We Want Freedom. We Want Power To Determine The Destiny Of Our Black Community.

Arts Bank Cinema is proud to present the BPP Ten Point Program Film Series, hosted the first Sunday of each month in partnership with alumni of the IL Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Each month’s program will use cinema and dialogue to explore one point of the Black Panther Party’s ten point platform. Facilitated community discussions centering activism, resistance, and the ongoing struggle will be held following the films.

For February, we explore point one, “We Want Freedom. We Want Power To Determine The Destiny Of Our Black Community.” through the below titles.

2:00PM Black Panthers (1968 27m) This riveting documentary, “Black Panthers – Huey!”, directed by French filmmaker Agnès Varda transports you to the pivotal Free Huey rally held on February 17th, 1968, at Oakland Auditorium in Alameda, California. Newton, the charismatic young college student who, along with Bobby Seale, created the Black Panther Party, had been jailed for allegedly killing a police officer. His arrest–widely believed at the time to be a setup–galvanized Party support throughout the nation and led to a boom in Party membership, bringing a new level of public attention to the Panthers’ cause. ×

2:30PM Bastards of the Party 2005 1h 35m Bastards of the Party traces the timeline from that great migration to the rise and demise of both the Black Panther Party and the US Organization in the mid- 1960s, to the formation of what is currently the culture of gangs in Los Angeles and around the world. The documentary also chronicles the role of the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI in the evolution of gang culture. During his tenure from 1950 to 1966, Chief Robert Parker bolstered the ranks of the LAPD with white recruits from the south, who brought their racist attitudes with them. Parker’s racist sympathies laid the groundwork for the volatile relationship between the black community and the LAPD that persists today.

This is a FREE event but please read as our RSVP policy for films has changed:

All film screenings are free. RSVPs through Eventbrite open two weeks before a screening. While seats are not guaranteed, an eventbrite RSVP will grant primary access to the screening room when doors open 30 minutes before a screening. If Eventbrite lists the screening as “sold out,” you can sign up for the online waitlist. If online ticketholders cancel their order, you will automatically be assigned an RSVP.

Each person in your party must RSVP separately through Eventbrite to gain primary access to the screening room. Doors open 30 minutes before the screening starts. Seats cannot be saved.

Any walk up attendees who do not have an Eventbrite RSVP will be placed on an onsite waitlist. If seats remain at showtime, waitlisted attendees will be let in, in the order they arrived. The onsite waitlist is first-come, first-serve.

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Tags: Agnes Varda, Black Panther Party Ten Point Program Film Series at the Arts Bank, Chicago, South Shore, Stony Island Arts Bank