SUNDAY, April 6

SUNDAY

African-American director Charles Burnett is one of the most important voices working today and was a JRFF guest in ‘99. His 1977 independent feature, “Killer of Sheep” was adopted by the National Registry in 1991 and “To Sleep with Anger” was on many top ten lists in 1990.

In 1995 he directed “Nightjohn” for The Disney Channel which starred Beau Bridges and Carl Lumley. Burnett’s latest, a collaboration with Academy Award-winning producer Frank Christopher and historian Kenneth Greenberg for PBS, tackles the ever controversial subject of the 1831 slave revolt led by Nat Turner in southeast Virginia – men, women and children were murdered and Turner and his co conspirators were executed. Shot in 2001 in Virginia’s Southampton, Albemarle and Hanover counties, this dramatic documentary tackles Turner from multiple perspectives – diaries and interviews; most notably that of attorney Thomas Gray who recorded Turner’s confession; and that of historians (Foner, Wood, Thelwell) and novelists (Stowe and Styron) over the years as well.

What emerges is a ground-breaking exploration of slavery, race, violence and memory in American life. Narrated by Alfre Woodard, with Carl Lumley, Tommy Hicks and local actors Justin Dray and Harry Kollatz.

After the 2:30pm, screening, join us for a discussion with distinguished panel members Charles Bethea, Director of the Black History Museum; Dr. Irby Brown, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Richmond; Andrew Edmunds, Locations Manager for the Virginia Film Office; and Dr. Eric King, Professor of History and Political Science at Virginia Union University.

Image courtesy of Zeitgeist Films.

“Brakhage”
(1999, 75 min.)
Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W. Broad St., 5:30pm
Tickets $5

Filmmaker Stan Brakhage is perhaps one of the greatest artists of our time – in all the arts. Since 1952, at the age of 19, Brakhage has created over 300 films ranging from mere seconds to several hours, constantly challenging the way we see and perceive light, color and time and pushing the medium as one of pure personal expression. A JRFF featured guest in 1996, his film “Dog Star Man” is included in the collection of the National Registry. As a teacher and scholar, Brakhage has contributed to the books “Metaphors on Vision” and the recently published “Essential Brakhage.” Directed by Canadian Jim Shedden, “Brakhage” includes interviews with the subject, his family, friends and colleagues, among them George Kuchar and Jonas Mekas. The original score is by long-time Brakhage associate and noted composer James Tenney.

We sadly report the death of Stan Brakhage on March 9, 2003

-- from the Village Voice
A Modern Hero
by J. Hoberman
March 12th, 2003
A great and courageous artist, Stan Brakhage died at age 70 after a long illness on March 9. To call him a filmmaker scarcely does him justice. The 300-plus movies Brakhage brought into the world, more or less single-handedly, over the course of his 50-year career provide an alternate history of motion pictures. [Read the entire article in the VILLAGE VOICE]

Stan Brakhage was a guest of the James River Film Festival in 1996.