Tuesday, September 29, 2020, presented at the International Documentary Association’s (IDA) Getting Real conference.
While much has been written about the colonial history of documentary filmmaking, far less is known about the canon of oppositional cinema created by Black, Indigenous, and other filmmakers of color. There is a rich tradition of oppressed peoples subverting the colonial gaze: from early works by Zora Neale Hurston and William Greaves, to the filmmakers who formed the Iranian New Wave, to the Latin American and African filmmakers behind the Third Cinema movement. This panel featured BIPOC creators discussing the political and aesthetic motivations of liberatory cinema movements and why we must reconstitute the canon with BIPOC-created media.
The panel discussion featured Stanley Nelson, award-winning filmmaker and Firelight Media co-founder; with filmmaker Heather Rae, curator Janaína Oliveira, and moderator Yasmina Price.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020, presented at the International Documentary Association’s (IDA) Getting Real conference.
On November 17, 2020, as part of DOC NYC Live, Firelight Media presented a special edition of its Beyond Resilience Series.
"On Friday, January 29 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a special edition of the Beyond Resilience Series at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, “Creating & Commissioning Art In Times of Crisis.” Throughout the past year, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) artists have been commissioned by institutions to perform cultural work from their position at the epicenter of interlocking systems of oppression – racial and economic inequality, police violence, and a global pandemic that disproportionately impacts communities of color."
On Thursday, February 25 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a Beyond Resilience panel discussion centered around Firelight Founder Stanley Nelson’s documentary Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy, now streaming globally on Netflix.
On Thursday, March 25 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a virtual screening and livestream Q&A centering women, non-binary, and AAPI filmmakers and artists behind IN THE MAKING, Firelight Media’s documentary short film series in partnership with PBS American Masters.
On Friday, April 23 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a virtual panel discussion about the awards system for documentary films.
On Thursday, May 20 at 5pm ET, Firelight Media and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) presented a special edition of the Beyond Resilience Series at CAAMFest 2021 – “More Than One Lens.”
On the eve of Juneteenth, and in honor of Black Music Month,Firelight Media hosted a Beyond Resilience event celebrating music documentaries by and about Black artists.