Patrick Kelly: The American in Paris
Directed by Rashidi Natara Harper (USA, 2023, 23:00 mins).
Filmed in New York City, Paris, and the de Young museum, this short documentary—named an Honoree by The Webby Awards in the 2022 'Video - Documentary: Longform' category—celebrates the life, career, and legacy of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990).
What Ascends from Ashes
Directed by Ronnie (Roni3romance) T. Thomas (USA, 2019, 21:44 mins).
This film is about a diluted spirit finding himself again.
Take 290
Directed by Sandrel Nicole Young (USA, 2024, 15:55 mins).
A defeated artist from the Westside of Chicago finds inspiration in the common ground she discovers through a spontaneous interaction with an art curator from the Southside.
Ikhaya
Directed by Jenn Lindsay (Italy, South Africa, 2024, 23:00 mins).
Giggs Kgole, a young South African artist, prepares for his milestone solo show in Rome. He must confront the ghosts of his impoverished past in a Limpopo village, unraveling the layers of his own identity and piecing them back together on his canvas...but his creative originality is strained by unexpected hurdles.
Naudline Pierre: A Place Other Than Here
Directed by Haimy Assefa (USA, 2024, 7:17 mins).
Whether painting in her Brooklyn studio or roaming amidst the medieval artworks at The Met Cloisters, artist Naudline Pierre reframes traditional representations of religion and spirituality, finding freedom in a world of her own making—where the airborne and earthbound coexist and cooperate.
Howardena Pindell: Inner Circle
Directed by César Martínez Barba (USA, 2024, 14:56 mins).
For nearly six decades, artist Howardena Pindell has explored and expanded the language of abstraction while struggling against a racist and misogynistic culture. Fascinated by circles and numbers, Pindell has developed a formal language that speaks to both universal and personal experiences through her paintings and paper works. In this film, Pindell reflects on formative childhood memories, her confrontations with systemic prejudice, and the enduring joy she finds in being an artist.
Weree
Directed by Tal Amiran (United Kingdom, Netherlands, 2024, 15:00 mins).
Having fled the Liberian civil war, renowned self-taught artist Johnson Weree is seeking asylum in the Netherlands where he lives undocumented and without a fixed address. Haunted by the horrors of his past, he draws bright-coloured otherworldly portraits, whilst longing for a brighter future.
Q&A to follow.