BULK: History
By Leah Sinclair
In light of Black History Month, the celebration of African American achievements have been ever present in our minds. From Martin Luther King to Rosa Parks, their history of devastation to triumph, and the everlasting battle for equality reigns true amongst us, even in our present day with the widespread acclaim of the movie Selma, and current movement of #blacklivesmatter.
Exploring that through a visual compilation is Separate Cinema, who have revived a little known documentary entitled King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis. Directed by Sidney Lumet and Joseph L.Mankiewicz, the documentary uses news and archive footage interspersed with narration to explore King’s philosophy, and the thirteen year journey which started on a montgomery bus boycott, and ended with a memphis bullet.
Narrators include esteemed actors Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ben Gazzara, James Earl Jones and many more.
Separate Cinema continue to explore the landscape of African American film and the world of cinema, and have done so with their book Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art, which is available to purchase here. Visually stimulating and of deep cultural importance, this book explains the key importance of these posters, and the design aesthetic of black culture.
