Sonic Redemption

In collaboration with Oak Cliff Cultural Center, the film series "Sonic Redemption" invites viewers on an in-depth exploration of the diverse and textured dimensions of Black music. This curated showcase meticulously unravels the sonic tapestry, dissecting the nuanced ways in which Black music evokes political and cultural nuance. Whether it be a deep dive in the cultural works of Pan-African artists, LA clubs, or Jamaican reggae, these featured titles, including Leilah Weinraub's "Shakedown," "The Harder They Come," and a John Akomfrah Double Feature of "Seven Songs for Malcolm X" and "The Last Angel of History," serve as seminal works. 

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John Akomfrah Double Feature
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John Akomfrah Double Feature

The Last Angel of History

Sonic Redemption & Homecoming

John Akomfrah, 1996, USA, 45 min

An engaging and searing examination of the hitherto unexplored relationships between Pan-African culture, science fiction, intergalactic travel, and rapidly progressing computer technology. This cinematic essay posits science fiction (with tropes such as alien abduction, estrangement, and genetic engineering) as a metaphor for the Pan-African experience of forced displacement, cultural alienation, and otherness.

Seven Songs for Malcolm X

John Akomfrah, 1993, USA, 52 min

An homage to the inspirational African-American civil rights leader, SEVEN SONGS FOR MALCOLM X collects testimonies, eyewitness accounts and dramatic reenactments to tell the life, legacy, loves, and losses of Malcolm X.Featuring interviews with Malcolm's widow Betty Shabazz, Spike Lee, and many other, SEVEN SONGS looks for the meaning behind the resurgence of interest in the man whose X always stood for the unknown.

Shakedown
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Shakedown

Leilah Weinraub, 2018, USA, 70 min

Sonic Redemption, Homecoming & Drag of Genre

Charting the eight-year run of Shakedown, a peripatetic black lesbian strip club in Los Angeles, director Leilah Weinraub attempts “to portray the before and after of a utopic moment.” Weinraub presents a world unto itself, shaped by the desires and pleasures of its community. Shot with the tenderness of a home movie, SHAKEDOWN captures the propulsive, dreamlike atmosphere of the club and achieves a stunning intimacy with its subjects.

The Harder They Come
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The Harder They Come

Perry Henzell, Jamaica, 1972, USA, 105 min

Sonic Redemption & Homecoming

The epochal cultural moment that first brought reggae to the international stage, made Jimmy Cliff a star — and demonstrated how music can change the world.

Fifty years on, THE HARDER THEY COME is still electric with the feeling of discovery.  This SCARFACE-y blend of crime drama and musical tracks Cliff’s country-boy-in-search-of-fame through Jamaica under the guises of laborer, recording artist, convict, ganja dealer, and outlaw folk hero.   

Before THE HARDER THEY COME, the collective perception of a “foreign film” was limited to the Bergmans and the Kurosawas of the world. This game-changer forever blew those doors off — and it still hasn’t lost a drop of its cool, its edge, or its way of making you dance.