Event Photos - Juneteenth, 2021

Film Program

Color The Water
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12:18
Brut met Color the Water, a collective created after the police killing of George Floyd that is fighting against an often racist, toxic surf culture. They’ve created a safe space for BIPOC to learn how to surf and engage with fellow surfers of color. With a mission to advocate for more people of color in the water, they surf in groups and offer free surf lessons and gear for all Black, Indigenous and People of Color.

The Honeys and Bears
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03:31
The Harlem Honeys and Bears are a synchronized swim team for seniors 55 years and older. In this short film, Veena Rao captures the “freedom” that comes from being in the water, a freedom that allows these performers to “do all kinds of things that [they] cannot do on land” and stay, as one member says, “92 years young."

Director: Veena Rao
Sound Designer: Mike Jansson

Be a Fish
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07:00
Determined, 9 year-old Taylor buys a fish in order to practice how to swim for her “Big Day.” Her mother, Janel, has different plans and forces her to go underwater earlier than what Taylor expected. Unprepared, Taylor attempts to stop her mother but is ultimately forced to dive deep into water, resulting in Taylor learning how to cope and survive.

“Taylor” - Sydnee April Symone
”Janel” - Janel Sexton
Writer/Director: Aisha Ford
Cinematographer: Jess X. Snow
Producer: Rachel Gordon

Red Soda and Libations

04:18

A BLACK TOY STORY is an exploration of black history and culture, past and present, guided by toy versions of black historic figures Matthew A. Henson and Benjamin Banneker. Black Matt and Ben spend Juneteenth by the water reflecting on emancipation and the liberation of mind, body, and soul that black music channels throughout time. They honor the ancestors through libations and pass the time enjoying red soda water, fishing, and playing cards.

Writer/Director: Kelli Marie Anderson @sojournals

Bomba Ancestral

04:42
A short film about the first Bomba Ancestral organized by Sheila Osorio and Samuel Lind in Loíza, Puerto Rico where the river meets the sea. We gathered on the beach. The moon was full and we could feel the connection to the four elements. The FIRE that purifies, WATER, AIR and EARTH. Honoring all of our ancestors from whom we inherited this beautiful dance of Bomba.

Created by @fistuptv with support from @defendpr
Director / Producer: Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi
DP & Editing: Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi & Adriel Rivera
Video Created By: @fistuptv @adrielrivera_ 
Drone Footage By: Jose Alejandro 
Subtitles By: Yari Mar Rodas

Premiering: BELONGING
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6 min, a short film for Belmar History + Art
Unhurried and timeless, a couple travels between ocean and house, spirit and flesh. They embody hope and loss through postures of emergence and erasure. This visual journey stages the body as an archive of past, present and future. It is a reclamation for Black families who built and lost their homes by the sea. It is a conjuring of memory, of futures dreams. 

Filmed at Bay Street Beach, also known as The Inkwell, “A Resurrection in Four Stanzas” and Palisades Beach. Funded in part by Santa Monica Cultural Affairs.

Embodiment: Marjani Forté-Saunders, Everett Saunders, Everett Nkosi Zaire Saunders
Producer/Creative Director: April Banks
Director/DP/Editor: Wesam Nassar
Choreography/Music: d. Sabela Grimes
Camera Operators: Gary Wright and Anaka Morris
Producer/Art Director: Susu Attar
BTS Photography: Chinwe Okona

Pre-Screening Gallery

A collection of historical images, videos and art photography from:

Alan Kimara Dixon
Bethanie Hines
April Banks
Halline Overby
Theodore Dickerson III
Collection of Alison Rose Jefferson
Collection of Cristyne Lawson
Student work from Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences
Student work from Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library
Library of Congress
University of South Carolina, Moving Image Research Collections