D' Ghetto Eyes Film Program (1992), curated collaboratively by Third World Newsreel and The Kitchen, was a presentation of work rooted in the
artists' own psyche and experience. The films and videos examine issues of assimilation and alienation as well as intra-cultural conflicts arising from questions of
identity and social issues of the time. The program featured two nights of works by emerging artists. The first night was showcasing work produced throught the Third World Newsreel
Advance Production Workshop; the second night was a program of work by independent producers.
D'Ghetto Eyes series and Bottom Line workshop were made possible by funds provided by JT Takagi, a 1992 filmmaking fellowship recipient of the Artists and Audiences
Program of the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Coalition of Multicultural Media Artists, the New York State Council on the Arts,
the National Association of Media Arts Centers, the National Endownment for the Arts, The Film Bureau of Film/Video Arts,
The Electronic Arts Grants Program of the Experimental Television Center, The Kitchen Video Exhibition Program, and Third World Newsreel's "Pressure Points"
Exhibition Program. Special thanks to Asian Cinevision and Kilimanjaro.
PROGRAM 1
HOMECOMING
This sensitive drama adeptly portrays the clash of two cultures and the difficulty of finding a healthy balance in the process of assimilation. Constance is a young Jamaican American woman who has reluctantly come home to the Bronx while on Spring break from her liberal arts college. Her new ways of viewing the world, combined with a barely concealed disdain for people she once respected result in family quarrels.
Her fiercely proud mother challenges her to acknowledge her self-worth and reminds Connie never to forget "from where she did come".
Dir: Jamal Joseph, 16mm, 17 min, 1991
ROCK ME, GOONG HAY
The Goong Hay Kid is the fictional Chinese rapper created and played by Alvin Eng. ROCK ME, GOONG HAY combines hip-hop styling with a forceful protest against stereotypes.
Dir: Sheldon Ito, video, 5 min, 1992
FIGHT BACK: URBAN MARTIAL ARTS
Marcus Salgado is a young martial artist from the South Bronx who leads the viewer through a stunning array of community martial arts activity in New York City. The tape shows classes that promote health, self-defense and Black awareness, kung fu katas and examples of racism in the depiction of Black contributions to modern martial arts. Salgado and his instructors demonstrate how martial arts has had a positive impact on the lives of Black martial arts enthusiasts ranging from pre-schoolers to seniors.
Dir: Third World Newsreel Production Workshop 1991, video, 20 min, 1992
COW TIPPING: THE MILITANT INDIAN WAITER
In this original short drama, a Cherokee caf? waiter faces customers who insist on sharing their ignorance about American Indians--or are they Native Americans? His efforts to educate others often end in frustration, and a lousy tip. Based on his own experiences encountering skewed perceptions and depictions of his people, Redroad's story blends humor and rage and information. Clips from movie westerns help make his point.
Dir: Randy Redroad, video, 10 min, 1992
MOTHER'S HANDS
This provocative experimental video depicts the trauma of emotional, physical and sexual abuse from a young girl's point of view. The video uses music, image, audio manipulation and minimal dialogue, propelling a powerfully authentic treatment of these issues toward a haunting conclusion.
Dir: Vejan Smith, video, 10 min, 1992
RESPECT IS DUE
In keeping with the doctrines of Wall Street and Madison Avenue, sex sells rap music. In this video, Black youth examine the ways women of African descent are frequently portrayed in rap lyrics and music videos. Hip-hop riffs and clips from rap videos illustrate interviews with young rap enthusiasts, art critics, activists and rapper "Sista Souljah". Excellent for discussions on sexism, gender roles, and sexuality.
Dir: Cyrille Phipps, video, 10 min, 1992
LA HISTORIA DE JONAS
Using a collage of urban scenes and voice over narration, this 5 minute video explores the feelings and issues faced by a new Latino immigrant to New York City in his own words. Available in Spanish only, without subtitles. A Third World Newsreel Workshop Production.
Dir: Luisa Sanchez, video, 5 min, 1992
RAILROAD REFLECTING
In this intimate and inventive video, two African men reflect on freedom, slavery and colonization from differing view points. Bentham juxtaposes their stories in a manner evoking African oral history traditions.
Dir: John Bentham, video, 9 min
CAROL TAYLOR: THE REVOLUTIONARY'S REVOLUTIONARY
This piece profiles Black activist Carol Taylor, author of
The LIttel Black Book a black male survival manual.
Dir: Jackie Dolly, video, 19 min
PROGRAM 2
LAND WHERE MY FATHERS DIED
This narrative detials the experience of a young woman who returns to her hometown to visit family. In the course of the stay, she and her boyfriend realize
that they are both children of alcholics and must come to terms with those wounds.
Dir: Daresha Kyi, film, 24 min, 1991
EX VOTO
This ritual video is a moving offeing to St. Benedicta, the patron of St. of Brazil
in return for her intervention in the artists's struggle to survive disfiguring burns after a fire during her childhood.
Dir: Tania Cypriano, video, 7 min, 1991
SPLASH
This experimental collage reflects on the artist's childhood and the impact of family on his becoming a gay man.
Dir: Thomas Allen Harris, video, 5 min, 1991
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Using the controversy surrounding the politically charged rap group Public Enemy,
targenting charges of anti-semitism as a focal point, this piece critiques the media's bias against rap music and cultreu.
Dir: Art Jones, video, 27 min, 1991
WORK IN PROGRESS
This experimental documentary explores the effects of the 1986 Immmigration Reform upon illegal immgrants that could not file for amnesty.
The Reform allows legal resident status to illegal aliens who can prove tgheir arrival in the U.S. before January 1982.
By interweaving media coveratge, Latino flklore, interviews and stock footage this taqpe reflects
the complex forces that shape illegal alien identity and their experiences in the U.S.
Dir: Luis Valdovino, vidoe, 10 min, 1991
ANIMAL APPETITES
This book looks at the case of two Cambodian immigrants who were arrested in California for killing their dog for food.
Using humor to explore some serious issues, this documentary looks at animal rights, America's cultural diversity and its accesptance of its immigrants.
Dir: Michael Cho, video, 18 min, 1991
SHE DON'T FADE
Shae Clarke, played by director Dunye, is a young Black lesbian who is gossipy about her sexuality and her new approch to women.
Dir: Cheryl Dunye, video, 23 min
CONVERSE
An experimental piece that follows an unidentified character wearing a pair of converse sneakers through Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
Dir: Reggie Woolery, video, 6 min, 1992
