APRIL 18-26 2009

LANGSTON HUGHES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FILM SERIES

The Underground Railroad Film Series (URFS) is the neighborhood participation component of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center’s African American Film Festival.    The URFS uses the metaphor of the Underground Railroad to illuminate that community can exist over many miles and many backgrounds with one common cause.    

Each month from September through February, at various ‘safe houses’ in greater King County, the Underground Railroad Film Series partners with community groups, organizations and traditionally marginalized populations to host a screening of films by or about Black people that intersect across cultures, providing opportunities for community engagement and self-reflection.  

This moveable feast of provocative films features post-screening panels that provide context and stimulate thoughtful discussions that connect audiences across the aisles and across neighborhoods.     

2008-09 SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

SEPT. 24 HOW DO I LOOK

Documentary – USA 2006; 80min

Director- Wolfgang Bush

A chronicle of the gay Harlem Ball tradition, featuring the gritty and glamorous testimony of African American and Latino gay & transgendered people who excited the runways of Harlem and beyond. Panel Discussion follows

Time: 7pm

Loc.: Central Cinema 21st @ Union sts.

OCT 15 – TALKING WITH STONES

Documentary – Holland 1995

Films that offer vital material on two key figures in the history of the beautiful Shona sculpture of Zimbabwe, featuring Nicholas Mukomberanwa and Joram Mariga.

Companion to Langston’s October presentation of the world premiere play, “Bobby and Jerome”, set in a stone yard in Harlem. Panel Discussion to follow

Time: 7PM

Location: TBD

NOVEMBER 20 – AKIRA’S HIP HOP SHOP

                             ELI’S  LIQUOR STORE

Narrative – USA 2007

These two films explore relationships between Blacks and Asians. In “Akira’s” love blooms between a Japanese man and a Black woman who share a love of Hip Hop. “Eli’s” is a tale of a Black storeowner in L.A’s Koreatown, who finds simple joys in his neighborhood. Discussion follows

Time: 7PM  Location: TBD

Dec. 18 – TROUBLE THE WATER

Documentary – USA 2008 96mins

Dir: Tia Lesson, Carl Deal

Trouble the Water is the award winning film that goes inside Hurricane Katrina through the lens of  unlikely heroes, Kim and Scott Roberts. A powerful and moving tale of grace and humanity.

Time: 7PM

LOC: TBD

JAN. 14 – HANDS OF GOD

Documentary – Peru 2004 54mins

Director: Delia Ackerman

Afro-Peruvian music is rooted in multiple rhythms coming from Africa. The percussion artist Chocolate composed and played many music styles, taught all over the world and contributed to the creative development of numerous artists including the dance group Peru Negro. Chocolate mixes the traditional and the contemporary, from cajón to Jazz.

Companion to Langston’s June production of “Callejon the Alley”. Discussion to follow

Time: 7pm

Loc: TBD

FEB 19- FEBRUARY One

Documentary – USA 2004 61mins

FEBRUARY ONE tells the compelling story of four students from North Carolina A&T University who initiated the 1960 Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins, setting into motion a whirlwind of sit-ins that swept the South and reignited the Civil Rights movement. Discussion to follow

Time: 7PM

Location: TBD

2007-08

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

2006-07

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

2005-06

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD