Spotlight

This six-screening series assembles activist grassroots documentaries made by oppositional groups in the United States for more than 50 years. Curated by Louis Massiah of the Scribe Video Center and Patricia Zimmermann of Ithaca College, the series offers an essential history of the individual voices that embody and constitute “we the people.” Exploring salient topics of collective documentary practice, each program features a diversity of voices across historical time periods and geographic locations throughout the United States. The programs chronicle a rich history of political and social engagement by community groups, connecting past with present to show the development of ideas, media technologies, and politics. Each screening will be complemented by speakers from across Chicagoland, including filmmakers, activists, and scholars, further connecting the issues raised in the films to our own lives.

Screenings take place at the Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St., and the Green Line Performing Arts Center, 329 E. Garfield Blvd. 

Presented by the University of Chicago’s Arts + Public Life and the Film Studies Center. Cosponsored by the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture.

SCREENINGS

1/16: States of Violence, with Jacqueline Stewart, Louis Massiah, and Maira Kwhaja
1/30: Environments of Race and Place, with Susan Gzesh and Alaka Wali
2/6: Body Publics, with Judy Hoffman, Sarah Oberholtzer, and Alex Halkin
2/20: Wages of Work, with Salomé Aguilara Skvirsky, Patricia Zimmermann, and Andrew Friend
2/27: Collaborative Knowledges, with Jacqueline Stewart, Carmel Curtis, and Margaret Caples
3/12: Turf, with Allyson Nadia Field, Angela Aguayo, Denise Zaccardi, Anton Seals, and Gordon Quinn