Creatively Speaking, a staple in the independent film exhibition circuit for 25 years, guest curates a special program of short films, based on the themes from Damon Young’s award-winning memoir, “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker”. Four vibrant short films, documentaries and narratives, on a range of topics from athlete protests, to police intimidation, to the creativity and humor of Black culture are brought together in this inspiring 90-minute program. Author Damon Young reads selected excerpts from his book preceding each film, and a Q&A with the filmmakers follows.
Hosted by Michelle Materre, Associate Professor, Media Studies, The New School and Founder/Producer of Creatively Speaking and the Creatively Speaking team
Black 14 by Darius Clark Monroe – (2018) 15 minutes
In Black 14, Darius Clark Monroe uses archival material to tell the story of fourteen black student athletes who were dismissed from the University of Wyoming’s football team in 1969 for taking a stance against racial harassment and racial discrimination in the Mormon church.
Darius Clark Monroe is an award-winning filmmaker and MFA graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He’s a National Board of Review, HBO Short Film, and Urbanworld Best Screenplay award recipient. Most recently, Monroe was selected to the prestigious Screenwriters Colony, and chosen as a fellow at the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Intensive. His first feature film, the autobiographical documentary Evolution of a Criminal was a recipient of an Austin Film Society Grant, Spike Lee Production Fellowship, Warner Bros. Film Award, Cinereach Grant, King Finishing Award, Tribeca All Access Participant, and a selectee of the IFP Documentary Lab.
Black Folk Don’t by Angela Tucker – (2013), 7 minutes
Black Folk Don’t is a web-only series that explores complex expressions and stereotypes rooted in African-American culture. “Black folk don’t”… camp? Tip? Who defines these colloquialisms? The explanation is complicated but worth the attempt. “Black Folk Don’t…” is an open conversation that invites everyone to take a second look at the grey areas between us all, no matter the race, and most importantly to do it with a sense of humor. This documentary web series is a special presentation of BlackPublicMedia.org, directed and produced by Angela Tucker, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Season 3 Episode 2
Do black folk live to the end of a horror film? Do scary movies allow black characters to survive…? Join acclaimed director Ava DuVernay and California actors and regular folk as they muse on this! Presented by BlackPublicMedia.org and directed by Angela Tucker.
STOP by Reinaldo and Rashaad Ernesto Green – (2016), 9 minutes
Filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green tells the story of Xavier, a talented high school baseball player with the potential for a full-ride sports scholarship to a good college. On his way home from practice, he’s stopped by the police for no reason. With his bright future in jeopardy, the confrontation is full of suspense and tension as they do a full search of him and his bag. If he’s caught, his life would be destroyed. The ending hints that he realizes the risks and decides that some things aren’t worth ruining a life for.
New York native Reinaldo Marcus Green is a producer, writer, and director recently named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film (2015). Green has earned some of the highest producing awards while pursuing his degree at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts including the prestigious the Spike Lee Production Grant. He has produced over 20 short films which have premiered at Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and Telluride, winning awards at Berlin and Locarno and will be teaching a graduate producing class as an Adjunct Professor at NYU this semester. His first feature narrative, Monsters and Men, had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film received a Special Jury Prize and was acquired by NEON for US Distribution. His short film “Stop,” which he wrote, produced and directed, premiered at Sundance 2015 and was acquired by Conde Nast. His previous short, “Stone Cars,” shot on a micro-budget in South Africa, had its international premier as an official Cinefondation selection at the Festival de Cannes 2014.
Swing Man Blues by Arielle Knight – (2019) 18 minutes
Genre-bending pianist and establishment rebel, Eric Lewis finds himself in a state of recollection as he meditates on his love affair with a temperamental mistress called Jazz. Swing Man Blues is one man’s contemplative journey through sound, driven by the original compositions of this piano virtuoso.
Arielle Knight is an independent filmmaker, producer and editor of short and and long form documentary films. She has produced branded content, installation videos, creative commercial content and web series. Arielle’s work is grounded in the practice of socially engaged, community-oriented collaborations. She is a teaching artist and current Laundromat Project Create Change Fellow. Arielle holds a BA in African American Studies from Wesleyan University. She is a graduate of The New School where she received an MA in Media Studies & Documentary Filmmaking. Currently she is collaborating with Aubin Pictures as an Impact and Associate Producer. She is a New York based artist and activist.
*This is a free event but registration through the link to the left is required to access the link and password for this live online event.