REMIX: The Black Experience in Film, Media, and Art

REMIX is a year-round series examining the legacy of institutional racism and the black experience in film, media, and art. Join us for programs that will challenge perceptions, inspire dialogue, and celebrate the richness and breadth of cinema that is too often overlooked.

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (with Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games) Dec. 13, 2023 Q&A with directors Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson moderated by REMIX Curator Tayler Montague Presented with Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games (18 min.) Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project travels through…
Twice as Nice Oct. 17, 2023 Introduction by Tayler Montague Jessie Maple (1937-2023) was a pioneer who paved the way in many facets of the film industry. Not only the…
James Baldwin Abroad: A Program of 3 Films June 19, 2023 Special Juneteenth Celebration In honor of Juneteenth, we are celebrating with James Baldwin Abroad, a riveting program comprised of three short documentaries—all recently…
Love to Love You, Donna Summer May 10, 2023 Q&A with director Roger Ross Williams, moderated by Jackie Glover, most recently at Onyx Collective Love to Love You, Donna Summer is directed by Oscar and Emmy-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, daughter…
Tongues Untied & Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) June 19, 2022 Juneteenth Program “My struggle has allowed me to transcend that sense of shame and stigma identified with my being a black gay…
The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of The Revolution Oct. 15, 2015 The Black Panthers: Vanguard Of The Revolution Change was coming to America and the fault lines could no longer be ignored — cities were burning, Vietnam was…
Sustainable Soul Food Oct. 18, 2015 Fried chicken, fatback, collard greens, and pigs feet— when we think of soul food, we think of comfort, family, and…
In My Father's House Oct. 7, 2015 Set against the crumbling landscape of Chicago’s south side, this documentary film captures a yearlong journey from homelessness and alcoholism…
Buck and the Preacher Jan. 28, 2016 Starring Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte “After playing Hollywood’s first black Western hero in Duel at Diablo (1966), Sidney Poitier blazed new trails when he took over the…
The Defiant Ones Feb. 10, 2016 Starring Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis “I was spawned during the Roosevelt era, a time of great change. I still believe in getting people to think,…
Second Coming Dec. 16, 2015 Starring Idris Elba A touching family drama set in present day London, Second Coming is the story of Jackie (Nadine Marshall), a mother…
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis Jan. 18, 2016 Martin Luther King Day Celebration The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Jacob Burns Center present a special Martin Luther King Day…
What's Motivating Hayes? Jan. 31, 2016 “[Jonathan] Demme does something special in his mini-doc…he shows us who Hayes is, independent of the Syngenta scandal. What it…
The Black Calhouns Mar. 2, 2016 Film: Cabin in the Sky In her new book, The Black Calhouns, Gail Lumet Buckley—daughter of performer and activist Lena Horne—delves deep into her family…
Burning an Illusion June 27, 2016 In 1981, minority communities across England took to the streets to protest police brutality, institutional racism, and unemployment. Burning an…
She's Gotta Have It Aug. 1, 2016 30th Anniversary Screening! The release of She’s Gotta Have It heralded a new era in independent cinema and formally introduced the world to Spike…
The Hard Stop July 18, 2016 “A riot is the language of the unheard.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) A wave of riots broke out across England…
When We Were Kings July 17, 2016 “I don’t have to be who you want me to be; I’m free to be who I want.” (Muhammad Ali) Charismatic,…
Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise Sep. 22, 2016 Special Preview Screening When Maya Angelou died in 2014, President Obama said that the prolific and visionary singer, dancer, activist, poet, and writer…
Fences Feb. 24–Mar. 2, 2017 Nominated for 4 Academy Awards! Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Actor, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. …
Losing Ground Jan. 16, 2017 Reel Talk with Ja’Tovia Gary Kathleen Collins’s funny, brilliant, and personal Losing Ground should have ranked high in the canon of indie cinema, but the film was…
O.J.: Made in America Feb. 20, 2017 Nominated for Academy Award—Best Documentary Feature! O.J.: Made in America is a riveting 8 hour Oscar–nominated documentary that revisits the trial of the century. Drawing upon…
This African-American Life: An Evening with Hugh Price June 5, 2017 Q&A JBFC Chairman Emeritus Hugh Price moderated by JBFC Board Member John Nonna Please join us for a film screening and discussion in honor of Hugh Price’s new memoir This African-American Life. In…
A Raisin in the Sun Jan. 15, 2018 Reel Talk with Mia Mask In honor of MLK Day, please join us for a screening of this timeless classic. Featuring star-making performances from the…
Jinn July 19, 2018 Q&A filmmaker Nijla Mu’min with film writer Tayler Montague Summer is a carefree teenager whose world is turned upside down when her mother abruptly converts to Islam. Though initially…
He Got Game Aug. 16, 2018 Released 20 years ago, He Got Game stars Denzel Washington (in his third collaboration with Spike Lee) as a prison…
Killer of Sheep June 21, 2018 “An American masterpiece, independent to the bone” (New York Times), Charles Burnett’s 1978 drama examines mid-’70s life in L.A’s Watts…
Take This Hammer Jan. 21, 2019 In the spring of 1963, prolific author/activist James Baldwin set out to assess “the real situation of Negroes in the…
