In Our Own Voice Symposium

The University of Arizona Hanson Film Institute and the School of Media Arts present a four-day Symposium on African American Filmmakers at The University of Arizona.

University of Arizona students, faculty, and Southern Arizona community members are invited to experience “In Our Own Voice: African American Film Makers Oscar Micheaux, Spike Lee, and Noland Walker.” The four-day symposium will be free and open to the public and take place Wednesday, February 3 through Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Day one of the symposium will examine the “Representation of Race in the Media” with visiting guest film scholar Pearl Bowser. She will discuss and screen her award-winning documentary Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies, co-directed with Bestor Cram. Midnight Ramble tells the story of “race movies,” films made primarily by, for and about the black community from 1910 through 1950. The screening and discussion of Midnight Ramble will take place on Wednesday, February 3, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm at the School of Media Arts - Louise Foucar Marshall Building, 845 N Park Avenue, Room 212.

Guest film scholars Pearl Bowser and Dr. John Howard will examine race movies and discuss the work of maverick independent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux on the second day of the symposium. Oscar Micheaux - the most prolific African American filmmaker to date - was a filmmaking giant of the silent period. Their presentation will be followed by a screening of Micheaux’s provocative Body and Soul.

The discussion of filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and the screening of Body and Soul; directed by Oscar Micheaux, starring Paul Robeson, with live piano accompaniment by Suzanne Knosp, will take place on Thursday, February 4, 4:00 pm-6:30 pm at the School of Music - Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Road, Room 100A.

“Oscar Micheaux continues to be an inspiration to the independent filmmaking community and lovers of landmark cinema,” said Vicky Westover, Institute Program Director. Westover goes on to say, “Micheaux worked outside of the system with little funding or support and was not afraid to take on difficult societal issues that continue to resonate with audiences today. His passion and intrepid desire to create work confronting racism and oppression is clearly visible in his distinguished repertoire of films.”

Pearl Bowser is a film scholar, author, and consultant specializing in African American cinema. She is the founder and director of African Diaspora Images, a collection of historical and contemporary African American and African films and memorabilia. Her producer credits include Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies and Namibia Independence Now!

John Howard holds a B.A. from Brandeis University, an M.A. from New York University, a Ph.D. from Stanford University, and a J.D. from Pace University. His latest book, Faces in the Mirror: Oscar Micheaux and Spike Lee, examines the lives and works of two directors whose biographies define the history of African Americans in film and reflect changes in the larger society as it struggles to come to grips with race.

A presentation, screening, and book signing will take place on Friday, February 5 at the Gallagher Theater in the Student Union, from 4:00 pm-7:30 pm. The book signing, with Howard and Bowser, will take place following a presentation and 35mm print screening of the critically acclaimed Do The Right Thing; directed by Spike Lee.

John Howard’s talk will place Spike Lee in historical context by comparing his career to that of Oscar Micheaux. Spike Lee came of age after the ‘coons’ and ‘mammies’ of traditional Hollywood fare had given way to less demeaning portrayals of blacks, but no black in the history of Hollywood had sustained a career behind the camera as a director at the time he entered film school.

Documentary Filmmaker Noland Walker will present an overview of his work and show clips of Citizen King, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, and Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story on Saturday, February 6, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm, at the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building Auditorium (Room 202) on 1130 N Mountain Ave (corner of Speedway & Mountain).

Noland Walker is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker whose films have premiered at Sundance, screened in festivals worldwide, and been broadcast nationally on television. His work includes writing and co-producing the acclaimed documentary, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, co-producing and co-directing Citizen King, a two-hour film about the last years of Martin Luther King’s life, and producing an episode of the groundbreaking 1998 series Africans in America.

“We are delighted to be showcasing the important work of independent filmmaker Noland Walker,” said Westover. “He is part of a new generation of African American filmmakers and is creating some of the most interesting documentaries of our time.”

The School of Media Arts prepares students to create, to produce, and to understand the significance of film and television. It sustains excellence in the teaching of creative expression, aesthetic appreciation, practical knowledge, and scholarship of film, television, related media and their relationships to other arts. The School provides professional preparation in the art of filmmaking, as well as preparing students for scholarly activity in media arts. It encourages interdisciplinary teaching and research within the College of Fine Arts and promotes public understanding of media through outreach in Arizona and the Southwest.

The Jack and Vivian Hanson Arizona Film Institute (Hanson Film Institute) at The University of Arizona offers programs for students, emerging filmmakers, and media entrepreneurs who want to contribute significantly to the art and/or business of filmmaking and have an influential role in the film industry. Serving diverse, underrepresented, and new voices, the Hanson Film Institute creates and advances a dynamic understanding of the collaborative dimensions of the art and business of film. The Hanson Film Institute provides and supports educational programs, public events, and creative projects.

The Institute operates under the auspices of The University of Arizona College of Fine Arts and works in partnership with the School of Media Arts. The Institute collaborates with interested divisions at The University and with diverse community organizations.

For more information about the four-day Symposium, the School of Media Arts, or the Hanson Film Institute contact Vicky Westover, Program Director, at vwestove@email.arizona.edu

or 520-626-9825.