On Sunday, January 29, Jessie Maple and Leroy Patton will visit Bloomington to present Jessie’s 1989 feature, Twice as Nice, at the Indiana University Cinema. The 3:00 pm screening is free but ticketed. Professor emerita and former Black Film Center/Archive director Audrey McCluskey will introduce the film and host a Q&A with Jessie and Leroy following the film.
Recently preserved by the Black Film Center/Archive through a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation, Twice as Nice follows twins Caren and Camilla Parker, both star players on a college women’s basketball team energized by the prospect of a first female pick in the upcoming “MBA” draft. Maple looks again here to the strength of community and family, as in her first feature, the groundbreaking Will (1981).
Maple’s cast, composed largely of non-professional actors, features legends of NCAA, Olympic, and WNBA basketball. Among them are Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, and twins Pamela and Paula McGee.
As we look ahead to this weekend’s visit, take a look back at our earlier post “Into the Archive: Exploring the Jessie Maple Collection” for a glimpse into the personal collection placed at the BFC/A by Jessie in 2005.
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