Even before reading the exhibition’s wall label, the visitor is captivated by a large projection playing on a loop of two Black vaudeville stars embracing, laughing, and kissing. They read the wall label and learn the 29 - second clip is Something Good – Negro Kiss (1898), a newly discovered silent film. A parody of the 1896 film The Kiss by Thomas Edison, this transformative moment of quiet affection was one of the first publicly exhibited motion pictures in America and believed to be the earliest known film showing Black intimacy. The playful dance of actors.
Featured Filmmaker
Sidney Poitier
1927-2022
Sidney Poitier, actor, director, and producer, broke the color barrier in the U.S. motion-picture industry by becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award for best actor.
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Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
1971
Sweet Sweetback, an orphan working in a Los Angeles brothel, is framed for murder by the police. An epic manhunt ensues, with Sweetback fleeing the police and a motorcycle gang.
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