Black History Month Virtual Screening 2021

Virtual screening February 26 – 28, 2021

  • free to the public
  • available for streaming on this page during the screening period
an older male clogging dancer seated on a rainy front porch with a banjo player, framed by sound equipment in the foreground

WELCOME to our 2nd annual Black History Month Screening, celebrating and featuring the work of Black directors as well as films that examine the Black experience in the United States, including featuring extraordinary Black performers.

program of films

films will be available on this page until February 28, 2021

This event is appropriate for all ages. A strobe lighting effect is present in one film.

Searching for Wonder

2018 / USA / 6 min

Produced and Directed by
Choreography and Dancing by
Featuring
Music by
Cinematography by
Edited by

Greg Osei
Abdiel Jacobsen
Abdiel Jacobsen Dance Collective
Greg Osei
Leonardo Schober
Leonardo Schober

Searching for Wonder was inspired by conversations with fellow artists who have diverse relationships to the African Diaspora. These discussions highlighted how we all feel lost in different ways, because history, slavery, colonialism & fear have left many of us feeling disconnected, searching for something we can’t fully articulate. Searching for Wonder deals with the tremendous power we have to rediscover & reimagine ourselves through our ancestors, their gods, their cultures & our interconnectedness.

Double Up

2017 / USA / 15 min

Directed by
Produced by
Choreography by
Dancing by
Music by
Cinematography by
Edited by

Francesca N. Penzani
Francesca N. Penzani, Emily Drossner
Francesca N. Penzani
Kyreeana Alexander
Nedra Wheeler
Vincent Wrenn, Aaron Marquette
Francesca N. Penzani

My heart’s beating inside myself, inside yourself, the heart of the earth. I am here are you? Can you see me? Can you hear me? Based on a dream to bring two women together to create a collaboration that celebrated the joy of being alive, Double Up is a powerful conversation, through music and dance: Nedra Wheeler on bass and voice, and tap dancer Kyreeana Breelin.

Sound and Sole

2018 / USA / 6 min

Produced and Directed by
Choreography and Dancing by
Music by
Cinematography by

Cara Hagan
Arthur Grimes
Tray Wellington, Old Crow Medicine Show
Robert Uehlin

Arthur Grimes was born and raised in the Appalachian mountains, and is the only professionally working African-American buck dancer in Boone, North Carolina. In this short documentary, Arthur recounts his dance journey from eager youth to professional master, gives us a glimpse into his performance experience, and demonstrates his deep love for Appalachian music, dance and history.

Dynamite

2018 / USA / 7 min

Directed by
Choreography and Dancing by
Music by
Cinematography by
Edited by

Leila Jarman
Maceo Paisley
Michael Sempert
Ariel Pomerantz
Leila Jarman

A short, poetic performance art/dance film that investigates gender and masculinity –more specifically the American black male experience– through embodied inquiry to find spaces where identity exists between and in opposition to social constructs. This film guides us through narrative incorporating movement, spoken word, and chant, as it uncovers truths about race, gender, and success in an ever-changing social landscape.