September 15th
Cheryl Dunye film director
Seeing in the Dark: An Insight into Cinema by Queers of Color

As race and sexulaity top the US political agenda for 2009, an increasing number of today's queer filmmakers are turning both eyes and ears to the body of work from queer communities of color from past decades. Dipping into the archives of the OUTFEST LEGACY Colection of UCLA's Film Archive, filmmaker, scholar and curator Cheryl Dunye investigates a selectio nof the most popular works from the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's.

Introduced by Victoria Hesford

Location: Javits 105

Time: 2:20PM-3:40PM


September 30th

Lalitha Gopalan

University of Texas at Austin
Speed and Movement in Ramgopal Varma's Company
Since the production of his film Satya 1998, Ramgopal Varma has been reshaping the narrative and visual conventions of fim noirto sever this genre's former dependence on Hollywood. Varma's film Company globalizes noir as it explores not only the underwold of Mumbia but also the criminal culture of current global financial hubs such as Dubai, Hong Kong and Mogadishu.

Introduced by Sunitha Mukhi

Location: The Wang Center

Time: 2:20-3:40.


October 14th

Manthia Diwara New York University
Sembene Ousmane and the Aesthetics of African Cinema

In his 4 films, Sembene often called the "Father of African film", explores the history of colonialism in Africa, the failings of religion, the excesses of the new African bourgeoise and the strength of African women. With an aim to reach the widest possible audience, his aesthetics are key to the visual and narraitve communicative efficiency of his films.

Introduced by Patrice Nganang

Location: Humanities Buildilng Room 1006

Time: 4:00PM-5:20PM.