Event

AFRICAN-AMERICAN TRAILBLAZERS - ADIFF Chicago

SUNDAY, JUNE 15 @ 4pm African-American Trailblazers Program Q&A

JOSEPHINE BAKER: BLACK DIVA IN A WHITE MAN'S WORLD
A tender, revealing documentary about one of the most famous and popular performing artists of the 20th century. Her legendary banana belt dance created theatre history; her song "J'ai deux amours" became a classic, and her hymn. The film focuses on her life and work from a perspective that analyses images of Black people in popular culture. It portrays the artist in the mirror of European colonial clichés and presents her as a resistance fighter, an ambulance driver during WWII, and an outspoken activist against racial discrimination involved in the worldwide Black Consciousness movement of the 20th century.
Directed by Annette von Wangenheim, 2006, 45 min, Germany, documentary, English/French/German with English subtitles

TWO DOLLARS AND A DREAM
A documentary which focuses on Madame C.J. Walker, a black woman who, in 1910, made a small investment in a company specializing in black hair and skin care products and realized a dream that made her America's first self-made millionairess. The program also documents the life of her daughter, A'Lelia Walker, black America's patron of the Harlem Renaissance. Included are interviews with the Walkers' friends and coworkers and a collection of stills, film, and music from the period.
Directed by Stanley Nelson, 1987, 56 min, USA, documentary, English

Q&A after the screening