“Conveying the themes of identity, liberation and
remembrance shapes my vision of what independent cinema
should be. To tell one’s story is to place one’s name on the
map of history, and to do so while honoring the struggle of
our ancestors is essential to ensure that future generations
have the documentation with which to create their own
blueprints for survival. The history, culture and
socio-economic well being of all peoples of African
descent is my primary concern, but above all the
preservation of their humanity is what motivates me
as a filmmaker.”
Director in Residence Haile Gerima
OUTSIDER HOLLYWOOD: SOCIAL ACTIVISM AND CINEMATIC ART
with Director in Residence Haile Gerima — director, writer, and producer
March 10 through May 7
Includes two director-in-residence screenings followed by a Q & A, a master class, and the 31st annual New School Invitational Film Show featuring the best student films of the past year
Presented by the Department of Media Studies and Film
Peter Haratonik, Chair
Dawnja Burris, Associate Chair, Executive Producer
Michelle Materre, Assistant Professor, Co-Producer
Vladan Nikolic, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Co-Producer
William Pace, Screenwriting Certificate Advisor, Co-Producer
A bequest from the late Dorothy Hirshon, a trustee of The New School for 61 years, established this annual event with the mission of promoting excellence and education in the filmmaking arts. The theme of the seventh Hirshon Film Festival is writing and producing the independent film.
2010 Director in Residence: Haile Gerima
Called “one of the independent cinema’s chief chroniclers of the African-American and African Diaspora[n] experience[s]” by Variety, Haile Gerima is an independent filmmaker of distinction. He has been a distinguished professor of film at Howard University in Washington, DC since 1975.
Gerima is perhaps best known as the writer, producer, and director of the acclaimed 1993 film Sankofa, which was called “poetic and precisely detailed” by the New York Times. This historically inspired dramatic tale of African resistance to slavery won international acclaim: first prize at the African Film Festival in Milan, Italy; Best Cinematography at Africa's premier Festival of Pan African Countries known as FESPACO; and a nomination for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Sankofa captured the imagination of audiences across the United States. Its success with moviegoers, many of whom waited in lines and filled theaters for weeks on end, defied the notion that signing with mainstream distributors is the only option for filmmakers seeking mainstream attention for their films.
Guided by an independent philosophy, Gerima practiced an innovative distribution strategy with Sankofa, the success of which was unprecedented in African-American film history. Gerima’s earlier works include the Harvest: 3000 Years, which Martin Scorsese described as having, “a particular kind of urgency which few pictures possess”; and Bush Mama, which the Washington Post reported, “crackle[d] with energy,” with “fury shak[ing] the very frame.”
Currently, Gerima is releasing his eleventh cinematic production and seventh dramatic film, TEZA—“morning dew” in Amharic—which tells a story of hope, loss, and reminiscence through the eyes of an idealistic young intellectual displaced for many years from his homeland of Ethiopia. The film considers the effects of the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie on Ethiopia’s history and society; through a broader lens, TEZA focuses on the ways in which political upheaval and social change have impacted cultures and nations across the African Diaspora. Due to the discourse on critical issues that it engenders and its exquisite visual tableau, TEZA is an unparalleled work of social activism and cinematic art.
Schedule of Public Events
Wednesday, March 10
Director in Residence Screening: Revisiting the 1993 Classic Film Sankofa
7:00-9:00 p.m. Admission free; no tickets or reservations.
Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th St., 5th floor (enter at 66 West 12th St.)
The film is introduced by Michelle Materre, Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Film. The screening is followed by excerpts from Haile Gerima's newest work, TEZA, and a conversation with Mr. Gerima.
(125-min. Starring Mutabaruka, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Alexandra Duah, Kofi Ghanaba, Nick Medley, Afemo Omilami, and Reginald Carter)
“Haile Gerima's Sankofa is a handsome, urgent slave's-eye view of slavery. Its vantage point is one you've never seen from Hollywood, and probably won't. Cinematically, Sankofa is every bit as rich as The Color Purple, but the similarities end there. Its strength is that it's not like a Hollywood film. This means it plays out more slowly than Hollywood's fast-paced industrial products. Sometimes it drags. But it never releases its grip on you. Ogunlano is compelling as the woman plunged back in time to her people's slave days, Mutabaruka is electrifying as Shango, and Kofi Ghanaba convinces you that he's possessed as the old seer. Obviously, there are metaphorical and allegorical dimensions to Sankofa, and contemporary parallels. It isn't just a sermon or a period piece. It's a worthy film, made with passion and conviction and artistry, and it ought to be seen.” Jay Carr, Boston Globe, 1993.
Friday, April 23
Director in Residence Screening: Haile Gerima Retrospective
7:00-9:00 p.m. Admission free; no tickets or reservations.
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th St., 2nd floor.
Director, writer, and producer Haile Gerima introduces a retrospective of his work. A panel discussion moderated by Margo Jefferson and a reception follow the screening.
Thursday, May 6
Student Screenplay Readings
7:00-9:00 p.m. Admission free.
Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th St., 5th floor (enter at 66 West 12th St.)
A selection of scenes from student screenplays produced in the New School Screenwriting certificate program will be read by actors.
Friday, May 7
The 31st Annual New School Invitational Film Show
7:00-9:00 p.m. Admission free.
Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th St. Reception follows.
The annual Invitational Film Show, a presentation of the year’s outstanding New School student films, concludes the Dorothy H. Hirshon Film Festival. The best films made by New School students during the past year (narratives, documentaries, and experimental shorts) have been selected in a juried competition by a panel of distinguished filmmakers and film industry professionals. All were produced in the Department of Media Studies and Film. The program is introduced by the 2010 Distinguished Director in Residence, Haile Gerima.
Schedule of Private Events
Friday, May 7
Haile Gerima Master Class
5:00-6:30 p.m. Admission is free but advance reservations are required; RSVP by Monday, April 26 to media@newschool.edu.
66 West 12th St., Room 407
New School students and faculty are invited to participate in a lecture and conversation with Haile Gerima, the director of Teza (2008); Adwa (1999); Sankofa (1993); After Winter: Sterling Brown (1985); Ashes and Embers (1982); Bush Mama (1979); and Wilmington 10–U.S.A. 10,000 (1979), among other films.