From the earliest race films to today's independent filmmakers, Black cinema has served as a powerful tool for preserving history, challenging stereotypes, imagining new futures, and telling stories often excluded from mainstream screens. But what makes Black cinema distinct, and why does it matter now?
In this interactive session, scholar Dr. Michelle Taylor and independent filmmaker Jonathan Isaac Jackson explore the power of film as a vehicle for Black storytelling, cultural memory, and social transformation. The workshop begins with a brief historical overview of Black cinema and its role in shaping how Black communities see themselves and are seen by the world.
Participants will then join a fireside-style conversation with Jackson, founder of The Colored Section and an emerging voice in independent Black filmmaking. Through screenings and discussion of selected films from his MFA thesis project, attendees will explore how filmmakers use cinema to recover forgotten histories, challenge dominant narratives, and imagine Black pasts, presents, and futures in new ways.
Together, we will examine questions of representation, authorship, historical memory, and creative responsibility. What stories remain untold? Who gets to tell them? And how can film help us reclaim narratives that have too often been defined by others?
Whether you are a film lover, aspiring storyteller, educator, artist, or community member, this session offers an opportunity to engage Black cinema not only as entertainment, but as a powerful instrument of cultural
From the earliest race films to today's independent filmmakers, Black cinema has served as a powerful tool for preserving history, challenging stereotypes, imagining new futures, and telling stories often excluded from mainstream screens. But what makes Black cinema distinct, and why does it matter now?
In this interactive session, scholar Dr. Michelle Taylor and independent filmmaker Jonathan Isaac Jackson explore the power of film as a vehicle for Black storytelling, cultural memory, and social transformation. The workshop begins with a brief historical overview of Black cinema and its role in shaping how Black communities see themselves and are seen by the world.
Participants will then join a fireside-style conversation with Jackson, founder of The Colored Section and an emerging voice in independent Black filmmaking. Through screenings and discussion of selected films from his MFA thesis project, attendees will explore how filmmakers use cinema to recover forgotten histories, challenge dominant narratives, and imagine Black pasts, presents, and futures in new ways.
Together, we will examine questions of representation, authorship, historical memory, and creative responsibility. What stories remain untold? Who gets to tell them? And how can film help us reclaim narratives that have too often been defined by others?
Whether you are a film lover, aspiring storyteller, educator, artist, or community member, this session offers an opportunity to engage Black cinema not only as entertainment, but as a powerful instrument of cultural
