Box office open for advance ticket purchases Mon-Fri 12-6 & from 1 hour before until the end of all events. During these hours, knock on the window if door is locked.
Thursday,
Jan. 7
7:30 pm
THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE Audience Suggested Films! Suggest a film: cinema@mayslesinstitute.org This month's screening conceived by Sylvia Savadjian
The Cry of Jazz Dir. Edward Bland, 1959, 34 min. The Cry of Jazz is filmmaker, composer and arranger Edward O. Bland's essay on the politics of music and race. Not only is this one of the earliest documentaries made by an African American, it is arguably the first time an African American director openly challenges assumptions of white supremacy on film. Bland makes an early argument that Jazz is an inherently Black art form, rooted in Black experience, being diluted by White imitators to its own peril. Bland makes the case by grounding Sun Ra's soundtrack in poignant images of Black urban experience and cultural life compared with the "cool" sound and posture of White jazz performers. This argument has fueled debate and cultural production from the Black Arts movement through the current "post-racial" period. "Edward O. Bland's...insights into the art and politics of jazz—as seen in this short work of philosophical agitprop, from 1959—are profound."-Richard Brody (The New Yorker, 1/11/10)
Followed by discussion with film critic, Armond White.
Mr. White is an iconoclast with un-predictable takes on popular culture. Most recently he has raised a stir with his review of Lee Daniels' film, Precious, as a modern day Birth of a Nation. In spite of, or perhaps on account of his unorthodox views, Armond White is highly respected in the film world and serves as head of the New York Film Critic's Circle.
Chameleon Street Dir. Wendell B. Harris Jr., 1989, 95 min. Chameleon Street tells the story of a social chameleon who impersonates reporters, doctors and lawyers in order to make money. The film is a satire based on the life of Detroit con artist and high school drop-out William Douglas Street, Jr., who successfully impersonated professional reporters, lawyers, athletes, extortionists, and surgeons, going so far as to perform more than 36 successful hysterectomies. A Sundance Film Festival press release in 2008 described it as "one of the first films to examine how mellifluously race, class, and role-playing morph into the social fabric of America." Chameleon Street won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival.
Men of Bronze Dir. William Miles, 1977, 60 min. Men of Bronze is the definitive story of black American soldiers of the 369th U.S. combat regiment, the 15th Infantry from New York, know as the "Harlem Hellfighters," who served with the French army in World War I. The film uses photographs, interviews with veterans, and film from the French and American national Archives to recount the saga of the "Harlem Hellfighters," offering an inspiring tribute to these unsung heroes and an unforgettable look at World War I. Film trailer>
Human Rights in Haiti Dirs. Isabelle Abric and Simone Guidi di Bagno, 1999, 56 min.
In a delicate blend of paintings and exclusive footage, this documentary - the first of its kind- takes viewers through the history of the Haitian people and the struggle for their rights. Through the eyes of the victims, human rights defenders and international observers, one gets an insight into the prison system, the courts and the police. Human Rights in Haiti is the fascinating and compassionate story of a people facing the challenge of building a society respectful of human rights.
Followed by a Q&A session with Dr. Steeve Coupeau from NYIHA MEDIA.
Sunday,
May 9
5:00 pm
THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE Audience Curated Screenings! Suggest a film: cinema@mayslesinstitute.org Selected by Kathleen Sullivan, in celebration of Mothers Day.
Docs on Nukes: Nuclear Narratives through the Art of Film
Witness to Hiroshima Dir. Kathy Sloane, 2010, 16 min.
Japanese citizen Keiji Tsuchiya, using his 12 powerful watercolors, recounts his experiences in Hiroshima as a 17-year-old soldier immediately following the dropping of the atomic bomb, and relates those experiences to his subsequent life-long commitment to saving the Japanese horseshoe crab and its habitat. Website>
***Special Sneak Preview***
Atomic Mom Dir. M.T. Silvia, 2010, 87 min. Atomic Mom is a documentary about two women, both mothers, who have opposite experiences of the atomic bomb. After decades of silence, a daughter's quest for truth leads to the exchange of an olive branch between an American Scientist and a Hiroshima Survivor. Website>
Post screening panel discussion with filmmakers, Kathy Sloane and M.T. Silvia and Kathleen Sullivan, PhD, Program Director of Hibakusha Stories.
Atomic Mom
343 Malcolm X Boulevard / Lenox Avenue (between 127th and 128th Streets)
Suggested Admission: $10 (unless otherwise noted). The box office is open 12 - 6pm Monday - Friday and 1 hour before all showtimes till event end.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
