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REEL TALK FILM SERIES 2017
PRODUCED & CURATOR
RASHID BAHATI
AFRIQUE360
CO-PRODUCER
VUSISIZWE AZANIA
BRINGER OF HOPE FOUNDATION
13th: From Slave to Criminal with One Amendment (2016) TV-MA | 1h 40min | Documentary, Crime
Thursday April 20 -11:30am Black Forum Haines 153 FRIDAY April 21 – 7pm *Encore Screening Northwest Auditorium Director: Ava DuVernay The film begins with the idea that 25 percent of the people in the world who are incarcerated are incarcerated in the U.S. Although the U.S. has just 5% of the world's population. "13th" charts the explosive growth in America's prison population; in 1970, there were about 200,000 prisoners; today, the prison population is more than 2 million. The documentary touches on chattel slavery; D. W. Griffith's film "The Birth of a Nation"; Emmett Till; the civil rights movement; the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Richard M. Nixon; and Ronald Reagan's declaration of the war on drugs and much more
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Agent of Change (2017) Documentary
Thursday April 20 -1pm Black Forum Haines 153 Director: Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg
From the well-publicized events at San Francisco State in 1968 to the image of black students with guns emerging from the takeover of the student union at Cornell University in April, 1969, the struggle for a more relevant and meaningful education, including demands for black and ethnic studies programs, became a clarion call across the country in the late 1960's. Through the stories of these young men and women who were at the forefront of these efforts, Agents of Change examines the untold story of the racial conditions on college campuses and in the country that led to these protests. The film’s characters were caught at the crossroads of the civil rights, black power, and anti-Vietnam war movements at a pivotal time in America’s history. Today, over 45 years later, many of the same demands are surfacing in campus protests across the country, revealing how much work remains to be done. FILM TRAILER
LA Rebellion (2015) TV-MA | 1h 40min | Documentary,
25 short films that represent a broad selection of L.A. Rebellion filmmakers
Thursday April 20 - 3pm Black Forum Haines 153 Director: TBA
In the late 1960s, in the aftermath of the Watts Uprising and against the backdrop of the continuing Civil Rights Movement and the escalating Vietnam War, a group of African and African-American students entered the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, as part of an EthnoCommunications initiative designed to be responsive to communities of color (also including Asian, Chicano and Native American communities). Now referred to as the "L.A. Rebellion," these mostly unheralded artists created a unique cinematic landscape, as—over the course of two decades—students arrived, mentored one another and passed the torch to the next group.
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The Space Between Us (2017) PG-13 | 2h | Adventure, Drama, Romance
FRIDAY, April 21 -10am Northwest Auditorium Director: Peter Chelsom
In this interplanetary adventure, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet - never revealing who the father is. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Gardner Elliot - an inquisitive, highly intelligent boy who reaches the age of 16 having only met 14 people in his very unconventional upbringing. While searching for clues about his father, and the home planet he's never known, Gardner begins an online friendship with a street smart girl in Colorado named Tulsa. When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, he's eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars - from the most simple to the extraordinary. But once his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner's organs can't withstand Earth's atmosphere. FILM TRAILER
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The Birth of a Nation (2016) R | 2h | Biography, Drama, History
FRIDAY, April 21 -1pm Northwest Auditorium Director: Nate Parker Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom. FILM TRAILER
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Equal Means Equal (2016) 1h 33min | Documentary, History, News
FRIDAY, April 21 - 3 pm Northwest Auditorium Director: Kamala Lopez The film does an outstanding job of laying out the many ways women are disadvantaged in the United States under the Constitution. Using facts, figures, interviews, colorful graphics, news footage and occasional humor, the audience is led through current challenges to wage parity, legal protections, maternity leave, ending violence and poverty. The argument is clear and compelling. It's provocative but avoids man-bashing as it makes the case for why men and women should be fighting to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed. FILM TRAILER
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Ali (2001) R | 2h 37min | Biography, Drama, Sport
SATURDAY, April 22 - 10am Northwest Auditorium Director: Michael Mann In 1964, a brash new pro boxer, fresh from his olympic gold medal victory, explodes on to the scene, Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an entirely new image for African Americans in sport with his proud public self confidence with his unapologetic belief that he is the greatest boxer of all time. To his credit, he sets out to prove that with his highly agile and forceful style soon making him a formidable boxer who soon claims the heavyweight championship. His personal life is no less noteworthy with his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, his friendship with the controversial Malcolm X and his abandonment of his slave name in favour of Muhammad Ali stirring up controversy. Yet, at the top of his game, both Ali's personal and professional lives face the ultimate test with the military draft rules are changed, making him eligible for military induction during the Vietnam War. FILM TRAILER
Loving (2016) PG-13 | 2h 3min | Biography, Drama, Romance
SATURDAY, April 22 - 10am DeNeve Auditorium Director: Jeff Nichols The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, whose challenge of their antimiscegenation arrest for their marriage in Virginia led to a legal battle that would end at the US Supreme Court.
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Concussion (2015) PG-13 | 2h 3min | Biography, Drama, Sport
SATURDAY, April 22 - 1pm Northwest Auditorium Director Peter Landesman Will Smith stars in Concussion, a dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu's emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful institutions in the world. FILM TRAILER
Panther (1995) R | 2h 4min | Drama |
SATURDAY, April 22 - 1pm DeNeve Auditorium Director: Mario Van Peebles Panther is a semihistoric film about the origins of The Black Panther Party for SelfDefense. The movie spans about 3 years (1966-68) of the Black Panther's history in Oakland. Panther also uses historical footage (B/W) to emphasize some points.
