Programmed February 2023

Oscar Micheaux: Trailblazer

A pioneering American writer, director, and producer whose films are among the boldest of the silent and early sound eras, independent auteur Oscar Micheaux gave Black audiences a reflection of their own experiences crafted with a complexity and seriousness that stood in stark contrast to the racist stereotypes propagated by his contemporary D. W. Griffith and the nascent Hollywood studio system. Tackling issues of race relations, systemic injustice, and the struggles of Black Americans striving for better lives with both stirring power and a showman’s sense of spectacle, these films—including the bold exposé of racist violence Within Our Gates ; Body and Soul , a potent critique of religious hypocrisy starring the great Paul Robeson; and the subversive detective mystery Murder in Harlem , presented here in a major new restoration—offer a vital counter-history of American cinema, one with the Black experience at its fore.