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As part of the 92Y Confronts Hate initiative, Reel Pieces Moderator Annette Insdorf presents seminal films that have confronted the oppression of black people in the United States as well as South Africa.
Whether made for theatrical release or television, they anchor her discussion with special guests including Dee Rees, Trey Ellis, Franz Jones, Jamal Joseph, and Mark Ethan Toporek. Please note that additional guests might be announced.
Aug 9: Mudbound (2017), directed by Dee Rees. This powerful ensemble piece juxtaposes the perspectives of two poor farming families—one black, one white—in the segregated Mississippi Delta of the 1940s. The cast includes Carey Mulligan, Mary J. Blige, Garrett Hedlund, Rob Morgan, Jason Clarke, and Jason Mitchell. Its visual richness resulted in Rachel Morrison becoming the first woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Guest: Dee Rees (Free streaming on Netflix.)
Aug 16: Marshall (2017), directed by Reginald Hudlin. From a script by Jacob Koskoff and Michael Koskoff, this powerful docu-drama focuses on the young Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman, who plays the brilliant lawyer as convincingly as he did James Brown and Jackie Robinson) representing the NAACP in a Connecticut case of racial tension in 1941. Co-starring Sterling K. Brown, Josh Gad, and Kate Hudson. Guest: Jamal Joseph. ($4 rental on Amazon Prime.)
Aug 23: Focus on Sidney Poitier, The Defiant Ones (1958), directed by Stanley Kramer. Poitier and Tony Curtis play escaped convicts fleeing a Southern prison gang. But, since they’ve been chained together, can they escape their mutual racial hatred? Co-starring Theodre Bikel in an Oscar-nominated performance. Guest: Trey Ellis. (Rental on Vudu $4.99.)
Aug 30: Focus on Sidney Poitier, Mandela and DeKlerk (1997), directed by Joseph Sargent. Poitier stars as Nelson Mandela in this dramatization of his 27 years in prison (filmed on Robbin Island, where Mandela was jailed) and protracted negotiations with F.W. de Klerk (Michael Caine), before he was released and became South Africa's president. In addition to the feature Mandela and DeKlerk, Insdorf will discuss Poitier’s career with guests Mark Toporek (who has prepared clips from 9 films) and actor Franz Jones. ($4 on Amazon Prime)
Online programs:An access link will be emailed to you after purchase
In-person programs:Adults and children ages 12+ must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend our in-person programs.
Masks must be worn at all times by everyone over the age of 2.
Annette Insdorf is Professor of Film at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and Moderator of 92Y’s Reel Pieces series. She is the author of Francois Truffaut, a study of the French director's work; two books about Polish filmmakers—Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski and Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has; Philip Kaufman, and the landmark study, Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust (with a foreword by Elie Wiesel). Her latest book is Cinematic Overtures: ...
Annette Insdorf is Professor of Film at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and Moderator of 92Y’s Reel Pieces series. She is the author of Francois Truffaut, a study of the French director's work; two books about Polish filmmakers—Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski and Intimations: The Cinema of Wojciech Has; Philip Kaufman, and the landmark study, Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust (with a foreword by Elie Wiesel). Her latest book is Cinematic Overtures: How to Read Opening Scenes, and she received the Mel Novikoff Award from the 2018 San Francisco Film Festival.
Classic Films with Annette Insdorf: Racial Justice
Reel Pieces Remote: Classic Films with Annette Insdorf: Masterpieces of the 1960s
Dee Rees is the first Black woman nominated for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for Mudbound …
Dee Rees is the first Black woman nominated for an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for Mudbound, which received four Academy Award nominations. Her HBO film Bessie (2015), starring Queen Latifah as the legendary American Blues singer, was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards. Her debut feature film Pariah premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival (where it won the U.S. Dramatic Competition “Excellence in Cinematography” Award) and was later released by Focus Features.
Trey Ellis is an Emmy and Peabody winning filmmaker, American Book Award Winning novelist, playwright, essayist and Professor of Screenwriting …
Trey Ellis is an Emmy and Peabody winning filmmaker, American Book Award Winning novelist, playwright, essayist and Professor of Screenwriting at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Most recently, he was an Executive Producer and interviewer for the HBO documentary True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight For Equality and King in the Wilderness (2018), also for HBO.
Franz Jones has worked as a professional actor in theater, film, television, and radio …
Franz Jones has worked as a professional actor in theater, film, television, and radio. He is currently Associate Director for Essence of Acting, a new company of actors in New York. At Cornell University, he was a resident teaching/performing guest artist. He wrote a theatre blog for “Ban-The-"N" Word, an online empowerment forum. After receiving an MFA from the University of Delaware, he studied acting at Circle in the Square Theatre, where he received the Diana Sands Scholarship. At HB Studios, he studied with the renowned coach Uta Hagen. He also studied film with Madeline Thornton-Sherwood, best known as the original “Sister Woman” in the film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Jamal Joseph is a writer, director and activist whose film credits include Ali: An American Hero for Fox, Knights of the South Bronx for A&E …
Jamal Joseph is a writer, director and activist whose film credits include Ali: An American Hero for Fox, Knights of the South Bronx for A&E, and the independent feature Chapter & Verse. He is the author of Tupac Legacy, an interactive biography of Tupac Shakur published by Atria Books. His memoir Panther Baby (published by Algonquin Books) follows Jamal's journey as the youngest member of the Panther 21 and as a radical prisoner who spent close to ten years in state and federal prison. Jamal has been a member of Columbia University’s film faculty for 20 years. He is a professor of professional practice and head of the screenwriting program.
Mark Ethan Toporek is an actor, teacher, and producer. A member of the Actors Studio, he has appeared in films including The Confession …
Mark Ethan Toporek is an actor, teacher, and producer. A member of the Actors Studio, he has appeared in films including The Confession (with Ben Kingsley and Alec Baldwin), The Secret Lives of Dentists, and Lesser Prophets (with John Turturro). His stage work includes playing Pope John-Paul II in Mario Fratti’s The Vatican Knows at Theatre for the New City, and three productions with the Yiddish Folksbiene Theatre. For 92Y, he has been creating and teaching dozens of film series that deal with such topics as the law, politics, media, immigration, and New York on film. He recently produced the video, “To Carry On: An Anthem of the American Immigrant Experience.”
Recanati-Kaplan Talks
Francis Morrone