DOC NYC: Films about African-Americans
Included in DOC NYC’s lineup are a number of films that examine the culture and history of African-Americans.
ICEBERG SLIM: PORTRAIT OF A PIMP US PREMIERE. For the millions of readers who have been enthralled by Iceberg Slim’s books, this film fleshes out the life and legacy of the man who pioneered a new kind of street-wise writing. And for newcomers to his world, it’s a great place to start. Years in the making, the film includes archival footage of Slim along with interviews with his friends, colleagues, and famous admirers such as Chris Rock, Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones and Ice-T. The story is enhanced with stylish pulp fiction iconography.
Expected to Attend: Jorge Hinojosa, Ice-T
THE PREP SCHOOL NEGRO André Robert Lee revisits the life-changing events of his adolescence when he gained a way out of Philadelphia’s ghettos with a scholarship to an elite prep school. As he moved into a different world, he grew distant from his sister and mother. In this poignant film, he explores thorny questions of race, education, opportunity and family. He also spends time with current day prep school students of color to see if anything has changed inside the ivory tower.
Expected to Attend: André Robert Lee
MELVIN & JEAN: AN AMERICAN STORY SNEAK PREVIEW. When Melvin and Jean McNair hijacked a plane from Detroit to Algeria in 1972 with their two babies on board, they called it an act of political resistance. The hijacking was also an act of desperation committed by two people in their early twenties who saw no other way to escape what they felt was the constant state of racial oppression in America. Living in Paris forty years after the hijacking and unable to return to the U.S., Melvin and Jean are still coming to terms with their crime and its lifelong consequences.
Expected to Attend: Maia Wechsler, Susan Tipograph Melvin & Jean’s criminal attorney
LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY: A JOURNEY WITH MUMIA ABU-JAMAL Unlike any other film, book, or article produced about Mumia Abu-Jamal, LONG DISTANCE REVOLUTIONARY focuses on his career as a prolific author and broadcaster from Pennsylvania’s Death Row. This riveting film centers on the period after Mumia is convicted for the murder of Philadelphia patrolman Daniel Faulkner and exposes Mumia’s battles with the American court system to continue his work from prison—a battle he continues to wage to this very day.
Expected to Attend: Stephen Vittoria
THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and charged for brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. News media swarmed the case, calling it “the crime of the century.” But the truth about what really happened didn’t become clear until after the five had spent years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit. This story of injustice finally gets the telling it deserves. The film recently made headlines when lawyers for New York City attempted to subpoena its outtakes for an ongoing lawsuit. A story whose aftershocks continue to shape the city, this promises to be one of the most high-profile documentaries of the year.
Expected to Attend: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David Mcmahon, and members of the Central Park Five
WATTSTAX Director Mel Stuart, who died this year, was best known for WILLIE WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, but a close second in his resume is this astonishing concert film known as the black Woodstock. Stuart interviewed Richard Pryor (still a rising comedian at the time) to interlace classic performances by The Staple Singers, The Bar-Kays, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes and more. The resplendent fashion display of the crowd alone is worth the price of admission.
