happy 2023 from Black Life ~
We started the year in an unhurried manner and are warming right up along with winter blooms. We’re excited to announce our first program of the year, a very special film screening and conversation with Oakland-born filmmaker Paige Taul on Saturday, February 18. Tune in below for the details and we do hope we’ll see you in the theater. As usual, please do reach out if you’d like a ticket as we have a select number reserved for Black Life’s extended community of Black and brown filmmakers, artists, creators, and curious viewers. We encourage you to send a request for a ticket with your full name to blackblacklifelife@gmail.com by February 16.
We have more in store for you under this winter sun. For now we’ll share a recent phone call brainstorm that we (Ryanaustin and ruth) had:
canon is redundancy
canon is a mlm
canon is a business
a pyramid scheme
canon needs to collapse
Black Life presents: An Evening with Paige Taul
Black Life is thrilled to welcome Oakland-born filmmaker Paige Taul back to the East Bay for a screening and conversation about her work on the afternoon of Saturday February 18th. Taul employs experimental cinema to, in her words, “engage with and challenge assumptions of Black cultural expression and notions of belonging.” Her filmmaking practice also “tests the boundaries of identity and self-identification through autoethnography to approach notions of racial authenticity in veins such as religion, style, language, and other Black community-based experiences.” This program includes short films that reflect on personal histories, taste, and style, via the exploration and documentation of people, places, architectures, and accessories. Primarily shot in 16mm or super 8 film, Taul’s elegant works are bestowed with a timeless resonance. Join us on Saturday February 18, 2023 at 5pm in the theater for this short film presentation and conversation with Taul.
Paige Taul (b.1996) is an Oakland, CA native who received her BA in Studio Art with a concentration in Cinematography from the University of Virginia and her MFA in Moving Image from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her work engages with and challenges assumptions of black cultural expression and notions of belonging through experimental cinematography. As a part of her filmmaking practice she tests the boundaries of identity and self-identification through autoethnography to approach notions of racial authenticity in veins such as religion, style, language, and other black community based experiences.Paige’s work has been exhibited at venues including UnionDocs, CROSSROADS at SFMOMA, BlackStar Film Festival, and the Virginia Film Festival.
Black Life Recommends Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask
Isaac Julien
United Kingdom, 1995
Thursday February 2, 2023 at 7pm
Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask is presented as part of the The Algerian War of Independence: Cinema as History series
This portrait of Frantz Fanon is as visually captivating as it is intellectually stimulating, exploring the life and work of one of the twentieth century’s most intriguing theorists of race, politics, and gender. Fanon is best known for the pioneering books Black Skin, White Mask and Wretched of the Earth. Born in Martinique in 1925, he received his psychiatric training in France, and there he began to explore the concept of postcolonial identity. Fanon was to become deeply involved in the movement for Algerian independence. Using interviews, readings, and dramatic reenactments, Julien’s film reveals the complexity of Fanon’s elegant maneuvers between the personal and the political.
BLACK LIFE MIXTAPE #20 Future Messages From the Past
1. Cita’s World (Intro)
2. Adamski - Killer
3. Kelela - A Message
take real good care,
Ryanaustin + ruth