Palmer Museum of Art's film series, "Come As You Are," continues Thursday and features African-American filmmakers.
In March and April the museum has two exhibits that coincide with the film series.
One exhibit titled Sam Gilliam: Recent Prints opened Feb. 12. Gilliam produced Sweet Honey in the Rock, which will be shown on April 11 and 14. Gilliam will speak at 1 p.m. April 19 in the Palmer Lipcon Auditorium. Another exhibit by African-American photographer Carrie Mae Weems, titled The Jefferson Suite, opened March 12. Weems' works in the exhibit explore genetic testing, DNA research, cloning, and the controversial affair between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings.
"This semester is quite interesting for the connections that can made between exhibitions and the film series," said Robin Seymour, coordinator of membership and public relations for the museum.
In February, the series concluded its Indian-made films portion of the series, which complimented an exhibit that began in October titled Devotion and Diversity: South Asian Sculpture from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
For the remainder of the semester, films will be shown at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays in the museum's auditorium.
'Come As You Are' schedule
March 21 and 24
Looking For Langston (1988) Dir. Isaac Julien
Looking For Langston plays with notions of history and identity. The film weaves together the poetry of Langston Hughes and Essex Hemphill, a jazz soundtrack, stylized dramatic sequences, and archival material in an exploration of gay desire and the possibilities as well as the limits of historical reclamation.
Litany for Survival (1995) Dir. Ada Gay Griffin and Michelle Parkerson
Litany for Survival is an epic portrait of the eloquent, award-winning Black, lesbian, poet, mother, teacher and activist Audre Lorde, whose writings — spanning five decades — articulated some of the most important social and political visions of this century. From Lorde's childhood roots in NYC's Harlem to her battle with breast cancer, this film explores a life and a body of work that embodied the connections between the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement, and the struggle for lesbian and gay rights.
March 28
When We Were Kings (1996) Dir. Leon Gast
A documentary of the 1974 heavyweight championship bout in Zaire (now Congo) between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali. To make a name for himself, promoter Don King offers both fighters five million dollars a piece to fight one another. When they accept, King finds a backer in Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator of Zaire and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set.
April 4 and 7
Fresh (1994) Dir. Boaz Yakin
Michael (or Fresh as he's well known) is a 12-year-old drug pusher who lives in a halfway house for children without their parents. Fresh aspires to live the good life but his sister's prostitution and the senseless murder of friends push him to re-evaluate his life. He then decides that he wants revenge instead of dealing.
April 11 and 14
Gotta Make This Journey: Sweet Honey In The Rock (1983) Dir. Joseph Camp
An engaging profile of the a-cappella activist group, Sweet Honey in the Rock. Singing to end the oppression of Black people worldwide, Sweet Honey embraces musical styles from spirituals and blues to calypso, and concerns ranging from feminism to ecology, peace and justice. The film features individual portraits, powerful concert footage and commentary by Angela Davis, Alice Walker, and Holly Near.
April 18 and 21
Bamboozled (2000) Dir. Spike Lee
Frustrated that his ideas for a Cosby Show-esque take on the black family has been rejected by network brass, an Ivy-league educated black writer devises an outlandish scheme in protest: reviving the minstrel show. The hook: instead of white actors in black face, the show stars black actors in even blacker face. To his chagrin the show becomes an instant smash, but with the success also comes repercussions for all involved.
