Event
Maggot Brains: Black Sci-Fi, Punk & Experimental FilmPost an Event »
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
August 15 - August 29, 2015Info
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http://www.ybca.org/
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(415) 978-2700
This three-part film series looks at a variety of African-American subcultures, and is presented in collaboration with the gallery exhibition Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art. Purchase of a film ticket always includes free gallery admission! Field Niggas By Khalik Allah Sat, Aug 15, 4 PM Director Khalik Allah in person Both beautiful and brutal, this mesmerizing new film presents the faces and bodies of people hanging out on the corner of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem. The film shows these often down-and-out residents with great dignity, using heavily stylized, exquisite slow-motion cinematography and non-synchronized audio. The film’s title draws from Malcolm X’s Message to the Grass Roots speech, in which he addresses the dangerous wedge between “house slaves” and “field slaves.” (2014, 60 min, digital) Opening reception for Khalik Allah's Street Opera at Heron Arts, 7 Heron St, San Francisco, 6-9 PM to follow screening. More information at www.heronarts.com. Bad Brains: A Band in DC By Mandy Stein & Ben Logan Sat, Aug 22, 7:30 PM Bad Brains are one of the most important and influential American bands, who uniquely melded punk and reggae. Their impact and influence can be heard in groups like Beastie Boys, No Doubt, Nirvana, Jane's Addiction, and countless more. Despite the complications of an eccentric frontman, they have stayed together for 30 years without ever reaching the level of success so many think they deserve. Using rare archival footage and original comic illustrations the film unravels Bad Brains' vivid history. (2012, 104 min, digital) Preceded by the short Black and White Trypps Number Four (2008, 10 min), an extended Rorschach assault on the eyes examining racial stereotypes and Richard Pryor. Last Angel of History By John Akomfrah Sat. Aug 29, 7:30 PM This little-seen film is a searing examination of relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and computer technology. The film uses science fiction (with themes such as alien abduction, estrangement, and genetic engineering) as a metaphor for the Pan-African experience of forced displacement, cultural alienation, and otherness. Featuring interviews with a vast array of black cultural figures, including DJ Spooky, George Clinton, black astronaut Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr., Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, and writers Samuel R. Delaney and Octavia Butler. (1997, 45 min, digital). Preceded by two sci-fi-themed shorts: Frances Bodomo’s Afronauts (2014, 13 min) and Wanuri Kahiu’s Pumzi (2010, 22 min).