BAMcinématek presents Space Is the Place: Afrofuturism on Film, Apr 3—15 “Are you ready to alter your destiny?”—Sun Ra in Space Is the Place Afrika Bambaataa, Terence Nance, Greg Tate, and others in person! The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor of BAM Rose Cinemas and BAMcinématek. Brooklyn, NY/Mar 9, 2015—From Friday, April 3 through Wednesday, April 15, BAMcinématek presents Space Is the Place: Afrofuturism on Film, a kaleidoscopic, horizon-expanding exploration of alternate and imagined Black futures and pasts in science-fiction, genre-bending global cinema, unorthodox documentary, and innovative music videos. Opening the series on Friday, April 3 is Dick Fontaine’s Beat This!: A Hip Hop History (1984), one of the earliest filmed documents of hip-hop culture along with Wild Style and Style Wars. Featuring cameos by DJ and hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, early hip-hop group the Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Jazzy Jay, renowned b-boy crew the Dynamic Rockers, and glimpses of DJ Kool Herc’s notorious dance parties, Beat This! is a sci-fi tinged time capsule of the early days of the movement, complete with rhyming narration by Imhotep Gary Byrd. Bambaataa will appear in person following the screening for a Q&A with cultural critic Greg Tate. The series’ namesake is the only film starring legendary mystic and jazz musician Sun Ra, Space Is the Place (1974—Apr 9)—―a freaky and far-fetched blend of blaxploitation, sci-fi, and free jazz‖ (Phil Gallo, Variety). After populating a foreign planet with African American colonists, Sun Ra as cosmic pharaoh travels back to Earth to look for more recruits and is challenged to a card game against the evil Overseer to decide the fate of the Black race. Space Is the Place screens with Frances Bodomo’s Afronauts (2014), about a group of Zambian exiles who try to beat America in the space race to the moon. Other sci-fi narratives include John Sayles’ satire of the immigrant experience, The Brother from Another Planet (1984—Apr 10), screening with the post- apocalyptic Kenyan short Pumzi (2009); Haile Gerima’s Sankofa (1993—April 12), in which an African American model is transported back in time to an antebellum Southern plantation; and Stephen Norrington’s Blade (1998—Apr 10), starring Wesley Snipes in his iconic role as half-man, half-vampire. Space Is the Place also showcases a number of rarities including Ngozi Onwurah’s dystopian evocation of a near-future Black history, Welcome II the Terrordome (1995—Apr 11), which screens with Kibwe Tavares’ Robots of Brixton (2011); Robert Mugge’s Sun Ra doc A Joyful Noise (1980—Apr 11), featuring rare archival footage of interviews and live performances; and iconic American independent filmmaker Shirley Clarke’s Ornette: Made in America (1985—Apr 11), ―an intricately knit series of riffs on free jazz giant Ornette Coleman, one of the greatest living artists 20th-century modernism produced‖ (Amy Taubin, Artforum). On Tuesday, April 14, BAMcinématek presents The Last Angel of History (1997), directed by John Akomfrah of the Black Audio Film Collective—the subject of a BAM retrospective last year. This sci-fi ciné-essay features interviews with pan-African artists interspersed with a recurring Afrofuturist allegory highlighting their cultural alienation and displacement. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion about the ever-evolving Afrofuturist movement with director Terence Nance, writer and editor at The New Inquiry Derica Shields, and Associate Curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem Naima J. Keith, moderated by series curator Ashley Clark. Additional highlights include Nance’s ―dense, organic, dazzling, and funny tapestry‖ (Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times) An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012—Apr 13); Lizzie Borden’s pseudo- documentary Born in Flames (1983—Apr 15), which imagines a lesbian-led feminist revolution and projects a dystopian future onto grimy Koch-era New York City; and Cosmic Slop (1994—Apr 13), a controversial, three-part HBO special that has drawn comparisons to The Twilight Zone and features George Clinton’s floating head as narrator. For press information, please contact Lisa Thomas at 718.724.8023 / [email protected] Hannah Thomas at 718.724.8002 / [email protected] Space Is the Place: Afrofuturism on Film Schedule Fri, Apr 3 7pm*: Beat This!: A Hip Hop History Thu, Apr 9 7pm: Space Is the Place + Afronauts 9:15pm: A Joyful Noise Fri, Apr 10 2pm: The Brother from Another Planet 4:15, 9:45pm: Blade 7pm: The Brother from Another Planet + Pumzi Sat, Apr 11 2, 4:30, 7pm: Ornette: Made in America 9:30pm: Welcome II the Terrordome + Robots of Brixton Sun, Apr 12 5, 8pm: Sankofa Mon, Apr 13 5:15, 9:15pm: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty 7:15pm: Cosmic Slop Tue, Apr 14 7:30pm**: The Last Angel of History Wed, Apr 15 7:30pm: Born in Flames *Q&A with