Blu-rays
from the Black Film Center & Archive General Collection)

Bernie Mac

October 5 marks the birthday of comedian Bernie Mac (1957-2008)! Mac came from a working-class background on South Side of Chicago, and overcame chronic health issues on his way to becoming one of the most prominent stand-up comics of his generation. In addition to Emmy-nominated work on the Bernie Mac Show (2001-2006), audiences knew Mac from his work in films such as Friday (1995), Get on the Bus (1996), The Players Club (1998), Bad Santa (2003), Mr. 3000 (2004), and the Ocean’s trilogy (2001-2007). In 2000, Spike Lee immortalized Mac, in addition to Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D.L. Hughley as one of The Original Kings of Comedy (Mac never filmed a solo special of his own).

(Screenshots from The Original Kings of Comedy and Guess Who [2005]
from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)

In Memoriam

Pearl Bowser

The BFCA remembers indelible archivist, scholar, and filmmaker Pearl Bowser (1931-2023). Known as the “Godmother of Black Independent Cinema,” Ms. Bowser’s contributions to our knowledge of Black film history cannot be overstated. From her pioneering work rediscovering and spotlighting Oscar Micheaux’s oeuvre, to founding and leading multiple festivals and organizations focused on distributing Black independent films (including Third World Newsreel and Chambra Educational Film Services), to her own film works (including co-directing the 1994 documentary Midnight Ramble about early race directors), Bowser helped remove Black cinema from the margins. A tireless activist and mentor, Ms. Bowser dedicated her life to educational equity and ensuring that the legacies of marginalized artists are not only remembered, but celebrated.

(Photos of Ms. Bowser’s published books and DVD screenshot from Midnight Ramble from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)