Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground

Wednesday, May 17, 2017
7pm
@ Squeaky Wheel
General $7 | $5 for Squeaky Wheel Members
Preceded by Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People (1984) by Ayoka Chenzira

“A NEARLY LOST MASTERWORK” —The New Yorker

“EFFERVESCENT, BRAINY, and SEXY” — The Village Voice

Funny, brilliant, and personal, Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground (1982) should have ranked high in the canon of 1980s American independent cinema but was never theatrically released. A key narrative feature written and directed by a black woman, Collins’ passing at the age of 46 almost meant the films erasure from history, until the filmmakers daughter and Milestone films set out to restore this vital work telling the story of a marriage of two remarkable people, both at a crossroads in their lives. Sara (Seret Scott), a black professor of philosophy, is embarking on an intellectual quest to understand “ecstasy” just as her painter husband Victor (Bill Gunn) sets off on a more earthy exploration of joy. Losing Ground is here paired with another key work of 80s black cinema, the 10 minute animated musical satire Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People (1984) by Ayoka Chenzira, regarding the question of self image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Curated by Squeaky Wheel’s Spring 2017 Curatorial Intern Caitlin Margaret Coder who will deliver introductory remarks. Special thanks to Women Make Movies and Milestone Films.