16mm Documentary Series Vol V

16mm documentary films from the Basement Films archive, selected this month by James Lawrence and Zara Carlton.  Films followed by a brief panel discussion.  Free black coffee and refreshments served. 

KALI NIHTA, SOCRATES (GOODNIGHT, SOCRATES)

By Stewart Hagmann & Maria Moraltes, 1963

A fictionalized account of a young boy and his family learning that their block on Socrates Street in Greektown, Chicago will be demolished to make way for expressway construction. The film features slice-of-life footage of now-vanished neighborhood homes, residents, and businesses with voiceover lamenting the imminent loss of history and community.

and 

BLIND GARY DAVIS 

By Harold Becker, 1964

Documents blind folk singer Gary Davis and the world in which he lived.  Shows the interior of his room and the streets of Harlem as backdrop for his performance of 'DEATH DON'T HAVE NO MERCY.'  Davis was a blues and gospel musician born in South Carolina in 1896. After moving to New York in the 1940s, Davis experienced a career rebirth as part of the American folk music revival that peaked during the 1960s. 

Monday, March 27

7:00pm

at Alpaca

1415 4th St SW

$5-$10 sliding scale