Film Image
The Kitchen Blues
1994
BW
14 minutes
US

The Kitchen Blues

An intimate portrait of an everyday moment, focusing on a young girl getting her hair braided. It opens with a photograph of the filmmaker at age 5 and her voice describing her own childhood hair memories. Archival footage of African American women "doing" their hair is layered over the image of the young girl, drawing the connections between rituals of daily life and historical tradition. The film is a humorous, yet sometimes painful exploration of the issues raised around hair and beauty for African American women.
Pricing & Ordering
Buyer Type Format Sale Type Price
Higher Education Institutions DSL 1-year License $150.00
Higher Education Institutions DSL 3-years License $300.00
Higher Education Institutions DVD Sale $100.00
Higher Education Institutions Life Digital File Sale $600.00
K-12, Public Libraries & Select Groups DVD Sale $50.00
Non-Theatrical/Educational DVD Rental $150.00
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Reviews
"Gilbert honors a ritual specific to both female and African American culture...gracefully exploring dominant notions of beauty and internalized racism." - Philadelphia City Paper
Screenings
• Women in the Directors ChairWomen in the Director's Chair International Film & Video Festival, Chicago, 1995
• Project Black Cinema

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TWN acknowledges that in New York we are on the unceded territory of the Lenni Lenape, Canarsie, Shinecock, and Munsee peoples and challenges the harm that continues to be inflicted upon Indigenous and People of Color communities here and abroad, which is why we all need to be part of the struggle for rights, equality and justice.

TWN is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Color Congress, MOSAIC, New York Community Trust, Peace Development Fund, Ford Foundation, Golden Globe Foundation, Kolibri Foundation and individual donors.