Starting Tuesday evening Oct 6th at 6:30pm

Cost: $45 ($40 members) for the four-class series

When you hear “influential Black filmmaker,” what names come to mind? A list that includes Spike Lee, Julie Dash, Ryan Coogler, Cheryl Dunye, Tyler Perry, and Ava Duvernay is a good one…but it’s not a complete one without Oscar Micheaux, America’s first Black filmmaker. Born to formerly enslaved farmers in the Midwest, Micheaux lived a life full of side quests and fresh starts. His willingness to take big risks allowed him to fund, write, and direct 44 feature films that highlighted Black storylines and perspectives in the early 20th century. 

In this four-week class, we’ll discuss Micheaux’s pioneering nature and his influence on the films we appreciate today. If you appreciate the self sufficiency of Robert Townsend and Issa Rae, the unapologetic criticism of Spike Lee and Ryan Coogler, or the community-driven storylines of Kasi Lemmons and John Singleton, you can thank the fearless approach Micheaux took to getting things done in the earliest days of Hollywood.

Films:

10/6: WITHIN OUR GATES (1920, 79 min)

10/13: BODY AND SOUL (1925, 102 min)

10/20: SYMBOL OF THE UNCONQUERED (1920, 54 min)

10/27: MURDER IN HARLEM (1935, 102 min)

This class will be co-taught by Kristina Mucker and M.J Jackson, both of whom have taught a number of classes at Movie Madness University.