About this Event
February 2021 – Black History Month
CinemaLit is featuring four recent films in celebration of Black History Month. Two powerful documentaries, Lorraine Hansberry Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart (2017) and Anita Speaking Truth to Power (2013), examine the lives and work of two history making African American women, one in the arts and humanities, the other in law and justice. Two feature films this month, Oscar winner Moonlight (2016) and indie charmer Miss Juneteenth (2020), are so good they give hope to the future of African American cinema.
February 12 – Anita Speaking Truth to Power (2013) – 77 minutes
In 1991, 35-year-old African American Department of Education attorney Anita Hill risked her reputation and career in sitting before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee of 14 white men. With extraordinary composure, she gave painful details of repeated episodes of sexual harassment perpetrated by Clarence Thomas, also African American and President George H. W. Bush's nominee to the U. S. Supreme Court. The results were much more than riveting political theater. It's now vividly clear that Hill's testimony ignited an ongoing national dialogue by women who have everything to lose in coming forward with charges of sexual harassment and assault leveled at very powerful men – from presidents and film industry executives, to entertainers and business leaders. The spirit behind the #MeToo movement echoes to Hill and beyond.
Anita Speaking Truth to Power producer-director Freida Lee Mock is one of today's leading documentary filmmakers. Her Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision follows the creator of the rule-shattering Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, and won the Best Documentary Academy Award. Her fascination for documentary subjects is far reaching, from a children's choir to concentration camp survivor, political dynasty matriarch Rose Kennedy, actress Lillian Gish, and author Anne Lamott, among many others.
Anita Hill is an inspired subject for Mock's discerning and unobtrusive filmmaking style. We are given ample historical context and archival footage of the Senate hearings. We also see a later day Hill, now an author and professor at Brandeis University, reflect on her most public moments. Mock is also able to share a bit of the private Hill, born the youngest child of Baptist farmers in Oklahoma. The resulting Anita Speaking Truth to Power is a compelling look at a courageous woman at the heart of a critical moment in American history where politics, gender, race, and power intersected.
Mechanics’ Institute members can now sign up for FREE access to Kanopy, a wonderful film streaming service. To sign up:
1. Click on the link below
https://milibrary.kanopy.com/
2. Click on the large orange login button that reads, “Log in to milibrary.”
3: Enter the 14-digit bar code from your MI Library card
4: Set up your account following Kanopy’s instructions, including your email and a password.
5: Kanopy will send verification to your email address.
You’ll be able to choose from a wonderful selection of films, including classics, pre-code, foreign films, and documentaries, including the films we’ve scheduled this month for CinemaLit.
If you are not a Mechanics’ Institute member, consider membership and click here to join online:
https://www.milibrary.org/join
Or, you can check with your public library to see if they are Kanopy members. If so, you may use your public library card to set up a Kanopy account.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Mechanics' Institute, Zoom, San Francisco, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 10.00