Hale County This Morning, This Evening Feb. 25, 2019 Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature How does one express the world of individuals whose lives and humanity originate in exploitation? In this unconventional lyrical portrait…
Chi-Town Feb. 21, 2019 Q&A filmmaker Nick Budabin, executive producer Terry Minogue, and community leader Patrice Moore “This is a beautifully photographed, thoroughly engrossing, sobering but also inspirational piece of work.” (Chicago Sun-Times) Chi-Town follows Keifer Sykes…
Imitation of Life Mar. 27, 2019 Introduction by Vassar Professor Hiram Perez In collaboration with Vassar College’s conference “Quiet as It’s Kept: Passing Subjects, Contested Identities” and Professor Mia Mask, we present…
Shadows Mar. 26, 2019 In collaboration with Vassar College’s conference “Quiet as It’s Kept: Passing Subjects, Contested Identities” and Professor Mia Mask, we present…
Devil in a Blue Dress Mar. 25, 2019 Introduction by Vassar Professor Mia Mask In collaboration with Vassar College’s conference “Quiet as It’s Kept: Passing Subjects, Contested Identities” and Professor Mia Mask, we present…
Lost Boundaries Mar. 24, 2019 In collaboration with Vassar College’s conference “Quiet as It’s Kept: Passing Subjects, Contested Identities” and Professor Mia Mask, we present…
Personal Problems May 21, 2019 Introduction by author, activist, and professor Ishmael Reed “Personal Problems retains a vitality and an integrity that practically bounds off the screen.” (New York Times) This entirely African…
Amazing Grace July 27, 2021 Crafted from never-before-seen footage originally shot in 1972, Amazing Grace documents the recording of Aretha Franklin’s seminal and acclaimed gospel…
Mother of George June 27, 2019 Danai Gururia (AMC’s The Walking Dead, Black Panther) and veteran actor Isaach De Bankolé (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, White…
Douvan Jou Ka Levé Aug. 15, 2019 Reel Talk with journalist Michèle Montas Based on her own experience and interweaving poetic narration with interviews, this personal documentary by Haitian filmmaker/actress Gessica Généus—the title…
Boyz n the Hood July 18, 2019 To honor the legacy and influence of the late filmmaker John Singleton, who passed in April at 51, we’re showing…
The Learning Tree Nov. 14, 2019 Reel Talk with Mia Mask 50th ANNIVERSARY Celebrated photographer Gordon Parks was the first African-American to direct mainstream studio films. While he’s best known for…
The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 Feb. 13, 2020 A wall-to-wall immersion in “a tangy raw stew of history” (Entertainment Weekly), courtesy of an extraordinary trove of documentary footage…
The Watermelon Woman (1996) with Home Movie (1973) June 20, 2023 Join us for a special screening of The Watermelon Woman (1996) preceded by a screening of Jan Oxenberg’s seminal short…
Two Shorts by Madeline Anderson Jan. 20, 2020 Q&A filmmaker Madeline Anderson via Skype Trailblazing filmmaker Madeline Anderson, often credited with being the first black woman to produce and direct a televised documentary film,…
Test Pattern Feb. 19–Apr. 8, 2021 Test Pattern follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and…
Midnight in Paris Aug. 23, 2021 Shot in 2012—two years before the water crisis began—this charming, warmhearted film focuses on six Flint, Michigan, teenagers and their…
Our Song Oct. 28, 2021 Our Song is a clear-eyed, unsentimental look at three teenage girls (played by Kerry Washington, Anna Simpson, and Melissa Martinez)…
For Ahkeem Feb. 8, 2018 Q&A filmmaker Landon Van Soest and Director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program Dennis Parker moderated by Creative Culture Fellow Crystal Kayiza For Ahkeem follows the life of Daje Shelton, a seventeen-year-old black girl living in North St. Louis. After being expelled…
'63 Boycott & The Chicago Mixtape Apr. 29, 2018 Q&A The Chicago Mixtape filmmaker Paola Piers-Torres, ‘63 Boycott producer Tracye Matthews & Professor of Media Studies and Film at The New School Michelle Materre Please join us for an evening of short films exploring the marriage of arts, education, and activism in communities of…
The Rape of Recy Taylor Feb. 26, 2018 Q&A filmmaker Nancy Buirski and Coordinator of Community Engagement and Education at My Sisters’ Place Kymberly McNair moderated by BAM Associate VP, Cinema Gina Duncan On September 3, 1944, Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper was making her way home from church when…
Dope is Death Dec. 2, 2021 Q&A filmmaker Mia Donovan, activists Juan Cortez and Sekou Odinga, and acupuncturist Tabitha Silver moderated by Dr. Samuel Kelton Roberts Dope is Death tells the story of how community activists developed the first acupuncture detox clinic in the United States…
Chameleon Street Jan. 27, 2022 Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival—yet criminally underseen for over three decades—Chameleon Street recounts…
Eyes on the Prize Jan. 17, 2022 Free Screening Henry Hampton’s definitive and acclaimed documentary series chronicles the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary…
Set It Off Feb. 24, 2022 F. Gary Gray’s (Friday, Straight Outta Compton) mid-nineties masterpiece was often described as the “Black” Thelma & Louise upon release,…
Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years 1984 to 1992 Apr. 27, 2022 Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years 1984 to 1992 explores a little-known chapter of the writer’s prolific life, a period in…
Faya Dayi May 31, 2022 In her hypnotic documentary feature, Ethiopian-Mexican filmmaker Jessica Beshir explores the coexistence of everyday life and its mythical undercurrents. Though…

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