Humanities Institute/Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program Film Series

The free series will be held at Hallwalls Art Center.

“The Sun Rises in the East”
Directors Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa

6 p.m. refreshments
7 p.m. film screening

“The Sun Rises in the East” chronicles the birth, rise and legacy of The East, a pan-African cultural organization founded in 1969 by teens and young adults in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Les by educator and activist Jitu Weusi, The East embodied Black self-determination, building dozens of institutions, including its own African-centered school, food co-op, newsmagazine, publishing company, record label, restaurant, clothing shop, and bookstore. The organization hosted world-famous jazz musicians and poets at its highly sought-after performance venue, and it served as the epicenter for political contemporaries such as the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords and the Congress of the Afrikan People, as well as comrades across Africa and the Caribbean.

"Without a Whisper - Konnon:Kwe"
Director Katsitsionni Fox, 27 mins., 2020

6 p.m. reception with complimentary light fare and cash beer and wine bar
7 p.m. film screening 

Join us as we honor Women’s History Month with a screening of Without a Whisper – Konnon:Kwe, a documentary film by Katsitsionni Fox. 

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion. This event is free and open to the public.

"Without a Whisper – Konnon:Kwe" uncovers the hidden history of the profound influence Indigenous women had on the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States.

Before the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls in 1848, European colonial women lacked even the most basic rights, while Haudenosaunee women had a potent political and spiritual voice and authority in all aspects of their lives. The contac"t that the early suffragists had with Haudenosaunee women in New York state shaped their thinking and had a vital impact on their struggle for equality that is taken for granted today. The film follows Mohawk Bear Clan Mother Louise Herne and Professor Sally Roesch Wagner as they seek to correct the historical narrative about the origins of women’s rights in the United States. (from the Women Make Movies website)

“Inner Wound Real”
Director Carrie Hawks, 15 mins., 2022

and

“Work”
Director April Maxey, 13 mins., 2022

6 p.m. | Reception with complimentary light fare and cash beer & wine bar

7 p.m. | Film screenings 

Join us as we honor Pride Month (observed early for the academic schedule) with screenings of "Inner Wound Real," an animated short by Carrie Hawks, and "Work," a short film by April Maxey. 

The screenings will be followed by an in person conversation with Carrie Hawks and April Maxey.

About "Inner Wound Real"

"Inner Wound Real" relays the story of three BIPOC folks who self-injure, then find new ways to cope. The animated documentary short has three different visual styles, one for each participant. (from Carrie Hawks’s website)

About "Work"

Unable to move on from a breakup, Gabriela impulsively drops into an old job, where she unexpectedly runs into a friend from her past. (from April Maxey’s website)

“Free Chol Sol Lee”
Directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi,  86 mins., 2022

6 p.m. | Reception with complimentary light fare and cash beer and wine bar

7 p.m. | film screening

Join us as we honor Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month with a screening of "Free Chol Soo Lee," a documentary film by Julie Ha and Eugene Yi. This event is free and open to the public.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.

About "Free Chol Soo Lee"

Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, which included Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans, helped to overturn his conviction. After 10 years of fighting for his life inside California state prisons, Lee found himself in a new fight to rise to the expectations of the people who believed in him. (from pbs.org)

LOCATION: Hallwalls Art Center (341 Delaware Ave. Buffalo, N.Y.)

For more information, contact Donte McFadden, director, Distinguished Visiting Scholars dontemcf@buffalo.edu.

Presented by the Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program and the Humanities Institute.