MOMA FILMS
Emmanuelle Demoris's Mafrouza Cycle
March 6–11
The Mafrouza cycle comprises five films shot by Emmanuelle Demoris over a two-year period in the neighborhood of the same name, a shantytown built by its inhabitants on the remains of a Greco-Roman necropolis in Alexandria, Egypt. The area has since been destroyed, but the film captures to a remarkable degree the very special people who lived here–their daily lives of struggle and happiness, and the special strength and heterogeneity of the community. The five films of the Mafrouza cycle will be screened once each in chronological order; each is an autonomous work that can be appreciated independent of the others.
MoMA Presents: Herbert Danska's Right On!
March 6–11
Described as "a conspiracy of ritual, street theater, soul music, and cinema," Right On! is a pioneering concert film, a compelling record of radical Black sentiment in 1960s America, and a precursor of the hip-hop revolution in musical culture. Shot guerilla-style on the streets and rooftops of lower Manhattan, it features the original Last Poets performing 28 numbers adapted from their legendary Concept-East Poetry appearance at New York's Paperback Theater in 1969. The film has rarely screened over the past 30 years, and this is the premiere run of MoMA's new restoration. Poets Felipe Luciano, David Nelson, and Amiri Baraka will be present for a post-screening discussion.
