Film Series
Say It Loud: Cinema in the Age of Black Power, 1966—1981
As black consciousness spread across the globe in the mid-1960s, it gave rise to a radical cinema that both reflected and worked to further the cause of African-American liberation. From surprisingly subversive major releases to on-the-ground documents of Black Panthers in action to the expressive social portraits of the LA Rebellion, this cinematic companion to the exhibit Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (opening September 14 at the Brooklyn Museum) brings together raw, revolutionary, powerfully relevant records of a struggle that continues to this day.
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power first ran at London’s Tate Modern from Jul—Oct 2017. Special thanks to Zoe Whitley, Curator, International Art at Tate Modern.
A rare, powerfully propulsive call to arms made in collaboration with Malcolm X.
Isaac Hayes, Richard Pryor, and other legends commemorate the Watts Rebellion.
Proto-rappers the Last Poets take their radical message to the streets of Harlem.
A boy comes of age in 1920s Kansas in the first African-American-directed studio film.
A chilling investigation into the assassination of the Black Panther party leader.
A raw, you-are-there dispatch from the frontlines of social unrest in 1968 Chicago.
Explores the influence of the revolutionary poet, playwright, and back nationalist.
William Klein and Agnés Varda document the Black Panther movement.
A jolting look at the link between the 60s black liberation and anti-war movements.
Robert Downey Sr.’s gag-a-minute gonzo satire of advertising and 60s racial politics.
William Greaves’ mind-bending meta-cinema masterpiece.
The most radical call to revolution of the 1970s, suppressed for decades by the FBI.
Black radicals prepare for revolution in Jules Dassin’s hard-hitting political thriller.
An audacious mix of satire, whiplash stylistics, and anti-colonialist indignation.
The first black British film examines what it means to be an outsider in your own society.
Twin transmissions from the British Black Power movement.
A bracing view of Angola’s anti-colonialist struggle and a rousing call to revolution.
A stunning mix of vérité authenticity, densely stylized surrealism, and radical agitprop.
Charles Burnett’s American neorealist landmark with shorts by fellow LA Rebellion members.
An exhilarating lost classic and one of the all-time great jazz films.
The filmmakers of the Black Power era revolutionize cinematic form.
Melvin Van Peebles’ made-in-France, Nouvelle Vague-inspired feature debut.
Melvin Van Peebles’ subversive, Kafkaesque race-swap comedy.