Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971

FAIN: GI-278330-21

Academy Foundation (Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1907)
Doris Berger (Project Director: September 2020 to present)

Implementation of an exhibition exploring the history of African American representation in cinema.

To support the implementation phase of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures temporary exhibition, Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971. Opening in February 2022, the exhibition explores the visual culture of Black cinema in its manifold expressions, from its early days to just after the civil rights movement, with a goal to redefine U.S. film history by elevating these underrepresented aspects of artistic production and presenting a more inclusive story. Regeneration is co-curated by Doris Berger, head of curatorial affairs at the Academy Museum, and Rhea L. Combs, supervisory museum curator, photography & film at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and will be the first exhibition of its kind—a research-driven, in-depth look at Black participation in American filmmaking.

Associated Products

Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898 –1971 (Catalog)
Title: Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898 –1971
Author: Doris Berger
Author: Rhea Combs
Abstract: From the dawn of the medium onward, Black filmmakers have helped define American cinema. Black performers, producers and directors—Bert Williams, Oscar Micheaux, Herb Jeffries, Lena Horne, Dorothy Dandridge, Ruby Dee and William Greaves, to name just a few—had a vast and resounding impact. Black film artists not only developed an enduring independent tradition but also transformed mainstream Hollywood, fueled and reflected sociopolitical movements, captured Black experience in all its robust complexity, and influenced generations to come. As harrowing as it is beautiful, this history of Black cinema and its legacy is often overlooked. Regeneration accompanies a first-of-its-kind exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures exploring seven decades of Black participation in American cinema. Amplifying this underrepresented history in colorful and striking detail, the book features an in-depth curatorial essay and scholarly case-study texts on topics such as early Black independent filmmaking, Black spectatorship during the Jim Crow era and home movies as an essential form of Black self-representation. The volume also makes meaningful connections to the present through interviews with award-winning contemporary Black filmmakers Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins and Dawn Porter. An extensive filmography and chronology offer an essential resource for anyone interested in Black cinema, while images of contemporary visual artworks further illustrate the volume throughout.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://https://www.worldcat.org/title/regeneration-black-cinema-18981971/oclc/1316776674&referer=brief_results
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: Academy Museum and DelMonico Books

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