Memory Builds The Monument film screening
Date and time
Short NEW Documentary Shares Memories of 5th Ward’s historic Club Matinee
About this event
Musical legends Ray Charles, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin often performed at the hottest nightclub in Houston’s 5th Ward. Club Matinee was known as “the Cotton Club of the south” by musical legends and area residents alike. Now a short new documentary, Memory Builds the Monument, taps the recollections of current and former 5th Ward residents who remember those magical years.
The film is directed by award winning filmmaker Isaac Yowman and produced with 5th Ward native and renowned artist Mel Chin, filmmaker Greg Carter and producer Miriam Heads. The primary people interviewed for the film are 5th Ward natives and well-known in their own rights. They include Archie Bell, Founding Member of the R&B group Archie Bell & the Drells; Algenita Davis, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Houston; Rev. Harvey Clemons, pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church; and Jesse Lott, who was recently named the Texas state three-dimensional artist of 2022.
Memory Builds the Monument is an artist-led project sparked by vivid conversations and emotions surrounding memories of Club Matinee by some of Houston’s elders and their families. The film is the centerpiece of a larger project that includes ongoing oral history interviews.
The short film will premiere at the Moonstruck Drive-In, followed by Q&A with the artists and filmmaker. The screening will also feature opportunities for participation in creation of community interviews.
The event is free and open to the public as part of program hosted by the 5th Ward Cultural Arts District (5th Ward CAD).
About Memory Builds the Monument:
The key creative contributors for the short documentary are Mel Chin (producer), Isaac Yowman (director), Greg Carter (producer), Miriam Heads (producer, research director) and was produced in conjunction with Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (Fifth Ward CRC) and S.O.U.R.C.E. Studio. Major funding comes from LISC with additional support from Ann Harithas, Suzanne Deal Booth, and The Kresge Foundation.
The oral history and events are produced in conjunction with Fifth Ward CRC and S.O.U.R.C.E. Studio, 5th Ward Cultural Arts District (events), Lindsay Gary (oral history interview coordinator), Valerie Wade (oral history interview assistant), The Gregory School (oral history archive), and Sankofa Research Institute (community engagement).