*New date* Tuesday, August 22, 6–8 pm
Free or suggested donation
Open to ages 16+. Journals and writing material provided

In this lecture and workshop, Workspace Resident Alicia Solstice Hawkins will present on how speculative fiction offers subversive narratives that challenge oppressive worldviews, while reimagining powerful and liberatory counter-narratives. This will be followed by exercises on how participants can incorporate speculative fiction into their documentary or fiction film projects.

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for artworks that include fantastical aspects and can incorporate sub-genres such as science fiction, horror, fantasy, and magical realism. This workshop will examine speculative fiction in contemporary film, with an emphasis on BIPOC creators. Although initially associated with works focused on Eurocentric sensibilities, speculative fiction has become a compelling genre for filmmakers to use to offer social critiques, reclaim spaces stolen by oppressive practices, dismantle the logics of oppression, and explore liberation.

During the first half of the workshop, we will watch example films, discuss specific strategies filmmakers use to integrate fantastical elements into their films, and analyze what critiques their narratives offer. Then, Alicia will lead a mini-writing workshop. A discussion of some foundations for expanding a cinematic storytelling toolkit through speculative fiction will be included, such as world-building, structural techniques, developing a visual language, and research.

Biography of the artist

Alicia Solstice Hawkins: I was born and raised on the Lower West side of Buffalo. A childhood in the Rust Belt informs my aesthetic and inspires me to craft stories that highlight perseverance and explore multiple perspectives that are not usually featured in mainstream narratives. I often focus on topics related to complex and intersecting identities, the tension between the healing and antagonistic power of nature, and unexpected resilience.

I earned a MA in documentary film from UW, Seattle, and my award-winning thesis film was screened at various festivals, colleges, and museums throughout the US and Canada. After working as an educator and media producer for organizations with social and racial justice initiatives, I returned to graduate school and earned an MFA from Temple University with an emphasis on screenwriting. Recent screenwriting projects include Horseshoe Falls, a feature-length film set on the Lower West Side of Buffalo in the early ‘90s, and The Jar, a queer speculative fiction film set in Days Park. For more, please see: aliciafilm.com

Workspace Residency is generously supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Banner image: Alicia Solstice Hawkins standing on a beach.