Special Guest Scheduled to Appear
Home Is Where the Heart Is: Black Cinema's Exploration of Home
Explorations of queerness as home, curated by IU Cinema guest programmer in residency and Black Film Archive founder Maya Cade, who is scheduled to be present to introduce this program.
Behind Every Good Man | Directed by Nikolai Ursin: Produced several years before the historic Stonewall uprising for LGBTQ rights in 1969, director Nikolai Ursin's gently activist short Behind Every Good Man provides an illuminating glimpse into the life of an African American trans woman. In strong contrast to the stereotypically negative and hostile depictions of transgender persons as seen through the lens of Hollywood at the time, the subject of Ursin’s independent film is rendered as stable, hopeful, and well-adjusted. The resulting intimate portrait serves as a rare cultural artifact of transgender life and African American life in the U.S. at the mid-century. Preserved by UCLA Film & Television Archive as part of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, with funding provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation. [8 mins; documentary; English]
Pariah | Directed by Dee Rees: Alike is a 17-year-old African American woman who lives with her family in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. She has a flair for poetry and is a good high-school student. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the support of Laura—her sometimes-boisterous best friend and out-lesbian—Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained, and there is further tension around Alike’s sexuality. Unsure as to how much she can confide in her family, she strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity. [86 mins; drama; English]
"The tone is tragicomic, the genre is coming-of-age, and the execution is impeccable." – B. Ruby Rich, Film Quarterly
"Adepero Oduye is so tender and sincere with her performance ... she breathes and lives her character with an element of truth." – Allen Almachar, The MacGuffin
"Pariah maintains a very lyrical flow built upon good storytelling and filled with magnificent performances that soar." – Debbie Lynn Elias, Behind the Lens
Home Is Where the Heart Is: Black Cinema's Exploration of Home is generously supported by the Women’s Philanthropy Leadership Council, the Black Philanthropy Circle, the Department of African American & African Diaspora Studies, Bloomington High School Black Culture Club, IDS' Black Voices, and the IU Black Student Union.
