Miami, FL. Sept. 28, 2017 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Museum of Art + Design (MOA+D), in collaboration with MDC’s acclaimed Tower Theater and the Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami, announces the Living Together Film Series, featuring documentary and fiction films that survey the dizzying political landscape of contemporary American cinema. The films will be screened on select Thursdays from Sept. through April 2018. All events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
The film series kicks off with I Am Not Your Negro (2017), directed by Raul Peck, at 7 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 28, at UM’s Cosford Cinema, 5030 Brunson Dr., Coral Gables. The film, which was featured this year by MDC’s Miami Film Festival, is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.
The featured films will explore the notions of manhood, nationhood, political, spiritual, and poetic freedom. Academy-nominated films, festival selections and independently-minded productions come together in a program that aspires to change audiences strongly held convictions, acquired behaviors and habits associated with the consumption of moving images. During this time of radical change in the political landscape, with its increasing emphasis on borders, exclusion, and separation, and an accompanying sense of the urgency of political engagement, Living Together seeks to find new ways to think about civic space and citizenship, to instigate actions and conversations that may help us to reimagine our cities and our lives.
In addition, the films will be presented in conjunction with exciting six-month cross-disciplinary program that includes performance art, readings, talks, and workshops held across the greater Miami area and reflecting the cultural, social, and political realities of how we live now, including Carrie Mae Weems, William Kentridge, Tino Seghal, Karen Finley, Anna Maria Maiolino, My Barbarian, and Samora Pinderhughes, among other acclaimed international artists and thinkers. The first event is an exhibition and lecture/performance by Brazilian artist Berna Reale at 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 29, followed by a reception for the artist from 7 – 10 p.m, at the Dimensions Variable gallery located at MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Building 1, third floor.
Living Together Film Series schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami
5030 Brunson Drive, Memorial Building 227, Coral Gables
Whose Streets? (2017), 90 minutes, Directors: Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, USA
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions, and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Empowered parents, artists, and teachers from around the country come together as freedom fighters. As the National Guard descends on Ferguson with military-grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new resistance.
Thursday, Nov, 9, at 7 p.m.
MDC’s Tower Theater
1508 S.W. Eight St., Miami
Memories of a Penitent Heart (2016), 70 minutes, Director: Cecilia Aldarondo, USA/Puerto Rico
Like many gay men in the 1980s, Miguel moved from Puerto Rico to New York City; he found a career in theater and a rewarding relationship. Yet, on his deathbed he grappled to reconcile his homosexuality with his Catholic upbringing. Now, decades after his death, his niece Cecilia locates Miguel’s estranged lover to understand the truth, and, in the process, opens up long-dormant family secrets. In English, Spanish with subtitles.
Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami
5030 Brunson Drive, Memorial Building 227, Coral Gables
Uncle Gloria: One Helluva Ride! (2016), 76 minutes, Director: Robyn Symon, USA
Filed under stranger than fiction, Uncle Gloria: One Helluva Ride! tells the astonishing true story of a 67-year-old macho owner of a South Florida auto-wrecking company named Butch, who undergoes a nasty second divorce and needs a place to hide. But the last place anyone would think to find him is in a dress, wig, and heels, living as a woman. What starts out as a trick to beat the system ends up changing Butch forever. Featuring risky surgeries, sex work, family dysfunction, activism, and falling in love, Gloria’s life is one that must be seen to be believed. Fasten your seatbelt, this is most definitely one helluva ride! This film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at its Miami premiere.
Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m.
MDC’s Tower Theater
1508 S.W. Eight St., Miami
The Reagan Show (2017), 74 minutes, Directors: Sierra Pettengill and Pancho Velez, USA
Constructed entirely from 1980s network news and videotapes created by the Reagan administration itself, Velez and Pettengill’s prescient documentary presents Ronald Reagan as the first made-for-TV president—a man whose experience as a performer and public relations expert made him a unique match for an emerging modern political landscape, and for his chief rival, charismatic Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Thursday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami
5030 Brunson Drive, Memorial Building 227, Coral Gables
Tangerine (2015), 88 minutes, Director: Sean Baker, USA
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee (newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend (James Ransone, Starlet, Generation Kill) hasn’t been faithful during the twenty-eight days she was locked up, the sex worker and her best friend, Alexandra (newcomer Mya Taylor), embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles.
For a complete schedule and description of events, please visit http://mdcmoad.org.