PHILADELPHIA - November is an exciting time for cinéSPEAK as they begin their 10th year with a new series, a new annual program, and a closing program for a major Indigenous arts and culture festival. The events will feature special guests and highlight essential topics in our community.
The month begins with a series kick-off on Thursday, November 10, at 7 p.m. at the historic Paul Robeson House & Museum. In Process with Vernon, Jordan III is the first of many masterclass events featuring intimate communings with local filmmakers. The screening of Jordan’s 2022 short film One Magenta Afternoon will be accompanied by a conversation between the filmmaker, Vernon Jordan III, a Philly-born n raised writer, filmmaker, and poet, and Jaz Riley, a southern-raised writer, activist, and researcher devoted to living, creating and revealing the beauty of Black life.
Then, on Saturday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m., cinéSPEAK is sponsoring Jin Jiyan Azadi: Kurdish and Iranian Women’s Cinema, a film program focusing on how systems of power and the State affect individual bodies. The program is presented by Batikh Batikh, a pop-up cinema and gallery that centers SWANA (South West Asian North African) women and queer artists in solidarity with Iran's protests and the feminist revolution. All proceeds from ticket sales will go towards mutual aid for refugees in Iranian and Kurdish communities.
The next week on Thursday, November 17 at 7 p.m., cinéSPEAK will launch a new annual program featuring up-and-coming local filmmakers from their favorite regional festivals, Best of Fests 2022. The event will be held at The Rotunda in University City and will feature five films:
- Love Machine, directed by Jasmine Lynea
- The Walk Home, directed by Chenjing Liaw
- Testimony: 52nd St & The Invisible Violence of UPenn, directed by Amelia Carter
- Wuss, directed by Rubbing Zhang
- Ro & The Stardust, directed by Eunice Levis
Finally, on Saturday, November 19, at 4 p.m., cinéSPEAK will present the closing program for We Are The Seeds 2022, Indigenous art and culture celebration on Cherry Street Pier. We Are The Seeds is on a mission to amplify Indigenous voices and serve the Indigenous community of Philadelphia and surrounding areas, as well as to design engagements that would reconcile the significant gaps in the representation of Northeast Indigenous artists and makers.
“We Are The Seeds " is a phenomenal organization and our long-time partner. We're honored to co-produce the Closing Program of their festival.” Sarah Mueller - executive director and founder of cinéSPEAK.
The program will feature The Dawnland Shorts and The Reciprocity Program Shorts, which pay homage to Indigenous culture and its stories. Conversations with notable guests will follow the individual programs: Adam Mazo, the creative director for Upstander Project and an Emmy® Award-winning social issue documentarian; Chris Newell, the director of education at the Akomawt Educational Initiative; and Jennifer Kreisberg, a singer, composer, and teacher.
