Northwest Film Forum

Black Art, Black Artists
(Elyseo J. Taylor, USA, 1971, digiBETA, 16 min)
Created by the founder of the Media Urban Crisis Committee (MUCC), precursor to the Ethno-Communications program, Black Art, Black Artists takes the viewer on a sweeping museum tour.  Tracing African American artists throughout history, the greater discussion of what aesthetic principals define black art emerges. Questions surrounding the role of audience and the responsibility of social commentary draw attention to the artistic decisions made by all of the filmmakers in series.

Four Women
New 16mm print!
(Julie Dash, USA, 1975, 16mm , 7 min)
Set to Nina Simone’s song of the same name, dancer Linda Martina Young embodies the silhouettes of four black female stereotypes in this performance film. In her transformation from “Aunt Sarah,” to “Saffronia,” to “Sweet Thing,” to “Peaches,” stark bursts of colored spotlights punctuate the shadowed stage, bringing to light the legacy of slavery in each woman’s story.  

Define
(O. Funmilayo Makarah, USA, 1988, digiBETA, 5 min)
Define’s surreptitious vignettes examine the language of female ethnic identity through the lens of a wry narrator who explains how to “win an invitation to the dominant culture.”

Bellydance—A History & An Art
(Alicia Dhanifu, USA, 1979,  digiBETA, 22 min)
Bellydancing—A History & An Art relays the history and tradition of belly dancing, its technique and its spirituality. Including performances from Director Alicia Dhanifu, a complete picture is painted of this ancient art form.  

Festival of the Mask
(Don Amis, USA, 1982, 16mm, 25 min)
Strolling through the workshops, parade, booths and performances of the Craft and Folk Art Museum’s annual Festival of the Mask, Don Amis’ documentary showcases the diversity of cultures and artists in Los Angeles. Festival of the Mask refrains from an academic explanation of each tradition, and instead dwells on the beauty of this shared art form.  

Tonight's program is part of our month-long series L.A. Rebellion. Read More >>

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