A number of items from the Mary Perry Smith/Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame (BFHFI) Archive Collection will be on display at the IU Grunwald Gallery from Friday, October 23 through Wednesday, November 18th as part of its exhibition “The Wunderkammer: Curiosities in Indiana University Collections.” An opening reception will be held on Friday, October 23rd… Read more »
With a filmography spanning over forty years, Senegal’s Ousmane Sembène (1923-2007) earned international renown as a revolutionary artist and as the “Father of African Cinema” for his indigenized filmmaking practice. Sembène eschewed Western languages and narrative style for a new cinematic aesthetic drawing from African storytelling traditions, performed in African languages (Wolof, Diola, Bambara), and… Read more »
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Mary Perry Smith. In addition to her roles as an educator, a philanthropist, and a promoter of black cultural heritage, Mary Perry Smith was a co-founder of Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. (BFHFI). For over thirty years Smith played many roles within the… Read more »
In the field of moving image archiving, lost films are not uncommon. This issue is especially pervasive in Black cinematographic culture due to the difficulties in accessing cameras, films, and archives to preserve the work created by filmmakers. These films, created by and about Black people of color, represent the history experienced through the eyes… Read more »
The latest issue of Black Camera: An International Film Journal is now available in print and online from the Indiana University Press. The Spring 2015 issue includes two Close-ups: One on John Akomfrah and the Black Audio Film Collective, from guest editors Matthias De Groof and Stéphane Symons, featuring articles by Stoffel Debuysere, Kobena Mercer,… Read more »
Girlhood is a mesmerizing exercise in the enlightenment that can happen when a filmmaker shifts the male cinematic gaze ever so slightly and uncovers what looks like a whole new world.”–Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post Director Celine Sciamma calls Girlhood (original title: Bande de Filles) the conclusion of her unplanned coming-of-age trilogy, following her 2006… Read more »
The Indiana University Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) has announced its Summer Research Fellowship, a new program offered in partnership with repositories on the Bloomington campus. The Black Film Center/Archive is pleased to be among the partner repositories for this program. Beginning in Summer 2015, IAS will fund a short-term Summer Research Fellowship for a… Read more »
13755 – Project Archivist, Communication and Culture (Black Film Center/Archive), Indiana University – Bloomington The Indiana University Black Film Center/Archive (BFCA) seeks qualified candidates for the position of Project Archivist. SUMMARY: Reporting to the Archivist and Head of Public and Technology Services, the Project Archivist will provide support for the project, Richard E. Norman and… Read more »
“I think the main source of my inspiration is human beings: my neighbor, my neighbor’s neighbor, the person I buy milk from—all of those people.” – Abderrahmane Sissako Born in Mauritania and raised in Mali, Abderrahmane Sissako is often described as a filmmaker who expresses a particularly African point of view to an international audience…. Read more »
Phyllis R. Klotman, founder of the Black Film Center/ Archive and professor emerita in the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, died on March 30th at her home in Manhattan. “She was one of the first to preserve black independent films, and in doing that, she encouraged us,” Charles Burnett remarked in his… Read more »