Have you heard of the L.A. Rebellion? Well, if you’re a fan of Black Independent Cinema you should be very familiar with that phrase. The L.A. Rebellion refers to a generation of Black filmmakers who graduated from UCLA School of Theater,Film and Television in the late 1960s-80s.
When Ike Jones graduated in 1953, he became the first African-American to ever graduate from UCLA’s film school and went on to be the first African American to serve as a producer. The number of Black students at UCLA stayed low until the mid 1960s. It was around this time that the Black student population started to increase at UCLA due to an initiative to recruit more students of color in the wake of the Watts Riots.
The L.A. Rebellion movement set itself apart from mainstream Hollywood convictions and instead were influenced by Latin American, European and African cinema. They strived to create full rounded Black characters that didn’t rely on the stereotypes often found in Hollywood films. They created a community were the older students would often mentor the younger filmmakers entering the program. Within their community they often worked on each other’s films. Some of the more notable filmmakers associated with this movement are Charles Burnett, Haile Gerima and Julia Dash.
Here are some of the filmmakers from this movement with a recommendation of where you can watch their films.
Charles Burnett
Born in Missippi but raised in Watts, California Burnett graduated with his B.A. from UCLA in 1969 and went on to earn a MFA there in 1977. He was very inspired by his upbringing in Watts and used it for the setting of his thesis film Killer of Sheep.Though the film did not receive wide distribution until thirty years after its release, it was critically acclaimed and in 1990 added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
What to watch: To Sleep with Anger Where to watch: TUBI
Haile Gerima
Originally form Ethiopia, Gerima moved to Chicago in 1967 to study acting at the Goodman School of Drama. He then went on to earn a Bachelors and Masters in film from UCLA. He is best known for the film Sankofa which was released in 1993. In 1998 he opened a bookstore and cafe named after the film in Washington D.C. alongside his wife, filmmaker Shirikiana Aina.
What to watch: Sankofa Where to watch: Netflix
Alile Sharon Larkin
Born in Chicago in 1953, Larkin entered UCLA as an origianl member of their Ethno-Communications program after. When the program disbanded she switched to the film school and earned her MFA in film in 1982. In addition to being a filmmaker Larkin was a public school teacher in L.A. for 25 years.
What to watch: A Different Image Where to watch: Criterion Channel
Billy Woodberry
Billy Woodberry came to UCLA from Dallas Texas in the 1970s. During his time there he worked on several films including his first short The Pocketbook which was based on the Langston Hughes short story “Thank You, Ma’am.” He is best known for the feature film Bless Their Little Hearts which he directed for his thesis film. The film was written by fellow L.A. Rebellion member Charless Burnett and in 2013 was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress.
What to watch: Bless Their Little Hearts Where to watch: MUBI
Jamaa Fanaka
Jamaa Fanaka was born Walter Gordon in Jackson, Mississippi and grew up in Compton, CA. After serving in the Air Force, he began studying at UCLA in 1971 where he changed his named to Jamaa Fanaka. While at UCLA he wrote and directed three feature films that received theatrical distribution. He died in 2012 at the age of 69.
What to watch: Penitentiary Where to watch: TUBI
Bernard Nicolas
After fleeing Haiti, Nicholas and his family settled in San Pedro, California. He later went on to earn his B.A. and MFA from UCLA. A lot of his work focus on social issues. In 1992 he founded Inter-Image Videos, the first company to release African films on home video in the United States.
What to watch: Gidget Meets Hondo Where to watch: Vimeo
Barbara McCullough
At the age of 11, McCullugh and her family moved from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston, to the point that she has said aspired to be the Hurston of Video*, McCullough’s work tends to focus on the Black diaspora and showcasing the “universality of the Black experience.”
What to watch: Shopping Bag Spirits and Freeway Fetishes: Reflections on Ritual Space Where to watch: Vimeo
Julie Dash
In 1991, Dash became the first Black woman to have a feature length film distributed theatrically in the United States with the release of Daughters of the Dust. Since then she has pivoted to television and has directed episodes of numerous television shows.
What to watch: Illusions Where to watch: Kanopy
Project One Films
At UCLA, students in the film program participate in something called Project One in their first semester. As part of this they must write, direct and edit a short film with sound all before they take their first producing class. UCLA has made the Project One films of the filmmakers of the L.A. Rebellion viewable on their website. You can find them here.
*I love this tidbit but it ignores the fact that Hurston herself was a filmmaker
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