The day after Ava DuVernay’s new film, 13TH, opens the 54th New York Film Festival, subjects interviewed in the film come together for an extended conversation exploring the many issues highlighted in this powerful documentary about race and criminal justice. From the portrayal of black men in popular culture, dating back to D. W. Griffith’s 1915 Birth of a Nation, to the progression from slavery to mass incarceration and the persistent demonization and killing of black men by police in our cities today, the discussion will consider how the past connects with our present reality. Participants will include Ashley Clark (BFI), Jelani Cobb (The New Yorker, The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress), Malkia Cyril (Center for Media Justice), Kevin Gannon (Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning), and Khalil Gibran Muhammad (Harvard Kennedy School; former Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture). 13TH is a Netflix original documentary.

13TH is the Opening Night film of the New York Film Festival, screening on September 30.