Curated by Julian Townsel, Alejandra Ornelas,
Jose Acosta-Campos, & Kabeer Kumra
In physics there’s the idea of inertia which is the tendency for an object to resist changes in its state of motion. The object will stay at whatever state of motion it is in unless acted on by an unbalanced force. In a very similar way history has shown that oppressing ideologies may seep through generations and continue to structure the systems and societies in which we live in, but through the use of their cameras, these filmmakers have created films that disrupt the hegemonic culture that has existed in American cinema. These films each individually capture the importance of learning from the past and the issues that we, as individuals and a society, tend to run from. During these unprecedented times there couldn’t be a better moment to bring back these incredible stories which will reconnect with today’s audience at a much deeper level than ever before.
Lost Cat (1991)
Set in San Francisco, a black and white couple faced with adversity by the structures of the world address their racial views as they set out to look for their cat. Rising tension between the two might separate their unity as they review problems of racism within their relationship and the world. These problems, as micro as they can be cannot be ignored, as both sides don’t understand the conditioning of the other’s upbringing. In this black and white film can racism that is embedded in culture be extinguished? Lost Cat was produced by Chris Brown and is accompanied with a lovely score, cinematography, and dialogue. (Julian Townsel)
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 1991
Running time: 26 minutes
Director: Chris Brown
Producer: Chris Brown
Writer: Chris Brown
Cinematographer: Chris Brown
Editor: Chris Brown
No Justice No Peace (1992)
“This essay about the policing of young black men, foreshadows the 1992 outcome of the trial which acquitted policeman directly involved in the brutal beating of a black motorist, Rodney King, was made as my graduate school thesis in the film school at San Francisco State University. It also underscores a series of escalating gripping actions and murders of black men and women in America-by police or individuals policing black lives…that would provoke the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement. It was nearly orphaned until I received a request from a scholar looking to write about video tape imagery & justice-just recently. This is the best result of the rescue of footage locked on an obsolete medium- hi-8. Boots Riley, one of the young men interviewed on the grassy knoll has become an important voice in Oakland and across the globe as an activist and cutting-edge musician.” (Portia Cobb)
Country: USA
Language: English
Year: 1992
Running Time: 16 minutes
Directed: Portia Cobb
Music & Images: Brian Burman
Recording Engineer: Gibbs
Born to Die Young (1994)
Aaron, a young man finds himself in a difficult financial situation, attempting to find a job in order to provide for his upcoming newborn. He expresses his difficulty to his friends and barber, on not being able to get any job. His barber consults him on a positive note telling him he needs to go to school in order to stand out and be given a better opportunity, but refuses to. He then lands an interview but is turned down for the lack of experience. He loses his patience and turns to the “easy” way out and agrees to rob a store with a group of troublemakers. Upon arrival at the store it’s this moment when Aaron realizes he’s made the wrong choice. Born To Die Young was produced and directed by Kevin Carraway. (Jose Acosta-Campos)
Country(ies): USA
Language(s): English
Year: 1994
Running time: 18 minutes
Director(s): Kevin Carraway
Producer(s): Kevin Carraway
Writer(s): Kevin Carraway
Cinematographer(s): Michael Hardwick
Editor(s): Kristopher Kruger
FILMMAKER BIOS
CHRIS BROWN —
Emmy-award winning filmmaker Chris Brown has written, directed, produced and/or edited a wide range of projects, including the award-winning documentary THE PROVIDERS (2018), and critically-acclaimed A THOUSAND MOTHERS (2017). Brown’s fictional feature, THE OTHER KIDS (2016), won 10 awards internationally, was hailed as “Genuine and relevant” by Variety and “Extraordinary” by The San Francisco Examiner. In 2015, Brown co-produced the acclaimed documentary ON HER OWN, which premiered at HotDocs and was named “A must see” by Moviemaker Magazine. In 2013, he edited and helped produce the SUNDANCE Grand Jury Award-winning documentary A RIVER CHANGES COURSE. Brown also edited, co-produced and co-directed the PBS favorites WE’VE GOT THE POWER (2014) and THE NEXT FRONTIER (2011), which won an Emmy Award for Best Documentary. Brown’s fictional feature, FANNY, ANNIE & DANNY (2010) won 16 awards internationally, was declared “An indie masterpiece” by The Huffington Post and a “Critics’ Pick” by The New York Times.
Brown’s work has screened his work in high schools and universities across the country, including UCLA, Boston University, Loyola University NOLA, the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, The Friendship Academy, Minnesota State University, Stratford Comp High, CSU Monterey Bay, UM Kansas City, Alabama School of Fine Arts, University of Central Florida, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In 2018, he served as Visiting Filmmaker at Northwestern University.
Brown is one of the founding producers of GetUpStandUpNow.org, an activist video collective dedicated to amplifying the voices of people of color across the country. He is currently in various stages of development on two dramatic features.
PORTIA COBB —
Adriene Morgan Hammond, actor in “Lost Cat” —