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Collateral Beauty (2016) PG-13 | 1h 37min | Drama, Romance
SATURDAY, April 22 - 4pm Northwest Auditorium Director David Frankel
When a successful New York advertising executive suffers a great tragedy, he retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it's not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty. FILM TRAILER
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Apocalypse Now (1979) R | 2h 33min | Drama, War |
SATURDAY, April 22 - 4pm DeNeve Auditorium Director: Frances Ford Cappola It is the height of the war in Vietnam, and U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, 'does not exist nor will it ever exist'. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him! Willard, sent up the Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S. Army. His crew meets up with surfer-type Lt-Colonel Kilgore, head of a U.S Army helicopter cavalry group which eliminates a Viet Cong outpost to provide an entry point into the Nung River. After some hair-raising encounters, in which some of his crew are killed, Willard, Lance and Chef reach Colonel Kurtz's outpost, beyond the Do Lung Bridge. FILM TRAILER
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Asinamail (2016) South African I Drama I based on true story WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING SATURDAY, April 22 - 7pm Northwest Auditorium Director: Mbongeni Ngema
Adapted from Mbongeni Ngema's Broadway production of Asinamali On the prison yard on Robin Island, a man named Nelson Mandela told Msizi Dube "Go and do it for all of us, for all our people. So one day we may join you in a free South Africa." After Msizi Dube was released residents of Lamontville Township, with anger and passion in their hearts, demonstrated against proposed rent increases, and led the crowds with a cry of ASINAMALI - We have no money. Dube was later gunned down but his cause and mission had touched the hearts of millions who still believe and follow in what he said. Our story takes place, ten years later in a prison, where a group of inmates are asked to create and perform a stage play for the governor and his associates for a celebration at the prison. These seven inmates, crammed together in a small cell, use their free time at night, after a hard days work, creating the stage play as a way of escaping the reality of where they are. FILM TRAILER
Stanley Nelson – Retrospective 5 films I Documentaries I award winning
Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise (2004) 57min | Documentary
SUNDAY, April 23 - 10am James Bridges Theater Director: Stanley Nelson, Carol Bash, Luillie Haddad, and Cyndee Readdean
On May 17, 1954, in its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal," ending legal segregation in American education. Fifty years later, how close is America to fulfilling the promise of Brown?
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The Murder of Emmett Till 53min | Documentary, Biography, History
SUNDAY, April 23 - 12pm James Bridges Theater Director: Stanley Nelson
A documentary examining the 1955 murder of a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago while visiting relatives in Mississippi, and the broad impact of his death, his funeral, and the subsequent trial and acquittal of his accused killers. FILM TRAILER
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Freedom Riders (2010) 1h 57min | Documentary, History
SUNDAY, April 23 - 2pm James Bridges Theater Director: Stanley Nelson
This is the story of more than four hundred Americans who participated in a bold and dangerous experiment designed to awaken the conscience of a complacent nation. These selfproclaimed, 'Freedom Riders' challenged the mores of a racially segregated society by performing a disarmingly simple act. FILM TRALIER
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Freedom Summer (2014) 1h 53min | Documentary
SUNDAY, April 23 - 5pm James Bridges Theater Director: Stanley Nelson
A look back at the summer of 1964, when more than 700 student activists took segregated Mississippi by storm, registering voters, creating freedom schools and establishing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. FILM TRAILER
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Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities (2017) Documentary
SUNDAY, April 23 - 8pm James Bridges Theater Director: Stanley Nelson
A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries-and path of promise toward the American dream-Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically Black for 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told. FILM TRAILER`
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An American Ascent (2014) 1h 9min | Documentary, Action, Adventure
MONDAY, April 24 - 10am Northwest Auditorium Director: Andrew Adkins and George Potter
An American Ascent documents the first African American expedition to tackle Denali, North America's highest peak and explores the complex relationship many AfricanAmericans have with the outdoors. As the United States transitions to a 'minority majority' nation, a staggering number of people of color do not identify with America's wild places. By embarking on the grueling multi-week climb of the 20,327ft Denali, nine African-American climbers set out to bridge this 'adventure gap' challenging outdated notions of what adventure looks like by changing the face of America's biggest and baddest mountain on the 100th anniversary of its first summit.
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Olympic Pride, American Prejudice (2016) 1h 22min | Documentary, History
MONDAY, April 24 - 1pm Northwest Auditorium Director: Deborah Riley Draper
In 1936 when 18 African-American athletes participated in the Berlin Olympic Games, history forgot all except one. This is the story of the other 17.
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I Am Not Your Negro (2016) PG-13 | 1h 33min | Documentary |
MONDAY, April 24 - 4pm Northwest Auditorium Director: Raul Peck In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.
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Moonlight (2016) R | 1h 51min | Drama |
MONDAY, April 24 - 7pm Northwest Auditorium Director: Berry Jenkins Three time periods - young adolescence, midteen and young adult - in the life of AfricanAmerican, gay Chiron is presented. When a child, Chiron lives with his single, crack addict mother Paula in a crime ridden neighborhood in Miami. Chiron is a shy, withdrawn child largely due to his small size and being neglected by his mother, who is more concerned about getting her fixes and satisfying her carnal needs than taking care of him. Because of these issues, Chiron is bullied, the slurs hurled at him which he doesn't understand beyond knowing that they are meant to be hurtful. Besides his same aged Cuban-American friend Kevin, Chiron is given what little guidance he has in life from a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan, who can see that he is neglected, and Juan's caring girlfriend Teresa, whose home acts as a sanctuary away from the bullies and away from Paula's abuse. FILM TRAILER
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Hidden Figures (2016) PG | 2h 7min | Biography, Drama, History |
TUESDAY, April 25 - 9am - *Encore Screening: 7pm Royce Hall Director: Theodore Melfi As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes. FILM TRAILER
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