Revelation Film Festival has announced the addition of a retrospective screening program of titles dealing with the issues of Black Lives Matter to be included in their inaugural Couched online film festival set to screen from Thursday, July 9 to Sunday, July 19.
Social justice has always been at the core of Revelation’s programming and the inclusion of four film titles to the online event will seek to offer solidarity in seeking justice and racial equality.
The Black Voices Matter program will feature two titles from director Charles Burnett including his 1978 Killer of Sheep and My Brother’s Wedding from 1983. The starkly neo-realist Killer of Sheep was named as not only one of the greatest achievements in African-American cinema but also as one of the great achievements in cinema, by Cinematical. My Brother’s Wedding, having received a restoration by the Pacific Film Archive and a digital re-edit by the director, is another eye-opening revelation – wise, funny, heartbreaking and timeless.
George T. Nierenberg’s 1982 documentary Say Amen, Somebody is a joyous, funny and deeply emotional celebration of African American culture. One of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time, it features the father of Gospel, Thomas A. Dorsey; its matron, Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, and earth-shaking performances by the Barrett Sisters and the O’Neal Twins.
Australian made, the utterly unique musical One Night The Moon was released in 2001. A film directed by Rachel Perkins and Kevin Lucas and featuring Kaarin Fairfax and Paul Kelly; the story of a young girl missing in the outback in 1932 is based on the true story of Aboriginal Tracker Riley and the documentary based on his life.
Festival Director Richard Sowada spoke on the matter of the enormous inequities rooted deeply in Australian culture in relation to the program: “As a cultural event, one of our primary tools is context, so if we can bring some form of context to that discussion, it’s incumbent on us to do just that. In some small way, we hope this retrospective of defining and potent voices in cinema of social justice can contribute to that discussion.”
Couched will present over 30 feature narrative and documentary films plus a selection of short films from all corners of the globe, Q&A’s, special events and panel discussions. Films will also be available for rent for a 24-hour period through the festival.
Revelation Film Festival’s Black Voices Matter program is set to screen as part of the Couched online film fest from Thursday, July 9 to Sunday, July 19. For tickets and more info head to revelationfilmfest.org.
