Filmmaker John Akomfrah screens two of his films. The Call of Mist (Redux), set on a remote Scottish island, is an elegy to his late mother and a vivid meditation on death, memory and cloning. Initially commissioned in 1998 for the BBC, the 2012 re-edited version incorporates additional images that were removed from the television version, recovering Akomfrah’s original conception. Handsworth Songs (1986) is a richly layered documentary representing the hopes and dreams of post-war Black British people in the light of the civil disturbances of the 1980s. It engages with Britain’s colonial past, public and private memories, and the struggles of race and class. The title refers to the riots in Handsworth, Birmingham during September 1985. The soundtrack is influenced by reggae, punk and the post-industrial noise movement. Black Audio Film Collective was founded in 1982 by a group of sociology, psychology and fine art students. The Collective undertook all aspects of production and distribution of their films.
After the screening, watch a pre-recorded conversation between Akomfrah and Tina Campt.
Black Earth is a film series organized by Princeton’s Dorothy Krauklis ’78 Professor of Visual Arts Deana Lawson in collaboration with Visiting Professor in the Program in Visual Arts and the Department of Art and Archaeology Tina Campt. It aspires to a twofold intervention in how we envision the multiple ecologies of our planet. On the one hand, it is a meditation on Earth’s landscape through a deep dive into one of the primary materials that supports and sustains it: soil. It engages soil in its most elevated state, as nutrient rich black soil that nurtures and enriches a multitude of species. On the other hand, it hones in on Earth as a social ecology inhabited, shaped, and enlivened by Black genius. The series includes films by Khalik Allah, Rob Herring, Kahlil Joseph and John Akomfrah and curated conversations with the filmmakers and a selection of their collaborators.
The Black Earth series is supported through the John Sacret Young ’69 Lecture Series fund. This event is cosponsored by Princeton’s Department of Art & Archaeology.
Join the Event
The conversation and screening event is free and open to the public. Advance tickets required; reserve tickets through University Ticketing.
Get directions to the James Stewart Film Theater and find other venue information for 185 Nassau Street.
COVID-19 Guidance + Updates
Per Princeton University policy, all guests are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to the maximum extent, which now includes a COVID booster shot for all eligible to receive it, and to wear a mask when indoors. Please note that the speakers may be unmasked while presenting onstage.
Accessibility
The event space is wheelchair accessible. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are asked to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date.
*Banner image: Black Audio Film Collective, John Akomfrah; Handsworth Songs, 1986; single channel 16mm color film transferred to video, sound; 58 minutes 33 seconds; © Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery.
