They came from Watts. They came from New York City. They came from throughout America or crossed an ocean from Africa. At a unique time and place in American history, a critical mass of filmmakers of African descent came to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television to make movies and produced a rich, innovative, sustained, and intellectually rigorous body of work.
Called the “Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers,” or more alluringly, “L.A. Rebellion,” the group’s significance is reflected in an ambitious line up of screenings, free to students, that includes more than fifty representative works.
“L.A. Rebellion,” staged by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, occupies only one corner of Pacific Standard Time, the Getty initiative to highlight creative arts activity in Los Angeles from 1948 – 1980.
The Archive has just launched an ever-expanding online research area devoted to “LA. Rebellion.” The area includes information on films (beyond what’s included in the current public exhibition) and filmmakers, photos and video. Coming in early December will be clips from the oral histories shot with many or the filmmakers, as well as interactive timelines that put the work of “L.A. Rebellion” filmmakers within the context of other socio-political and cultural happenings in Los Angels and nationally.
The “Rebellion” [series] broke out in October. Events feature Q&A with directors, guests. Schedule is here.
The LA Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema | Billy Wilder Theater | thru Dec 17
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- African-American photojournalism, part of Pacific Standard Time, at Cal State Northridge