We’re thrilled to be celebrating Black History Month on the Criterion Channel with a lineup that salutes African American filmmaking pioneers like Gordon Parks and Madeline Anderson, spotlights the brilliant career of actor and activist Ruby Dee, presents newly restored works by William Greaves and Bill Duke, and offers introductions to contemporary Black directors like Mahamat-Saleh Haroun and Akosua Adoma Owusu.
That’s just the beginning we’ve also got Marlene Dietrich, Lana Turner, a new installment of Adventures in Moviegoing with Wyatt Cenac, and much more check out the full calendar below!
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Growing up, Leila Weefur knew of Frederick Douglass, the writer, activist, and former slave turned abolitionist.
“As a child, my mother put me in an all-Black elementary school in Oakland,” Weefur, a UC Berkeley lecturer and a member of artist network The Black Aesthetic said.
“In kindergarten we were learning to read on [Douglass’] slave narratives. We recited the Black National Anthem every morning and we were practicing Kwanzaa principles. It was a very Black cultural experience.”
As part of a larger exhibition inspired by the life of Douglass, Weefur has curated a program of short films called “New Labor Movements” that “seeks to engineer a gender diverse, intergenerational dialogue amongst Black filmmakers,” according to the website of San Francisco’s McEvoy Foundation, which is sponsoring the show. The first two installations, or “movements,” in Weefur’s series are available to view online via the Roxie Theater through December 24th.