Black Classic Film Series

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Multiple dates

Black Classic Film Series

Presented in partnership with the Joysetta & Julius Pearse African American Museum

By Center for Active Learning

When and where

Date and time

March 17 · 6pm - December 8 · 9pm EDT

Location

African American Museum of Nassau County 110 North Franklin Street Hempstead, NY 11550

About this event

The Black Classic Film Series highlights classical films featuring Black actors and actresses and contain both social and historical context.

The films selected for the 2023 series are:

MARCH 17, 2023: Odds Against Tomorrow (1959); Directed by Robert Wise. Written by William P. McGiven, Abraham Polonsky. Starring Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters. Running time: 96 minutes. An ex-cop enlists the help of two ex-convicts, one white, one black to plan a bank heist with unexpected results.

JUNE 9, 2023: The Spook Who Sat By the Door (1973); Directed by Ivan Dixon. Written by: Sam Greelee, Melvin Clay. Starring Lawrence Cook, Janet League, Paula Kelly. Running time: 102 minutes. A black man plays 'Uncle Tom' in order to gain access to CIA training, then uses that knowledge to plot an American revolt.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023: The Defiant Ones (1958); Directed by Stanley Kramer. Written by Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith. Starring Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier. Running time: 96 minutes. Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.

DECEMBER 8, 2023: Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002); Directed by: Paul Justman, Written by: Walter Dallas, Ntozake Shange. Running time: 116 minutes. Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who created and played on dozens of Motown classics, and were never credited for their work.

About the organizer

Center for Active Learning is a Brooklyn based 501(c)3 organization dedicated to educating and inspiring our community. Our primary focus is the provision of informal learning opportunities that center creative and health related topics.

Free