Afrika Bambaataa moderated by Greg Tate *Followed by a panel discussion Film Descriptions Afronauts (2014) 14min Dir. Frances Bodomo. With Diandra Forrest, Yolonda Ross, Hoji Fortuna. This beguiling monochrome short tracks the Zambia Space Academy’s attempts to beat America to the moon. DCP. Screens with Space Is the Place Dir. John Coney (1974) 85min. Thu, Apr 9 at 7pm Beat This!: A Hip Hop-History (1984) 60min Dir. Dick Fontaine. Filmmaker Dick Fontaine’s hugely entertaining documentary was one of the first examinations of hip-hop culture, just as it entered its golden age. Full of wit and edited with style, Beat This features out-there sci- fi imagery and reams of terrific archival material, including live performances by Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc and incredible footage from Herc’s original dance parties. DigiBeta. Fri, Apr 3 at 7pm Q&A with Afrika Bambaataa moderated by Greg Tate Blade (1998) 120min Dir. Stephen Norrington. With Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson. Wesley Snipes delivers one of his most iconic roles as an ice-cool half-vampire, half-mortal who becomes a protector of the mortal race by slaying evil vampires in increasingly spectacular fashion. This gripping sci-fi-horror hybrid launched a franchise, but the original remains the most entertaining. 35mm. Fri, Apr 10 at 4:15, 9:45pm Born in Flames (1983) 80min. Dir. Lizzie Borden. With Honey, Adele Bertei, Jean Satterfield. This dizzying feminist sci-fi doc takes place in an imaginary New York a decade after a socialist revolution has rendered all men equal, leaving women—organized by two rival pirate radio stations—to pick up the battle. Borden tackles issues of class, racism, and sexism with confidence and post-punk swagger. 16mm. Wed, Apr 15 at 7:30pm The Brother from Another Planet (1984) 108min Dir. John Sayles. With Joe Morton, Daryl Edwards, Rosanna Carter. In Sayles’ witty urban spin on the runaway slave narrative, a mute extraterrestrial (Joe Morton, in a remarkably expressive performance) crash-lands in Harlem after a spaceship accident and finds himself on the run from two mysterious white hunters. Stylishly shot by Spike Lee collaborator Ernest Dickerson, The Brother from Another Planet offers a thought-provoking spin on the use of the black image in science fiction. 35mm. *Screens with Pumzi Dir. Wanuri Kahiu (2009) 21min Fri, Apr 10 at 2, 7pm* Cosmic Slop (1994) 83min Dirs. Reginald Hudlin, Warrington Hudlin, Kevin Rodney Sullivan. With Robert Guillaume, Jorge Ameer, Larry Anderson, Noëlle Balfour. With frequent nods to The Twilight Zone, this psychedelic trilogy takes its title from the 1973 album by Afrofuturist pioneers Funkadelic and features the recurring presence of George Clinton’s floating head as narrator. Cosmic Slop stoked controversy for its provocative depictions of class and racial tensions when it aired on HBO in 1994. DCP. Mon, Apr 13 at 7:15pm A Joyful Noise (1980) 60min Dir. Robert Mugge. This rare, revealing documentary presents jazz legend and mystic Sun Ra as both philosopher and inspired leader of his most famous band, the Intergalactic Arkestra. Testimonials from colleagues are intercut with concert footage in Baltimore and Philadelphia, as well as sessions with Ra himself, filmed in the Egyptian room of a museum, where he looks intently into the camera as he expands on his Afrocentrist worldview. 16mm. Thu, Apr 9 at 9:15pm The Last Angel of History (1997) 45min Dir. John Akomfrah. The influential Black Audio Film Collective crafted this experimental blend of sci-fi parable and essay film, which also serves as an essential primer on the aesthetics and dynamics of contemporary Afrofuturism. Interviews with esteemed musicians, writers, and cultural critics are interwoven with the fictional story of the ―data thief,‖ who must travel through time and space in search of the code that holds the key to his future. DCP. Tue, Apr 14 at 7:30pm Panel follows screening Ornette: Made in America (1985) 85min Dir. Shirley Clarke. The great experimental filmmaker Shirley Clarke painted this portrait of avant-garde jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman—who was once asked by NASA to compose music to coincide with their space program. Clarke blends thrilling performance excerpts, futuristic music videos, and imaginative reenactments of Coleman’s childhood, resulting in an invigorating document of a unique artist and original thinker. 35mm. Sun, Apr 11 at 2, 4:30, 7pm An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012) 84min Dir. Terence Nance. With Alisa Becher, Jc Cain, Dexter Jones. This remarkable debut feature charts the relationship between director and star Nance and a beautiful young woman as it teeters on the line between romantic and platonic. Weaving an alluring tapestry of live action, home video, and Afrofuturistic animation, Nance boldly explores the fantasies, memories, and emotions that race through his mind during a singular moment in time.