Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema at UCLA

“What is a Black film?” is the inciting question at the heart of Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema at UCLA, Zeinabu irene Davis’s retrospective documentary that shines a light on the radical aesthetic innovations and interventions that emerged from a collective of radically inquisitive, steadfastly humanist filmmakers who took seriously the imperative to create films about—and for—their own communities. Davis, herself a member of the history-making cohort who enrolled at UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television during a period stretching from the late 1960s well into the ’80s, compiles a precious trove of interviews with visionary directors Charles Burnett, Billy Woodberry, Julie Dash, Haile Gerima, and more, all of whom offer generous, intimate testimonies reflecting on their own artistic practice, their influences and inspirations, and the evolution of Black cinema and its complicated relationship with the Hollywood film industry in the second half of the 20th century.

Screening with:
Special Work-in-Progress Film
Jérémie Danon, Kiddy Smile, 2023–25, France, 45m
The French film industry, home of the Lumière brothers and the Cannes Film Festival, has historically been the subject of pointed critiques identifying a culture of invisibility around the achievements of Black actors and filmmakers. In this smart and aesthetically incisive video project, artist Jérémie Danon and DJ and LGBTQ+ rights activist Kiddy Smile engage in conversations with prominent Black activists, thinkers, and film professionals to better understand the underrepresentation and systematic discrimination faced by people of color in France.