Friday, June 19th-Saturday, June 27th

Curated by Michael Henry Adams, Co-Sponsored by Queer Black Cinema, Men of All Colors Together and Harlem One Stop

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of The Stonewall Rebellion and thesubsequent Gay rights movement we celebrate the cinematicrepresentation of Gay life and culture in Black America's fabledhomeland with Homo Harlem: A Film Retrospective.

$10 Suggested Donation For All Screenings


 

Monday, June 22   7:00 pm

Storme: Lady of the Jewel Box
Dir. Michelle Parkerson, 1987, 21 min.

"It ain't easy…being green" is the favorite expression of StormeDeLarverie, a woman whose life flouted prescriptions of gender andrace. During the 1950's and 60's she toured the black theatre circuitas a mistress of ceremonies and the sole male impersonator of the legendary Jewel Box Revue, America's first integrated femaleimpersonation show and forerunner of La Cage aux Folles.

Storme herself emerges as a remarkable woman, who came up during hard times but always"kept a touch of class." Storme was also a witness to the StonewallRebellion 40 years ago and is a founding member of the StonewallVeterans Association.

How Do I Look
Wolfgang Busch, 2007, 48 min.

HowDo I Look captures the Harlem "Ball" traditions that originated in the70s, which was historically an off shot from the Harlem "Drag" Ballsfrom the 20s. Because of the loss of hundreds of members and leaders ofthe "Ball" community due to the HIV epidemic, this film recorded animportant aspect of history while it was still available.
 
Tuesday, June 23   7:00 pm
Brother to Brother
Rodney Evans, 2004, 87 min.

Winnerof numerous awards including the 2004 Sundance Film Festival SpecialJury Prize and the Gordon Parks Screenwriting Award, Brother to Brother followsthe emotional and psychological journey of a young black gay artist ashe discovers the hidden legacies of the gay and lesbian subcultureswithin the Harlem Renaissance.
(with a short clip of an interview with Bruce Nugent on Gay life in the 20s.)

Q&A with Tom Wirth, Literary Executor for Bruce Nugent
 
Wednesday, June 24   7:00 pm

Brother Outsider, The Life of Bayard Rustin
Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, 2002, 83 min.

Thismeditation on the parallels between racism and homophobia illuminatesthe life and work of Bayard Rustin, a visionary activist and strategistwho has been called the "unknown hero" of the civil rights movement.Daring to live as an openly gay man during the fiercely homophobic1940s, 50s and 60s, Brother Outsider reveals the price thatRustin paid for his openness, chronicling both the triumphs and setbackof his remarkable 60-year career.

Panel
Dirs. Bennett Singer and Nancy Kates
Walter Naegle, Rustin's partner until his passing in 1987 at 75
Ernest Green, The Little Rock Nine
Adam Green, Historian, Author of "Selling the Race: Culture, Community, and Black Chicago, 1940-1955"
Moderator: Michael Henry Adams

 

Thursday, June 25   5:30 pm
Walking Tour
 
Thursday, June 25   7:30 pm
Paris is Burning
Jennie Livingston, 1990, 78 min.


Many consider Paris Is Burningto be an invaluable document of the end of the "Golden Age" of New YorkCity drag balls, as well as a thoughtful exploration of race, class,and gender in America.
 
Thursday, June 25   9:30 pm
Afterparty at Billy's Black*

*Complete package (walking tour, screening and after party) cost is $50.00
Contact- homoharlemtour@ aol.com
60 person limit on tickets so get them while you can!
Tickets for the screening only can be purchased the night of at the Maysles Cinema.

 
Friday, June 26   5:30 pm
Walking Tour
 
Friday, June 26   7:30 pm
Looking For Langston
Isaac Julien, 1988, 45 min.


A black and white, fantasy-like recreation of high-society gay menduring the Harlem Renaissance, with archival footage and photographsintercut with a story. The text is rarely explicit, but the freedom ofgay Black men in the 1920s in Harlem is suggested and celebratedvisually.

James Baldwin: Witness
Angie Corcetti, 2003, 60 min.


A minister's son from Harlem, James Baldwin moved to Greenwich Villageand began writing essays for left-wing journals. With the success ofhis first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain,and dozens of non-fiction works, Baldwin became an international voiceon American Black life in the 1950s and 60s. A look at this BlackAmerican Gay icon's life.

 
Friday, June 26   9:30 pm

Dinner at Miss Maude's Spoonbread Too*

*Complete package (walking tour, screening and dinner at Chez Lucien) cost is $50.00
Contact- homoharlemtour@ aol.com

 
Saturday, June 27   11:30 am
Brunch at Chez Lucien*
 
Saturday, June 27   1:00 pm
Walking Tour
 
Saturday, June 27   3:00 pm

M&M SMITH: For Posterity's Sake
Heather Lyons, 1996, 57 min

Morganand Marvin Smith, twin brothers and prolific African American artists, boldly moved from Kentucky to New York in 1933 to pursue artisticcareers. By 1937 they had opened a photo studio next door to Harlem's renowned Apollo Theatre. Thus began 50-year-long careers as still andmotion picture photographers, painters and sound recordists. This story is richly visualized through the Smiths' photos, films and paintings and poignantly told by Morgan and Marvin Smith and friends such as Eartha Kitt.

Clip of Short Conversation with Marvin Smith
40 min.

*Complete package (walking tour, screening and brunch at Chez Lucien) cost is $45.00. Contact- homoharlemtour@ aol.com