Join us for today's program on ZOOM:

Please click the link below to join the webinar:‍

https://moadsf-org.zoom.us/j/86925019106?pwd=ZlRwcjcraDBLQzA4UUtjYzliSzUxQT09

Passcode: 773991

MUSEUM OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA AND BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA PRESENT

AFRICAN DIASPORA FILM CLUB AT MOAD | STATELESS

Join us for our monthly series, The African Diaspora Film Club. Modeled after our African Book Club, we will meet once a month to discuss a film that we have all viewed in advance of the discussion. The conversation will be moderated by Cornelius Moore, co-director of California Newsreel and film series curator at MoAD.

We will be choosing a selection of films, some previously screened at MoAD. You may have already seen it, or this may be your first introduction. In either case, join us for a lively discussion of the film.

This month we will be discussing STATELESS (2020,Michèle Stephenson, 95 mins). You will receive instructions to join via zoom after you sign up here. Look for an email from MoAD after you sign up, if you don’t receive it in your inbox, look in your spam or junk mail.

We will not be screening the film. STATELESS will premiere on POV (PBS) on July 19th and will be available for streaming for 30 days following the premiere. You can find the film on your local PBS station here.

Director Michèle Stephenson will join us for the discussion.

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, based on anti-black hatred fomented by the Dominican government. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929. The ruling rendered more than 200,000 people stateless, without nationality, identity or a homeland.

In this dangerous climate, a young attorney named Rosa Iris mounts a grassroots campaign, challenging electoral corruption and advocating for social justice. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary Stateless traces the complex tributaries of history and present-day politics, as state-sanctioned racism seeps into mundane offices, living room meetings, and street protests.

Filmed with a chiaroscuro effect and richly imbued with elements of magical realism, Stateless combines gritty hidden-camera footage with the legend of a young woman fleeing brutal violence to flip the narrative axis, revealing the depths of institutionalized oppression.

Canadian filmmaker, artist, Michèle Stephenson, pulls from her Panamanian and Haitian roots to think radically about storytelling and disrupt the imaginary in non-fiction spaces. She tells compelling, deeply personal stories that are created by, for and about communities of color that reimagine and provoke. Her feature documentary, American Promise, was nominated for three Emmys and won the Jury Prize at Sundance.

She is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Creative Capital artist.

Resources to learn more about Stateless here.

This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS' award-winning nonfiction film series:  https://www.pbs.org/pov/.

‍The African Diaspora Film Club is presented in partnership with Black Public Media

‍Black Public Media (BPM), formerly known as National Black Programming Consortium develops, produces, funds, and distributes media content about the African American and global Black experience. Our mission is to commit to a fully realized expression of democracy and we accomplish this by supporting diverse voices through training, education, and investment in visionary content makers.

For 40 years, BPM has addressed the needs of unserved and underserved audiences. BPM continues to address historical, contemporary, and systemic challenges that traditionally impede the development and distribution of black stories.