Through A Lens Darkly: Lorna Simpson on the Value of Her Art [dir. Thomas Allen Harris]

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion TV

 

The Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People feature-length PBS documentary and multimedia community engagement campaign seeks your support www.DDFR.tv. Your Tax Deductible Contribution will ensure that the story of how African Americans have used the camera as a tool for social change from the invention of photography in the 1840s to the present will be shared across the nation and around the world. Lorna Simpson is one of the many talented photographers whose ground breaking work has expanded the boundaries of photography http://lsimpsonstudio.com

Jimmy Heath--Jazz: A Democratic Art Form

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion:

Jimmy Heath embodies the history of jazz.  In his 60 years on the jazz scene, the saxophone great has appeared on more than 125 records as both a composer and player. Heath grew up in Philadelphia alongside brothers Percy and Tootie, both renowned jazz players in their own right.  He has played with trumpeter Howard McGhee; Dizzy Gillespie’s sextet and big band; the Miles Davis Quintet; Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley, Chet Baker, James Moody, Clark Terry, and others.

Trailer—“Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People”

from filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris:

 

Please consider supporting Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People, a PBS documentary that explores how African Americans have used photography as a tool for social change. Since the birth of photography in 1840s, African Americans rejected what they saw about themselves in the dominant culture and took ownership of their own cultural image. Empowered through photography, Black people began to record and embrace their own truths and forge their own identities.

Through A Lens Darkly illuminates the hidden, little known and underappreciated stories of African Americans transforming themselves and the nation through the power of the camera lens. The film also explores how contemporary photographers and artists like Deborah Willis, Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Anthony Barboza, Lyle Ashton Harris, Hank Willis Thomas, Glenn Ligon, Coco Fusco and Clarissa Sligh, have built upon the legacy of early Black photographers while trying to reconcile a past that our forebears would rather forget.

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From the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion: A Harlem Family Story

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion:

With just a few photographs within his collection, Marc Polite relays the rich history of his family with intimate glimpses into his family circle including images of this mother and father when they were young. Marc Polite lives and works in New York City and is passionate about African American history and culture.  Marc’s popular Blog “Polite On Society” won the Best Black Blog of 2011.

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion is a touring Roadshow that travels across the African Diaspora to uncover the hidden treasures in family photographic archive. Individuals are invited to explore the rich and revealing historical narratives found within their own family photograph albums and share their stories with the world.

Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight for Fairness

DDFRTV 

The first film to illuminate the role of African Americans in securing same-sex marriage as a Civil Right.

A CHIMPANZEE PRODUCTIONS FILM
Director/Executive Producer - Thomas Allen Harris
Producer - Ann Bennett
Writer/Executive Producer - Don Perry
Co-Producer -- Greg Warren
Score by Vernon Reid