Filmography
Featuring well-known L.A. Rebellion works alongside rarely seen student films, this body of work represents not only the originality of the individuals whose names are on them, but a collective vision as well. Across the two decades during which they made their presence felt at UCLA, and in the decades since, individual L.A. Rebellion artists have focused on diverse topics and responded to evolving political and artistic thought through their work. Explorations of class, considerations of historical legacies, stories attentive to concerns of local communities and appreciations of other Black arts are only some of the areas of exploration. The films also display a diversity of forms, from irreverent reconfigurations of well-worn genre types, to groundbreaking experiments with cinematic language. Certain works, long out of circulation, represent rediscoveries and will certainly lead to much future scholarship.
Learn more about the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s ongoing “L.A. Rebellion” inititiative.
| Title | Year | |
|---|---|---|
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69 Pickup Filmmaker Thomas Penick explores race, gender and violence in this provocative, disturbing drama set on a hot, summer day in 1969. When a woman accepts a ride from two men at the corner of Western and Adams, the encounter quickly turns ugly, venturing into painful, surreal territory. |
1969 |
 |
The Snake in My Bed In common with many L.A. Rebellion films, Snake touches on such themes as institutionalized racism, colonialism and the plight of women of color. Narrated in the first person by the filmmaker as an epistle to her son, The Snake in My Bed tells Diegu's story as a Nigerian woman in Lagos who discovers her German husband is a bigamist and follows her journey to have their son officially recognized as a German citizen from Neustadt am Main, since, according to Nigerian (i.e. Ibo) custom, a person’s identity can only be defined by the home village of the father. |
1995 |
 |
Something Special A documentary by Denise Bean that follows an African American woman, Donna Hill, and her young hearing-impaired son, Taj Hill-Hubbard, as they benefit from the spoken language training offered by the John Tracy Clinic. |
1977 |
 |
Spirits of Rebellion: Black Film at UCLA This documentary work-in-progress by Zeinabu irene Davis provides intimate access to several filmmakers identified with L.A. Rebellion, including Charles Burnett, Ben Caldwell, Julie Dash, Haile Gerima, Barbara McCullough, Billy Woodberry and Davis herself. The film’s topics include the origins of the name “L.A. Rebellion” and the intriguing question, “What is a black film?” |
2011 |
 |
Tamu At the beginning of Larry Clark's film, Malcolm X is quoted saying, "We don’t see any American dream. We’ve experienced only the American nightmare." A young African American man is driving through South Central in a Volkswagen Beetle thinking about revolution, Malcolm X, racism, capitalism and the war in Vietnam. An old lady is seen being mugged. A poem about getting high is heard interspersed with footage of an African American man who is high on drugs. We see a wanted poster for Eldridge Cleaver. Halfway through the film, we switch to the thoughts of a young African American woman who is also thinking about revolution. An image of Angela Davis is seen. Then we see the man and the woman driving together. The film ends with a wanted poster for "Tamu Davis." Jazz is heard on the sound track. |
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 |
To Sleep With Anger Charles Burnett’s celebrated fable is a singular artistic achievement that transcends categorization, incorporating elements of drama, dark comedy and magical realism. Within this densely-layered framework, Burnett incisively examines the complexities of modern middle-class Black life as an African American family becomes engaged in a metaphorical and metaphysical tug-of-war with the age-old cultural traditions of their former home in the South. |
1990 |
 |
Tommy A lonely teenage boy with a limp who lives with his grandmother and is verbally abused and neglected by her finally leaves home in Gay Abel-Bey's drama. |
|
 |
Trumpetistically, Clora Bryant Zeinabu irene Davis' fond portrait, rich with tunes and anecdotes of pioneering female jazz trumpeter Clora Bryant, a proponent of West Coast jazz whose early stints with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm led eventually to collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, among others. |
1989 |
 |
Ujamii Uhuru Schule Community Freedom School Don Amis’ documentary chronicles the day-in-the-life of an Afrocentric primary school located in South Los Angeles. Learn, baby, learn. |
1974 |
 |
Varnette's World: A Study of a Young Artist Director Carroll Parrott Blue presents the colorful and inspiring work of up-and-coming L.A. painter Varnette Honeywood whose renderings of everyday black life flow from her involvement with local youth and a black artist collective. |
1979 |
