L.A. Rebellion
Encyclopedia
L.A. Rebellion film movement, sometimes referred to as the "Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers", refers to the time from roughly the late-1960s to the late-1980s when a new generation of young African
and African American
filmmakers emerged from UCLA
Film School to produce works that provided an alternative to Classical Hollywood cinema
.
became the first African American to graduate from the UCLA Film School. In the decade and a half that followed, the numbers of African American filmmakers remained small. One of those was Vantile Whitfield
, who founded the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles in 1964 and received a master's degree at UCLA in 1967. However, by the late 1960s, in the midst of affirmative action
, the number of Black students steadily increased. Among this new crop of artists were Charles Burnett
, an engineering student who had attended Los Angeles City College
and Haile Gerima
, an Ethiopian filmmaker, who recently moved from Chicago. Unlike their predecessors, they eschewed Hollywood conventions and were influenced by films from Latin America, Italian neorealism
, European art films, and the emerging cinema of Africa. They were among the first of what became known as the "Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers."
In the wake of the Watts Riots
and other forms of social unrest
, such as an infamous 1969 shoot-out on the UCLA campus involving Ron Karenga
's US Organization, Burnett and several other students of color helped push the university to start an ehthnographic
studies program. Elyseo J. Taylor, who was the only Black instructor at the UCLA Film School in the early 1970s, was an influential instructor in that program.
Film scholar and historian Teshome Gabriel
began teaching at UCLA in 1974 and became both a colleague and mentor to many filmmakers associated with the movement.
In the Spring of 1997, Doc Films, a student-run film society based at the University of Chicago
hosted one of the first retrospectives of L.A. Rebellion films. Jacqueline Stewart, who was an associate professor there at the time, helped coordinate the program. This series included works by Charles Burnett
, Haile Gerima
and Julie Dash
.
A documentary, Spirits of Rebellion:Black Cinema at UCLA, interviews many filmmakers associated with the movement. It is directed by Zeinabu irene Davis
, and screened as a work-in-progress on Saturday, October 8th, 2011 as part of "L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema."
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
filmmakers emerged from UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
Film School to produce works that provided an alternative to Classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...
.
Background
In June 1953, Ike JonesIke Jones
Ike Jones is a producer and actor who is perhaps best known as the former husband of actress Inger Stevens...
became the first African American to graduate from the UCLA Film School. In the decade and a half that followed, the numbers of African American filmmakers remained small. One of those was Vantile Whitfield
Vantile Whitfield
Vantile Whitfield was a highly influential arts administrator who helped found several performing arts institutions in the United States.-Background:...
, who founded the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles in 1964 and received a master's degree at UCLA in 1967. However, by the late 1960s, in the midst of affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
, the number of Black students steadily increased. Among this new crop of artists were Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett (director)
Charles Burnett is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer...
, an engineering student who had attended Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
and Haile Gerima
Haile Gerima
Haile Gerima is an Ethiopian filmmaker, who resides in the United States. He is a leading member of the L.A. Rebellion film movement, also known as the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers. His films have received wide international acclaim. Gerima has also been an influential film professor at...
, an Ethiopian filmmaker, who recently moved from Chicago. Unlike their predecessors, they eschewed Hollywood conventions and were influenced by films from Latin America, Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
, European art films, and the emerging cinema of Africa. They were among the first of what became known as the "Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers."
In the wake of the Watts Riots
Watts Riots
The Watts Riots or the Watts Rebellion was a civil disturbance in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California from August 11 to August 15, 1965. The 5-day riot resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, and 3,438 arrests...
and other forms of social unrest
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
, such as an infamous 1969 shoot-out on the UCLA campus involving Ron Karenga
Ron Karenga
Maulana Karenga is an African-American professor of Africana Studies, scholar/activist, author and best known as the creator of the pan-African and African American holiday of Kwanzaa...
's US Organization, Burnett and several other students of color helped push the university to start an ehthnographic
Ethnographic film
An ethnographic film is a documentary film related to the methods of ethnology. It emerged in the 1960s as an important tool for research in the domain of visual anthropology, when filming human groups in society...
studies program. Elyseo J. Taylor, who was the only Black instructor at the UCLA Film School in the early 1970s, was an influential instructor in that program.
Film scholar and historian Teshome Gabriel
Teshome Gabriel
Teshome H. Gabriel was an Ethiopian-born American cinema scholar and professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles. Gabriel was considered an expert on cinema and film of Africa and the developing world...
began teaching at UCLA in 1974 and became both a colleague and mentor to many filmmakers associated with the movement.
Identification of movement
Film critic Clyde Taylor coined the phrase "L.A. Rebellion" to describe these filmmakers.In the Spring of 1997, Doc Films, a student-run film society based at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
hosted one of the first retrospectives of L.A. Rebellion films. Jacqueline Stewart, who was an associate professor there at the time, helped coordinate the program. This series included works by Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett (director)
Charles Burnett is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer...
, Haile Gerima
Haile Gerima
Haile Gerima is an Ethiopian filmmaker, who resides in the United States. He is a leading member of the L.A. Rebellion film movement, also known as the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers. His films have received wide international acclaim. Gerima has also been an influential film professor at...
and Julie Dash
Julie Dash
Julie Dash is a United States filmmaker. She directed Daughters of the Dust, which in 1991 became the first full-length film with general theatrical release in the United States by an African American woman...
.
Filmmakers
Many of the filmmakers listed below, while primarily known as writer/directors, worked in multiple capacities on various film productions through their early careers.- Charles BurnettCharles Burnett (director)Charles Burnett is an African-American film director, film producer, writer, editor, actor, photographer, and cinematographer...
- Ben CaldwellBen Caldwell (filmmaker)Ben Caldwell is a Los Angeles-based arts educator and independent filmmaker.A native of New Mexico, Caldwell studied filmmaking at UCLA, at the same time as Charles Burnett, Julie Dash and Billy Woodberry, as part of a group of young artists who were to change African American independent...
- Larry ClarkLarry Clark (filmmaker)Larry Clark is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion . He directed the feature films, Passing Through and Cutting Horse...
- Julie DashJulie DashJulie Dash is a United States filmmaker. She directed Daughters of the Dust, which in 1991 became the first full-length film with general theatrical release in the United States by an African American woman...
- Zeinabu irene DavisZeinabu irene DavisZeinabu irene Davis is an African American filmmaker and professor of the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. The filmmakers's husband and daughters inspire Davis' films and serve as the driving force for her career...
- Jamaa FanakaJamaa FanakaJamaa Fanaka is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his 1979 film, Penitentiary and is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion film movement.-Early life and education :...
- Jacqueline Frazier
- Haile GerimaHaile GerimaHaile Gerima is an Ethiopian filmmaker, who resides in the United States. He is a leading member of the L.A. Rebellion film movement, also known as the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers. His films have received wide international acclaim. Gerima has also been an influential film professor at...
- Alile Sharon LarkinAlile Sharon LarkinAlile Sharon Larkin is an award-winning American film producer, writer and director associated with the L.A. Rebellion .-Background and career:...
- Barbara McCullough
- Bernard Nicolas
- Billy WoodberryBilly WoodberryBilly Woodberry is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion . He is best known for directing the 1984 feature film, Bless Their Little Hearts , which was honored at the Berlin International Film Festival.-Background:Woodberry was born in Dallas, Texas...
Actors
The following actors appeared in various L.A. Rebellion films and are to some degree associated with the movement:- Adisa Anderson
- Haskell V. Anderson IIIHaskell V. Anderson III"Haskell Vaughn Anderson III is an American film, television and theater actor. He is perhaps most widely known for his prominent supporting role in the 1989 film "KICKBOXER"', which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme. In 2011 Haskell starred as Frank Malgado in the Off Broadway production of JULIA a...
- Barbara-O
- Angela Burnett
- Nate Hardman
- Kaycee Moore
- Sy RichardsonSy Richardson-Early life:Richardson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He started singing at age 12 and recorded his first record with Lil June and the Januarys at 16. Richardson served two years on active duty with the United States Navy.-Career:...
- Henry G. Sanders
Others
The following are individuals who supported the work of L.A. Rebellion filmmakers as mentors and/or scholars:- Clyde Taylor, film critic, he coined the phrase "L.A. Rebellion" to describe this movement
- Elyseo J. Taylor, filmmaker and instructor at UCLAUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
- Vantile WhitfieldVantile WhitfieldVantile Whitfield was a highly influential arts administrator who helped found several performing arts institutions in the United States.-Background:...
, an early African American UCLA Film School graduate and founder of the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles (PASLA) - Teshome GabrielTeshome GabrielTeshome H. Gabriel was an Ethiopian-born American cinema scholar and professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles. Gabriel was considered an expert on cinema and film of Africa and the developing world...
, film scholar and professor at UCLAUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses... - Ntongela Masilela, film scholar
- Jacqueline Stewart, film scholar and associate professor at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(previously with the University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
)
List of notable L.A. Rebellion films
The following is a chronological list of short and feature length films from the L.A. Rebellion filmmakers that are generally considered to be seminal or notable.- Emma MaeJamaa FanakaJamaa Fanaka is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his 1979 film, Penitentiary and is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion film movement.-Early life and education :...
(1976) - Harvest: 3,000 YearsHarvest: 3,000 YearsMirt Sost Shi Amit is a 1976 Ethiopian film directed by Haile Gerima.- Plot summary :For the production of Mirt Sost Shi Amit Gerima returned to his native Ethiopia to produce the tale of a poor peasant family who eke out an existence within a brutal, exploitative, and feudal system of labor.-...
(1976) - Killer of SheepKiller of SheepKiller of Sheep is a 1977 American film written, directed, produced and shot by Charles Burnett. It features Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, and Charles Bracy, among others. The drama depicts the culture of urban African-Americans in Los Angeles' Watts district...
(1977) - Passing ThroughLarry Clark (filmmaker)Larry Clark is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion . He directed the feature films, Passing Through and Cutting Horse...
(1977) - Bush MamaBush Mama-Plot:Bush Mama is the story of Dorothy and her husband T.C., a discharged Vietnam veteran who thought he would return home to a "hero's welcome." Instead he is falsely arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Theirs is a world of welfare, perennial unemployment, and despair...
(1979) - PenitentiaryPenitentiary (1979 film)Penitentiary is a 1979 Blaxploitation film starring Leon Isaac Kennedy as Martel 'Too Sweet' Gordone that deals with the wrongful imprisonment of a black youth.- Synopsis :...
(1979) - Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification (1979)
- Ashes and EmbersAshes and EmbersAshes and Embers is a 1982 drama film directed by Haile Gerima.-Plot summary:Ashes and Embers is a two-hour film about the travails of black urban life. It is the story of a moody and disillusioned black veteran of the Vietnam War.-Cast:...
(1982) - A Different ImageAlile Sharon LarkinAlile Sharon Larkin is an award-winning American film producer, writer and director associated with the L.A. Rebellion .-Background and career:...
(1982) - IllusionsJulie DashJulie Dash is a United States filmmaker. She directed Daughters of the Dust, which in 1991 became the first full-length film with general theatrical release in the United States by an African American woman...
(1982) - Bless Their Little HeartsBilly WoodberryBilly Woodberry is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion . He is best known for directing the 1984 feature film, Bless Their Little Hearts , which was honored at the Berlin International Film Festival.-Background:Woodberry was born in Dallas, Texas...
(1984) - Daughters of the DustDaughters of the DustDaughters of the Dust is a 1991 independent film written, directed and produced by Julie Dash. It tells the story of three generations of Gullah women at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the family's migration from the Sea Islands to the American mainland.Featuring an unusual narrative...
(1991) - CompensationCompensation (film)Compensation is award-winning independent film about a young African American couple at the beginning and end of the twentieth century. The film is produced and directed by Zeinabu irene Davis and the screen play was written by Marc Arthur Chéry. It stars Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks in...
(2000)
Lasting Impact
The UCLA Film and Television Archive has programmed a major retrospective of these films entitled, "L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema," which runs from October 7 - December 17, 2011 in Los Angeles. The series is part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980.A documentary, Spirits of Rebellion:Black Cinema at UCLA, interviews many filmmakers associated with the movement. It is directed by Zeinabu irene Davis
Zeinabu irene Davis
Zeinabu irene Davis is an African American filmmaker and professor of the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. The filmmakers's husband and daughters inspire Davis' films and serve as the driving force for her career...
, and screened as a work-in-progress on Saturday, October 8th, 2011 as part of "L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema."
See also
- African cinema
- BlaxploitationBlaxploitationBlaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
- Cuban cinemaCinema of CubaCinema arrived in Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century. Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959, about 80 full-length films were produced in Cuba. Most of these films were melodramas...
- Cult classicCult ClassicCult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
- European art cinemaEuropean art cinemaEuropean art cinema is a branch of cinema that was popular in the 1960s. The formal system that this cinema uses is based on the classical Hollywood cinema; particular a rejection of all tenets and rules of classical Hollywood cinema.-History:...
- French New WaveFrench New WaveThe New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
- Italian neorealismItalian neorealismItalian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
- Latin American cinema