St. Clair Bourne Program
Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents in New York, 1968 – 1986
February 6 - 21, 2015
Q&A with film scholar Pearl Bowser, filmmaker Crystal Emery, filmmaker Sam Pollard, and Rafee Kamal of The Black Documentary Collective
Producing or directing more than 40 films in a 36-year career, St. Clair Bourne is inarguably the most prolific black documentarian of his time, authentically documenting critical aspects of the black community—its culture, resistance, and activism.
The Black and the Green (St. Clair Bourne, 1983, 45m)
Something to Build On (St. Clair Bourne, 1971, 29m)
Statues Hardly Ever Smile (Stan Lathan, 1971, 21m)
Q&A with film scholar Pearl Bowser, filmmaker Crystal Emery, filmmaker Sam Pollard, and Rafee Kamal of The Black Documentary Collective
Producing or directing more than 40 films in a 36-year career, St. Clair Bourne is inarguably the most prolific black documentarian of his time. Bourne authentically documented critical aspects of the black community—its culture, resistance, and activism—images of which would have been lost if not for his chronicling. If comparisons are necessary to understand the significance of Bourne’s work upon the broader landscape of independent film, think D.A. Pennebaker, the Maysles, and Jean Rouch. The films in this program find Bourne documenting black and Irish solidarity, representation in the Brooklyn Museum, and the options granted to high school students who want to attend college. St. Clair Bourne passed away at the age of 64; he would have been 73 this February. Something to Build On is screening courtesy of the Reserve Film and Video Collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
The Black and the Green
St. Clair Bourne, USA, 1983, digital projection, 45m
Something to Build On
St. Clair Bourne, USA, 1971, 16mm, 29m
Statues Hardly Ever Smile
Stan Lathan, USA, 1971, digital projection, 21m
St. Claire Bourne (Filmmaker), a producer, director and writer who heads his own production company, Chamba Mediaworks Inc., has made more than 42 films, concentrating primarily on cultural and political themes. Most recently, he has produced a feature-length documentary for HBO titled “Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks,” about the photojournalist […]
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