thoughts on his work, private life, family, and sexuality in this short filmed in Istanbul during his residency in Turkey. Baldwin’s interviews, mixed with narration over street montages of Istanbul, ignite sparkles of nostalgia as he reminisces about his personal history, parallel to that of his country’s, the United States. DIRECTED BY: Sedat Pakay. WITH: James Baldwin. 1973. 11 min. Turkey. B&W. English. DCP. Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris Originally anticipated to be a rather “generic” documentation of James Baldwin as an American writer living in Paris, Terence Dixon’s plan takes a sudden turn when growing tension between him and Baldwin about their visions of this documentary collide during production. Despite the pressure, Baldwin’s grounded brilliance, elegance, and emotional and intellectual perception shine through in his assuring rhetoric on politics and his genuine smile, laughter, and smirk shared with his fellow artist friends in Paris. DIRECTED BY: Terence Dixon. WITH: James Baldwin. 1970. 27 min. France/UK. Color. English. DCP. Baldwin’s N***** “I’ll tell you a story,” says James Baldwin in the opening scene of Horace Ové’s documentary, which consists of a recorded discussion between Baldwin and Dick Gregory at The West Indian Students’ Centre in London. Over the course of the film, they delve into the Civil Rights Movement; Black identity in America, the Caribbean, and Great Britain; and the contradicting application of racially loaded terms in relation to their history and impact. DIRECTED BY: Horace Ové. WITH: James Baldwin, Dick Gregory. 1968. 46 min. UK. B&W. English. DCP.
fantasies of Black queer artists and writers including Hughes and James Baldwin—and their ghosts. Looking for Langston is a captivating gateway to a world where the spirits of the marginalized can freely dream, exist, and love. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Isaac Julien. WITH: Ben Ellison, Matthew Baidoo, Akim Mogaji, John Wilson. 1989. 45 min. UK. B&W. English. DCP.
I Am Not Your Negro Mon, Sep 9 | 7:30pm | TMT
Raoul Peck’s Oscar-nominated documentary draws on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript Remember This House to create a nuanced examination of the history and current state of racial inequity in the United States. Peck imagines Baldwin’s unfinished work using archival interviews of the legendary literary figure from the 1960s, narration by Samuel L. Jackson, and footage of the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement. Peck’s documentary is an incisive and unflinching work of filmmaking. DIRECTED BY: Raoul Peck. WRITTEN BY: Raoul Peck, James Baldwin. 2016. 95 min. France/USA/Belgium/Switzerland. Color. English. DCP. Courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
If Beale Street Could Talk Fri, Sep 13 | 7:30pm | TMT
Following his 2016 film Moonlight , Barry Jenkins returns with his adaptation of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk , turning the 1974 novel into a visual poem. The film, which received three Academy Awards nominations, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Regina King, centers on two young lovers, Fonny and Tish, critiquing systematic injustice and its horrific impact, especially on Black men in the United States. When Tish discovers she’s pregnant after Fonny is put in prison for the alleged sexual assault of another woman, she begins to find her voice and the confidence to defend Fonny, herself, and others in her community. DIRECTED/WRITTEN BY: Barry Jenkins. WITH: KiKi Layne, Stephen James, Regina King, Teyonah Parris. 2018. 119 min. USA. Color. English. DCP. James Baldwin Abroad: Three Short Documentaries Sat, Sep 14 | 7:30pm | TMT James Baldwin: From Another Place Intimately portrayed, James Baldwin shares his
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