By Mabel Pais

Recognizing and Honoring Black Americans through Film, Radio & DiscussionVia Utah Film Center

Black History Month is an opportunity for us to learn, listen, discuss, and work toward the significant changes we ALL desperately need for an equitable future.

Thismonthlet’s recognize and honor not only the challenges and struggles of African-Americans but also celebrate the political savviness, artistry, and historical significance of the Black community via film. Screenings and Events are FREE where date and time are indicated.

LIL’ BUCK: Real Swan

DIR: Louis Wallecan l 2019 l France/USA l Eng l Doc l 1h 25m

Official Selection: 2019 Tribeca Film Festival

Charles “Lil Buck” Riley learned the smooth art of Memphis ‘Jookin,’ on the streets, parking lots, and slippery floors of the Crystal Palace Roller Rink in Memphis, Tennessee, igniting a lifelong passion for dance.

Lil Buck won a scholarship to study ballet and took his dancing to a whole new level, merging street-style Jookin with classical technique. After a breathtaking video was taken of him dancing to Camille Saint-Saëns’ “The Swan” accompanied by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma went viral, Lil Buck’s career exploded.

In this exuberant documentary, director Louis Wallecan takes an in-depth look at this extraordinary artist whose passion, drive, discipline, and talent have blazed a unique new path in the world of dance that has included performing all over the world, touring with Madonna, mentoring young dance students, and becoming a passionate advocate for arts education.

DRIVING WHILE BLACK

DIR: Gretchen Sorin & Ric Burns l 2020 l USA l Eng l Doc

“Sorin’s research has allowed us to assemble a moving, visual story that shows the joy and liberation that accompanied the freedom promised by the automobile and the daily struggle for Black Americans to seek their independence in a country that, to this day, does not fully acknowledge how systemic racism defines much of our history.” – Ric Burns

‘Driving While Black’ draws on a wealth of recent scholarship – and based on and inspired in large part by Gretchen Sorin’s recently published study of the way the automobile and highways transformed African American life across the 20th century – the film examines the history of African Americans on the road from the depths of the Depression to the height of the Civil Rights movement and beyond.

CHISHOLM ’72 – UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED

DIR: Shola Lynch l 2004 l USA l Eng l Doc l 1h 17m

2006 Peabody Award

Official Selection: 2004 Sundance Film Festival

TUESDAY, FEB 16 @ 10:00 PM EST

“A refreshing antidote to the opportunism and cynicism that rules the political roost today…an inspiring tale of someone who made a difference.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“An essential historical record of Chisholm’s campaign and its multidimensional significance to American culture and politics told in Chisholm’s voice…Crucial example of how necessary independent filmmaking is to civic engagement.” – Terri Simone Francis, Asst. Professor – Film Studies & African American Studies, Yale University

Recalling a watershed event in US politics, this compelling documentary takes an in-depth look at the 1972 presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first to seek nomination for the highest office in the land. Following Chisholm from her own announcement of her candidacy through her historic speech in Miami at the Democratic National Convention, the story is a fight for inclusion. Shunned by the political establishment and the media, this longtime champion of marginalized Americans asked for support from people of color, women, gays, and young people newly empowered to vote at the age of 18. Chisholm’s bid for an equal place on the presidential dais generated strong, even racist opposition. Yet her challenge to the status quo and her message about exercising the right to vote struck many as progressive and positive. Period footage and music, interviews with supporters, opponents, observers, and Chisholm’s own commentary all illuminate her groundbreaking initiative, as well as political and social currents still very much alive today.

BELOVED COMMUNITY PROJECT (Panel)

Wednesday, February 17 @ 9:30 PM – 10:30 PM EST

Join Utah Film Center for a special live screening of the ‘Beloved Community Project’ documentary film followed by a post-film panel hosted by Brolly Arts and Salt Lake Community College. Guests TBA.

SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Indie Cinema from LA

DIR: Zeinabu Davis l 2017 l USA l Eng l 1h 41m

Best Feature Doc & Audience Award – 2016 BlackStar Film Festival

Best Film by a Woman of Color – 2016 African Diaspora Intl. Film Festival

Best Feature Doc– 2017 San Diego Film Awards

Best Feature Doc – 2017 University Film Video Association

Tuesday, February 23 @ 10:00 PM EST

‘Spirits of Rebellion: Black Independent Cinema’ from Los Angeles documents the lives and work of a small critically acclaimed group of black filmmakers and media artists known as the Los Angeles Rebellion, a group brought together through shared experiences as students in the UCLA film production MFA program between 1967 and 1992. It is now recognized as an important part of the ‘Black Arts Movement’ on the West Coast.

‘Spirits of Rebellion’ offers the story of the movement in an accessible style through over 30 interviews with the filmmakers today as well as archival footage, clips from rarely seen films of the group, and reflections from leading scholars on film history and African-American cinema.

ON THE TOPIC OF LOVE – (CONVERSATION & CLIPS) – Thursday, February 18 @ 8:30 PM –10:00 PM EST 

‘On The Topic Of Love’ is presented by Westminster College’s Black Excellence program: featuring an evening of student-led discussion hosted by Victoire Soumano with panelists Kyana Hamilton and Jenessa Jimoh focusing on clips from the tv comedy ‘grown-ish.’ This event is a partnership between Utah Film Center and Black Excellence, which is part of the ‘Student Diversity and Inclusion Center of the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion’ Office. They will dive into dating and romance in a predominantly white community by shedding light on the silver linings, challenges, and misconceptions in navigating relationships and college as a person of color.

BLACK, BOLD, & BRILLIANT: ‘BLERD’ EDITION FILM & DISCOURSE                    

Eng l 120 l Wednesday, February 24 @ 8:00 PM EST

Black, Bold, & Brilliant presents the next episode in Utah Film Center’s series of conversations about Black-centric films and media: ‘Blerds.’ The term for Black nerds, “Blerds”, was first introduced into the mainstream in 2006 via a reference from the television show, “Scrubs”. Since then, cultural recognition for Blerds has grown exponentially. This cultural explosion, often seen as the sole purview of white America in the media, has unleashed the power, imagination, and beauty of Blerds, which they’re celebrating! Join the discussion for a deeper dive into their rich and storied lives viewed through the lens of touchstones like “Black Panther,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” HBO’s “Watchmen and Lovecraft Country,” “Star Wars,” and so much more.

This event features a discussion with Jay Whittaker, Derek Thomas, and Imani Powell, and is moderated by Aja Washington, Meligha Garfield, and Billy Palmer.

Moderators:

Aja Washington is a black feminist, social worker, and activist who grew up in Southern California. She is a community co-host on KRCL’s Thursday night show, ‘Changing the Narrative,’ is a founding member of Black Lives Matter Salt Lake City and works on various activism projects in Salt Lake City.

Billy Palmer is Co-Host and Associate Producer of RadioACTive, a community affairs show that highlights grassroots activists and community builders weeknights at 6 p.m. on Salt Lake City-based 90.9fm KRCL. For more than 20 years, Billy has been a community organizer and advocate for youth empowerment, civil rights, neighborhood reinvestment and DV/SA survivors.

Meligha Garfield (he/him) is the inaugural director for the Black Cultural Center (BCC) at the University of Utah—a center that works to holistically enrich, educate, and advocate for students, faculty, staff and the broader community through Black centered programming, culturally affirming educational initiatives, and retention strategies.

For more information or to watch any of the films or discussions, visit utahfilmcenter.org

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness)