Reel Black: Afrofuturism - Virtual Class

Join this Reel Black session for a deep dive into unapologetically blackity-black speculative film. What does that mean? We’ll explore the answers in this culture-, commentary-, and clip-filled class taught by Nicole Pouchet.

January 19, 2021

Classes

Afrofuturism has been an important genre since way before cultural critic Mark Dery coined the term in 1993. But, what exactly is it? Science fiction? Fantasy? Speculative fiction works by artists of the African diaspora? All of the above. In this class, we’ll delve into the history of Afrofuturism and its first films, get into the intersection of film and music, then talk about some kickass stuff going on now. As with most art, Afrofuturism is relevant to and reflective of current events. We’ll discuss what that means in regard to learning from and about each other through culture. Films expected to be included are Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer, The Brother From Another Planet, See You Yesterday, Touki Bouki, and the Kenyan short film Pumzi.

Zoom meeting details will be emailed to ticket purchasers shortly before the scheduled event.

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Tickets

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CLASS SPECIFICS

Tuesday, January 19, 2021
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Presented via Zoom Webinar
$25 Sustainer | $15 Regular | $10 Reduced / SIFF Member
Registration fees offered at a sliding scale; proceeds support both the instructors and SIFF Education programming.

CLASS WORKLOAD

All are welcome! Registrants are not required to view any of the announced films in advance of the class. There will be multiple films and extended clips, though there will potentially be spoilers for the ones listed below. If registrants desire to view any of these films expected to be included in the presentation, the titles and link to variety of streaming options is below.

ABOUT REEL BLACK

The Reel Black class series focuses on Black auteur filmmakers and Black influences within cinematic culture. Through deepening the cultural discourse with the past and present, we all prioritize and normalize Black stories and storytellers on our screens. This education series is curated with Isabella Price.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

A former Broadway assistant director, Nicole Pouchet (she/her) is a novelist and writer/director for Zombie Orpheus Entertainment’s award-winning fantasy TV series, Strowlers. Her horror/social thriller short, Retch, premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2019, won Best Film at the Seattle Black Film Festival in 2020, and has shown on DirecTV, Amazon, PBS, and Alaska Airlines. Her directorial debut, a sci-fi short called Such An Honor, is an official selection at multiple festivals this year including HollyShorts. Nicole continues to write/direct projects that incorporate social commentary into genre film. She is a Board Member for the Northwest Screenwriters Guild, an Advisory Board member for Destiny City Film Festival, and a guest lecturer for the University of Virginia, SIFF, and Women in Film. Visit nicolepouchet.com