Filmmaker Amandine Gay donates copies of films and posters!
In March 2022, the BFCA was honored to entertain a visit from French Afro-feminist filmmaker and activist Amandine Gay and her producer/editor Enrico Bartolucci, who were at Indiana University for a lecture and screening of their 2017 documentary Speak Up (Ouvrir la voix). Ms. Gay has generously donated posters and DVDs for Speak Up, as well as for her 2021 film on transracial adoption A Story of One’s Own (Une histoire à soi), for addition to and preservation in the BFCA’s General Collection.
Upcoming Event: Soyinka Film Series
Alongside our partner, the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, we are hosting a film series and virtual panel discussion in honor of Soyinka’s 88th birthday. There are screenings scheduled where we are located, as well as in Lagos! We invite you to join the celebration when and wherever you are able.
Tuesday, July 12th, 5:30pm EST
Kongi’s Harvest (1971) is a play written by Wole Soyinka and adapted for the screen with Ossie Davis as director. Fictional African country, Isma, is transitioning from governance by traditional ruler Oba Danlola to President Kongi. As the national harvest celebration approaches, these two leaders struggle with power, ego, a yam, and the good of their fellow citizens. Soyinka stars as Kongi. (1 hour, 18 minutes)
Wednesday, July 13th, 5:30pm EST
In dialogue with the play The Strong Breed by Wole Soyinka, So Be It (1997) is the story of a doctor struggling in a rural Senegalese village against practices he abhors, including that of the sacrificial lamb. Boasting a brilliant jazz score to match its visual beauty, So Be It is the work of Jo Gaï Ramaka, a director drawn to challenging subjects and willing to take risks. (31 minutes)
Thursday, July 14th, 5:00pm WAT
Written and narrated by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Culture in Transition (1963) introduces viewers to Nigerian folk traditions and the emergent arts scene in the 1960s. There’s sculpture, mythology, dance, a performance of Soyinka’s play The Strong Breed, and much more. The documentary aired on US television in 1963. (58 minutes)
[All Bloomington screenings will take place at the Phyllis Klotman Room LI 044B, and introduced by Essence London.]
Thursday, July 14th, 1:00pm EST / 6:00pm WAT
Virtual Panel Discussion
Panelists:
Rejoice Abutsa, Cornell University
Tunde Awosanmi, University of Ibadan
Essence London, Indiana University
Deji Toye, Lawyer & Culture Critic, Lagos
Moderator:
Akinwumi Adesokan, Indiana University
Social media highlights
Prince
On June 7, we honored artist, actor, and musician Prince (1958-2016). In addition to his proudly flamboyant, generation-defining, genre-bending music persona and starring role in Purple Rain (1984), Prince also worked extensively behind the camera, directing himself in the musical dramas Under the Cherry Moon (1986) and Graffiti Bridge (1990), as well as the concert film Sign o’ the Times (1987).
[Promotional photo for Purple Rain from the African American Contributions to Film Collection; original photo caption reads: “Frenzied fans hail the performance of funk star Prince with the traditional ‘ashe’ symbolizing love, peace, power, and self-fulfillment in a scene from the new dramatic film ‘Purple Rain,’ a Warner Bros. release.”; Japanese poster for Under the Cherry Moon from the BFCA’s General Collection]
Tupac Shakur
On June 16, we wished happy birthday to Tupac Shakur (1971-1996), era-defining hip hop artist, poet, and performer. Tupac made a mark in both the music and film industries, starring in early “hood” films like Juice (1992) and Poetic Justice (1993) that explored inner-city gang violence and inequality, in addition to taking roles in Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock’d (1997), and Gang Related (1997). His life, music, and tragic death have been the basis for numerous documentaries, retrospectives, and tributes, including a 2017 biopic All Eyez on Me, starring Demetrius Shipp Jr. (Photo by Michael O’Neill via Getty Images, 1996; DVDs and VHS tapes from our BFCA general collection.)
Joie Lee
On June 22, we wished a happy birthday to screenwriter, producer, and actor Joie Lee, born in 1962. A key and frequent collaborator with her brother Spike Lee, Ms. Lee has appeared in front of the camera in She’s Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Girl 6 (1996), Get on the Bus (1996), She Hate Me (2004), and Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014), in addition to writing screenplays for Crooklyn (1994) and the She’s Gotta Have It TV series (2017-2019). In 2003, Ms. Lee also featured in a prominent role in Jim Jarmusch’s film Coffee and Cigarettes. (Mo’ Better Blues lobby card from the BFCA’s Edward Mapp Collection; photo by Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.)
Alice B. Russell
On June 30, we recognized the birthday of Alice B. Russell (1889-1985), pioneering actress and producer of early “race films” featuring all-Black casts that were distributed to predominantly Black American audiences from the 1920s through 1940s. Along with her husband, filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, Mrs. Russell administered the independent Micheaux Film Company, where she produced and/or starred in Oscar’s feature films like Wages of Sin (1929), Veiled Aristocrats (1932), The Girl from Chicago (1932), and Murder in Harlem (1935). Today, these works stand as some of the earliest surviving Black American film productions, presenting a richer range of roles and narratives with Black characters than the limited stereotypes found in Hollywood.
Largely ignored by historians between Oscar’s death in 1951 and her own passing in 1985, Mrs. Russell has recently gained more recognition for her place in early film history. In 2018, the BFCA helped spearhead an initiative to place a new memorial headstone (pictured) at Alice Russell’s unmarked gravesite.
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For more information about the BFCA, please visit our website www.bfca.indiana.edu. To subscribe to our blog, please visit our blog page https://blogs.iu.edu/bfca/ and click on “Subscribe” in the bottom right of the screen. Please consider ways to give, to continue our efforts and supporting our mission. We sincerely thank you all for your support. We would not be able to complete all of our wonderful programs and awesome events, without your help.
Warmest regards,
BFCA Interim Director and Staff
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