Out of the Archive Film Series: The Revolutionary Films of Madeline Anderson

Please join us at FilmScene for the continuation of "Out of the Archive: Envisioning Blackness," a monthly screening and discussion series that celebrates the vibrant  tradition of Black cinema by featuring rarely screened, newly restored, and archivally-engaged films. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (with students, in particular, encouraged to pick $0). Join us before each screening for a free dinner reception catered by local restaurants, and stay after each film for post-screening conversations with UI community members and, whenever possible, the filmmakers themselves. Dinner receptions start at 6:15 p.m., with all screenings following at 7 p.m.

"More than Somebody: The Revolutionary Films of Madeline Anderson"-- This collection of shorts from pioneering filmmaker and television producer Madeline Anderson puts us right in the heart of the Civil Rights movement, joining the front lines in the struggle. A testament to the courage of the workers and activists at the heart of her films as well as her own bravery, tenacity and skill, the films of Madeline Anderson are both essential historical records of activism and a vital body of cinematic work.

INTEGRATION REPORT 1 (1960, 24min) -- This film examines the struggle for Black equality in Alabama, Brooklyn and Washington, D.C., incorporating footage by documentary legends Albert Maysles and Ricky Leacock, protest songs by Maya Angelou, and a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr.

A TRIBUTE TO MALCOLM X (1967, 16min) -- Made for the William Greaves-produced WNET program Black Journal, this short includes an interview with Malcolm X’s widow Dr. Betty Shabazz, shortly after his 1965 assassination.

I AM SOMEBODY (1970, 28min) -- In 1969, Black female hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina went on strike for union recognition and a wage increase, only to find themselves in a confrontation with the state government and the National Guard. Featuring Andrew Young, Charles Abernathy, and Coretta Scott King and produced by Local 1199, New York’s Drug and Hospital Union, this is a crucial document in the struggle for labor rights.

Co-presented by FilmScene’s African Diaspora Committee, the Out of the Archive series is made possible through generous support from the following University of Iowa departments and units: African American Studies Program, Black Visual Culture Group (Obermann Center Working Group), Carver College of Medicine, Center for Human Rights, College of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Health, Department of Anthropology, Department of Cinematic Arts, Department of Communication Studies, Department of Dance, Department of English, Department of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, Department of History, Department of Religious Studies, Department of Rhetoric, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Department of Theatre Arts, Graduate DEI Program, Obermann Center of Advanced Studies, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, School of Library and Information Science, School of Music.

This program is also generously supported by Humanities Iowa. The views and opinions expressed by this program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities Iowa.