In 1976, an extraordinary group of Black feminist artists organized the first-ever Black women’s film festival: the Sojourner Truth Festival of the Arts. Four decades later, a new generation of artists, curators, and scholars have revived the festival. The University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts hosted the first iteration in spring 2023; this September, the Gene Siskel Film Center will host the second with a four-day series celebrating the rich legacy of Black feminist filmmaking.

INTERIOR LIVES opens the September series by bringing together 10 exquisite films that foreground Black women’s interiority from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and today. Featuring works by Aarin Burch, Zeinabu irene Davis, Cheryl Dunye, Jada-Amina, S. Pearl Sharp, Cauleen Smith, Paige Taul, Yvonne Welbon, and Fronza Woods and a post-screening discussion with Burch, Davis, Jada-Amina, and Taul, moderated by Sarah Oberholtzer, Program Manager, Sisters in Cinema. (1981–2020, United States, 16mm and digital video, ca 84 minutes / In English)

Presented in partnership with the University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center, Sisters in Cinema, and the Gene Siskel Film Center, with support from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). The spring 2023 series was curated by Yvonne Welbon, Allyson Nadia Field, Monica Freeman, Hayley O’Malley, Michael W. Phillips, Jr., and Yvonne Welbon. The September 2023 series is curated by Allyson Nadia Field, Hayley O’Malley, and Yvonne Welbon.

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DREAMS OF PASSION
Featuring contemporary dancers Matima Hadi and Debra Floyd, DREAMS OF PASSION explores creative and sexual desire between two Black women. Aarin Burch, 1989, 16mm, 4 minutes / In English)

SPIN CYCLE
In this autobiographical look at filmmaking and romantic relationships, Aarin Burch ruminates on how to represent race, the ways her films might objectify women, and being pigeonholed as a Black lesbian filmmaker. Aarin Burch, 1991, 16mm, 6 minutes / In English)

CYCLES
Zeinabu irene Davis combines live action, animation, and still photography in this beautiful portrait of a woman taking stock of her life and performing acts of self-care. (Zeinabu irene Davis, 1989, Digital Video, 16 minutes / In English)

JANINE
In this candid self-portrait, Cheryl Dunye tells the story of a fraught teenage friendship with a white upper-middle class girl. Through direct address and snapshots from high school, Dunye relays the often painful process of searching for—and ultimately affirming—her Black lesbian identity. (Cheryl Dunye, 1990, Digital Video, 9 minutes / In English)

I’M NOT GOING TO DIE, I’M GOING HOME LIKE A SHOOTING STAR
Taking its title from Sojourner Truth’s own words, Jada-Amina Harvey’s film explores the Black ecstatic through archival footage, Black cultural icons, and vignettes of loved ones. (Jada-Amina, 2020, Digital Video, 15 minutes / In English)

BACK INSIDE HERSELF
First place winner at the San Francisco Poetry Film Festival and the Black American Cinema Society’s Independent Film Awards, S. Pearl Sharp’s debut film is a visual poem on identity and the assertion of self, starring the magnetic actor Barbara O. Jones (DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST, BUSH MAMA). (S. Pearl Sharp, 1984, Digital Video, 4 minutes / In English)

CHRONICLES OF A LYING SPIRIT (BY KELLY GABRON)
A fabulist short that traces a circuitous, polyvocal history from the Middle Passage to late-1980s, Cauleen Smith’s film concludes with an unflinching monologue about class privilege and artistic responsibility, declaring: “The only way I’m gonna get on TV is to make my own goddamn tapes and play them for myself, my sisters, my brothers. We will be seen, and we will be heard.” (Cauleen Smith, 1992, 16mm, 6 minutes / In English)

10:28,30
Part of the larger constellations of works concerning familial ties, 10:28,30 explores the relationships between Paige Taul, her twin sister, and their mother. (Paige Taul, 2019, Digital Video, 5 minutes / In English)

MONIQUE
Yvonne Welbon reflects on a childhood experience of racism and considers how deeply it is ingrained in the fabric of society, pervasive enough to infect even children’s play. (Yvonne Welbon, 1991, Digital Video, 2 minutes / In English)

FANNIE’S FILM
A portrait of a 65-year-old woman as she tells stories about her life while cleaning a Pilates studio. Challenging mainstream media’s stereotypes of women of color who earn their living as domestic workers, this seemingly simple documentary achieves a quiet revolution: the expressive portrait of a fully realized individual. Fronza Woods, 1981, Digital Video, 15 minutes / In English)

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TICKETS

Purchase

$13 General public
$8 Students with a valid ID
$6.50 Film Center members
$5 SAIC faculty & staff & AIC staff
Free for SAIC students

Unless otherwise noted, SAIC student tickets are released five days prior to showtime. Tickets must be picked up in person from the Gene Siskel Film Center box office. A student ID is required.

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ACCESSIBILITY

CATE events are presented with real-time captions (CART). Hearing loops, wheelchair accessibility, and companion seating are also available at the Gene Siskel Film Center. For other accessibility requests, please visit saic.edu/access or write cate@saic.edu.

Image info: Aarin Burch, SPIN CYCLE, 1991. Courtesy of the artist.

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Tags: Aarin Burch, CATE, Cauleen Smith, Cheryl Dunye, Chicago, Conversations At The Edge, Fronza Woods, Gene Siskel Film Center, Jada-Amina, Loop, Paige Taul, S. Pearl Sharp, Sarah Oberholtzer, Sojourner Truth Festival of the Arts: Interior Lives, Yvonne Welbon, Zeinabu irene Davis