Advertisement
Thursday January 9 * 7pm * $10-20We are pleased to present an evening of films by O.Funmilayo Makarah, who will be present for a discussion with the audience following the screening.
Fired-Up or How I Turned My Rage Into Art (2006), video, excerpts 20 min
O.Funmilayo Makarah crosses the country interviewing people about their reactions to the "not guilty" verdict in the 1992 Rodney King beating case and the resulting unrest in Los Angeles.
Creating a Different Image (1989), video, 5 min
This film is a jubilant affirmation of self-identity for artist and filmmaker Alile Sharon Larkin. O.Funmilayo Makarah creates a layered portrait of Larkin’s work and her identity. Makarah and Larkin were both students at UCLA at the same time, and Makarah once wrote that Larkin’s work “makes it clear that it is possible to place Black women on screen without conjuring the stereotypical [...] images of Black women perpetuated by mainstream media.” In this way, the film’s creation is in and of itself a loving gaze, a physical symbol of the deep and reciprocal bonds that Black women filmmakers share with their sisters in film.
Diversity (1989), video, 12 min
A record of the May 25th protest of UCLA students concerning the University's policies towards people of color, and programs to serve their needs.
The Joke Series (1994)
Joke 1, video, 5 min
Joke 2, video, 4 min
This series gives an idea about the techniques I use in my artistic production to challenge the casual ways in which popular culture continues to denigrate (and render invisible) the realities of African American and Latina women.
Define (1988), video, 4 min
This experimental short, an oblique meditation on the semiotics of ethnic female identity featuring Kelly A. Hashimoto and Yreina D. Cervantez, accompanies a cynical narration about how to “win an invitation to the dominant culture.”
LA in My Mind (2006), video, 4.5 min
A captivating montage of notable Los Angeles sites, laced with free-floating names of places and people and accompanied by street noises, becomes a delightful and personal canon of spiritually sustaining quantities.
Voices from the Neighborhood, video, 4 min
An excerpt from a longer video. At the time I was teaching film/video at a local College and volunteering at a local high school in South Central LA at a year round school. When the school went on break for their session, the students were really bored and asked me if we could continue to work together, even tho our "session" was on break. This video is part of a larger video with four students. I worked with them and helped 4 girls (2 Black and 2 Latina) to turn their thoughts about the 1992 L.A. Rebellion into video poems. They worked hard and I love this video!
O.Funmilayo Makarah is an award-winning filmmaker, installation artist, curator, media activist and educator from Los Angeles. She uses experimental and documentary conventions to intertwine social, political, and economic concerns with issues of history, gender, race, and identity. She is a member of the acclaimed LA Rebellion filmmaking movement, worked for the Berlin Film Festival and is the founder and Executive Director of Heritage Film Festival, a Maryland-based festival celebrating its 20th year in 2025..
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
6950 Maple St NW, Washington D.C., DC, United States, Washington, District of Columbia 20012, 6950 Maple St NW, Washington, DC 20012-2014, United States,Washington D.C., Takoma Park
Tickets
