African-American Studies


MISS ALMA THOMAS: a life in color
MISS ALMA THOMAS: a life in color

2022  American Studies  American History  Art History  African-American Studies  Education  Short Films  Directed by Women  Women's Studies 

Alma W. Thomas, a Black woman painter, broke color barriers on and off the canvas, yet did not receive national attention until she was 80 years old. “Miss Alma Thomas” is the first documentary film that explores Thomas’ incredible life through the lens of curators, art specialists, scholars, and her family.  


JEWEL'S CATCH ONE
JEWEL'S CATCH ONE

2018  African-American Studies  AIDS  American History  Directed by Women  Human Sexuality  LGBTQ  Women's Studies  American Studies  2019 

The story of famed Los Angeles nightclub Catch One and its owner Jewel Thais-Williams, who defied all odds and provided a safe space for both black and LGBT communities.

OWNED: A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS
OWNED: A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS

2018  Sociology  American History  Urban Studies  Cultural Studies  African-American Studies  2019 

Owned: A Tale of Two Americas is a fever dream vision into the dark history behind the US housing economy. Tracking its overtly racist beginnings to its unbridled commoditization, the film exposes a foundational story few Americans understand as their own.

THE ISSUE OF MR. O'DELL
THE ISSUE OF MR. O'DELL

2018  African-American Studies  American History  American Studies 

The Issue of Mr. O’Dell examines the lifelong work of a pioneering civil rights organizer Jack O’Dell, who was a close colleague and advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but was ousted from King's organization after President Kennedy named him the number five Communist in America.



MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS
MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS

2018  Music  African-American Studies  American Studies  Media Studies 

Milford Graves Full Mantis is a feature-length portrait of renowned percussionist Milford Graves, oscillating from present to past and weaving intimate glimpses of the artist’s complex cosmology with blistering performances from around the globe, exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity.

HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING

2018  African-American Studies  American Studies  Cinema Studies  Media Studies  Academy Award Winners & Nominees  2019 

2019 ACADEMY AWARD® Nominee for Best Documentary Feature. Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming - despite the odds.

HOW TO RUST
HOW TO RUST

2018  African-American Studies  Art History  Cinema Studies  Sensory Ethnography Lab  Anthropology  Directed by Women 

From the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University comes a postindustrial fable told in iron, rocks, and wood.  A unique look at Detroit artist Olayami Dabls’ installation “Iron Teaching Rocks How to Rust”


SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Independent Cinema from Los Angeles
SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Independent Cinema from Los Angeles

African-American Studies  Directed by Women  American Studies  Cinema Studies  Media Studies  Cultural Studies  American History  2018 

Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema from UCLA documents the lives and work of a small critically acclaimed group of black filmmakers and media artists known as the Los Angeles Rebellion, the first collective of minority filmmakers that aimed to reimagine the production process to represent, reflect on, and enrich the day to day lives of people in their own communities.

RAT FILM
RAT FILM

2017  Urban Studies  Environmental Studies  Political Science  Sociology  Cultural Studies  Cinema Studies  Anthropology  American Studies  Architecture  African-American Studies 

A documentary that uses the rat to explore the complicated history of Baltimore and how racial segregation, redlining, and environmental racism built the American city we see today.

RAISING BERTIE
RAISING BERTIE

2016  African-American Studies  American Studies  Sociology  Criminal & Law  Education  Family Relations  Alcohol & Drug Abuse  Directed by Women  Kartemquin Films 

Recorded over six years, Raising Bertie delivers an authentic and tender portrait of the lives of three young boys as they face a precarious coming of age within Bertie County, a rural African-American community in North Carolina. Another harrowing work from the acclaimed documentary powerhouse Kartemquin Films, the film shows the process of growing up in a place afflicted by generations of economic and educational segregation.

CITY OF TREES
CITY OF TREES

2016  Kartemquin Films  Environmental Studies  American Studies  Labor Studies  Criminal & Law  African-American Studies  Urban Studies  Political Science  Sociology  Health  Business 

A complex tale of social justice, urban forestry and community politics, City of Trees portrays the struggles of a DC non-profit to challenge the cycle of poverty and violence in blighted urban areas by implementing an ambitious "green jobs" program that hires 150 unemployed residents to plant trees in underserved parks.

THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF DORIS PAYNE
THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF DORIS PAYNE

Psychology & Psychiatry  American Studies  African-American Studies  Women's Studies  Criminal & Law  2015 

A sensational portrait of a rebel who defied society’s prejudices and pinched her own version of the American Dream, The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne relates the fascinating story of how a poor, single, African-American mother from segregated West Virginia became the world’s most notorious jewel thief.

KILLING TIME
KILLING TIME

Criminal & Law  African-American Studies  Death & Dying  2014 

Neither advocating for the death penalty nor against it, Killing Time is a devastating investigation into the futility of taking a life - both a murder and a state sanctioned execution. It is an honest look at the private, logistical and business-as-usual aspects of capital punishment in today's America.

PRISON TERMINAL: the last days of private jack hall
PRISON TERMINAL: the last days of private jack hall

Short Films  2014  Academy Award Winners & Nominees  Psychology & Psychiatry  Health  Death & Dying  Criminal & Law  American Studies  Aging / Gerontology  African-American Studies 

2014 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short Subject, Prison Terminal is an extraordinary chronicle of death and dignity behind bars, an incredibly moving story of a terminally ill prisoner's final days and the hospice volunteers (prisoners themselves) who care for him. Issues surrounding America's aging prison population and the profound impact hospice programs can have on the lives of the incarcerated are explored in this remarkable film.

THE HILL
THE HILL

2013  African-American Studies  American Studies  Sociology  Urban Studies  Directed by Women 

Clinging to the last affordable housing in a rapidly gentrifying city, a determined group of neighbors come together when the city claims eminent domain over their land in order to build a new school. An absorbing look at the complex issues surrounding urban planning, gentrification and economic renewal.

BROOKLYN BOHEME
BROOKLYN BOHEME

African-American Studies  Performing Arts  Cinema Studies  Urban Studies  New York City  2012  Directed by Women 

In this inspiring documentary, filmmaker Nelson George explores a singular neighborhood in Brooklyn that gave rise to an African-American arts movement in the late 20th century as vibrant as the Harlem Renaissance. Through interviews with Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Lisa Jones Chapman, Branford Marsalis, Lorna Simpson, and many others, Brooklyn Boheme celebrates the rise of a new kind of African-American artist.

EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: the story of fishbone
EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: the story of fishbone

African-American Studies  Music  2012 

Narrated by Laurence Fishburne, Everyday Sunshine charts the turbulent history of the pioneering all-Black rock band Fishbone. This lively documentary tells the story of a band that broke racial stereotypes, and for a brief moment, seemed to challenge the political order of the music industry and the nation.

THE INTERRUPTERS
THE INTERRUPTERS

2011  Kartemquin Films  Women's Studies  Urban Studies  Sociology  Peace & Conflict  Latino Studies  Criminal & Law  American Studies  African-American Studies 

From Steve James, acclaimed director of Hoop Dreams, and Alex Kotlowtiz, bestselling author of There Are No Children Here, The Interrupters is an epic documentary work exploring violence in America, a look at an innovative program in which former gang members disrupt violent situations as they happen.

DOUBLETIME
DOUBLETIME

African-American Studies  Children & Young Adult  Urban Studies  American Studies  2011  Directed by Women 

Jumping rope is one of the most timeless and universal forms of play. In the last 30 years, its popularity has moved it from the sidewalk to the stage. Doubletime profiles two championship teams - one suburban white and one inner-city black - for a revealing look inside an exciting new sport and a snapshot of race in America.

BEYOND BABYLAND
BEYOND BABYLAND

2010  Women's Studies  Urban Studies  Sociology  Health  Family Relations  Economics  Death & Dying  American Studies  African-American Studies  Medicine 

Beyond Babyland seeks to understand the causes behind the troubling rate of infant mortality in African-American communities while introducing us to the people and organizations working tirelessly to turn around this tide.

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