Week 6: Feb 17-19

The Last Angel of History (DCP)

At the nexus of Last Angel’s criss-crossing excursions into science fiction, space travel, futuristic black musical forms, and philosophizings on Afro-Diasporic subjectivities lie two propositions: 1) science fiction – in its narrative tropes of societal alienation, alien abduction, and genetic modification–  is a profound metaphor for Pan-African experiences of cultural dislocation, trans-continental kidnapping, and colonial schemas of racialization; and 2) since time immemorial, Africans have been harbingers and authors of the future. The Last Angel of History not only steers us to see that “the line between social reality and science fiction is an optical illusion” but it propels us to reconceptualize how we understand Africa within the crossroads of time. 

Dir. John Akomfrah (1996); USA, 45m

Starring: George Clinton, Kodwo Eshun, Edward George

Programmed by: Sam Chavez-Perez

Space is the Place (DCP)

Avant-jazz pianist and celestial being Sun Ra returns to Earth from his voyage to space to spread his cosmic philosophy of peace and to transport the Black race to a utopian planet. Wonderfully psychedelic and strange, Space is the Place is a pioneer film in the Afrofuturism movement. Amid the concluding performance with his intergalactic arkestra, Sun Ra declares that, “everything is in place except you, planet Earth”.

Dir. John Coney (1974); USA, 82m

Starring: Sun Ra, Raymond Johnson, Christopher Brooks

Programmed by: Cadence Godula

Films shown together, not in separate showings.

Friday, Feb 17 at 6:00PM & 8:30PM
Saturday, Feb 18 at 6:00PM & 8:30PM
Sunday, Feb 19 at 3:00PM