Two free film events showcase black films, filmmakers, Langston Hughes

LAWRENCE -- The Langston Hughes centennial symposium at the University of Kansas is offering two film programs concurrently at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, that are both free to the public.

A rarely seen 1942 film written by Langston Hughes, "Way Down South," will be shown at the Black Films and Filmmakers program at Haskell Indian Nations University Auditorium, 155 Indian Ave. This program includes three black filmmakers with clips from their documentaries on Langston Hughes, and they will discuss their work and Hughes' legacy. Kevin Willmott, filmmaker and KU assistant professor of theatre and film, will moderate the program.

At the Black Films and Filmmakers program, Baltimore film critic Thomas Cripps will comment on the 1942 Hughes film. In addition, these filmmakers will present clips from their work:

 • St. Clair Bourne, Guilford, Conn., "Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper," produced for PBS in 1988;
 • Isaac Julien, London, "Looking for Langston," released in 1989; and
 • Mari Evans, Indianapolis, "Remembering Langston: 1968," believed to be the first black film to honor Hughes.

On the same evening, the Student Union Activities African American Film Festival will show "The Color Purple" and "Devil in a Blue Dress" in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union at KU.

"We are pleased to have filmmakers and film critics of this caliber participate in the centennial symposium," said Maryemma Graham, symposium director. "Their work is an important part of the Hughes legacy, especially since Hughes wrote screenplays. This is a special honor for the symposium, as 'Way Down South' and Mari Evans' documentary have not been screened in many years."

Filmmakers appearing on the program at Haskell are:

 • St. Clair Bourne, produced, directed and wrote 42 films, including documentaries for HBO, PBS, NBC, BBC and National Geographic, in addition to his own independent documentaries. He is working on a documentary about the history of Cuba through baseball and is in post-production on a documentary about controversial scholar Dr. Yussef Ben-jochanen's tour in Egypt.

 • Thomas Cripps is a distinguished professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore. His books include "Slow Fade to Black: The Negro in American Film, 1900-1942"; "Black Film as Genre"; "Making Movies Black: The Hollywood Message Movie from World War II to the Civil Rights Era "; and "Hollywood's High Moon: Moviemaking and Society before Television."

 • Mari Evans, Indianapolis, is a former distinguished writer and assistant professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. A television pioneer, she created, directed and hosted "The Black Experience," one of only three black television shows in the country at the time, filmed in Indianapolis from 1968 to 1973.

 • Isaac Julien, London, founded the Sankofa Film and Video Collective in England. His feature films and documentaries include the prize-winning films "Looking for Langston" (1989) and "Young Soul Rebels" (1991), which won the Semaine Internationale de la Critique de la Prize at Cannes. Julien also was nominated for the 2001 Turner Prize.