DER SCHWARZE KANAL
Der schwarze Kanal (The Black Channel) was a series of political propaganda programs aired weekly between 1960 and 1989 by East German state television broadcaster DFF. A perfect name for our line-up of films that are currently playing or coming soon.
October 26: THIS IS [NOT] WHO WE ARE
USA | 1 hour 16 min. | 2023 | English
Directors: Katrina Miller, Beret Strong
This Is [Not] Who We Are explores the gap between Boulder, Colorado’s progressive self-image and the lived experiences of its small but resilient Black community. Boulder is emblematic of predominantly white communities that profess an inclusive ethic but live in a segregated reality. The film explores the intersecting issues of land use, affordability, racial and class-based segregation, youth issues, education, and policing, which combine to reveal deeply entrenched, if not entirely intended, structural inequalities that have reverberated through multiple generations.
University student Zayd Atkinson was cleaning up the grounds of his dorm— duties of his work-study job— when he was threatened by eight police officers with guns drawn. He lived to tell the story that many Black men often do not survive. As the riveting body-cam footage of this encounter went viral, Atkinson’s story sparked a reckoning for this progressive town as the implicit biases of its institutions and the continuation of its broader history were laid bare.
Although Black people have continuously lived in Boulder for nearly 150 years, their history has been largely marginalized. Black families faced discrimination in various fields throughout Boulder, and by the 1920s the city became a rallying point for the Ku Klux Klan. Although the particulars of Boulder’s history are unique, its social trajectory into the 21st century is representative of many other cities across the US that struggle to reconcile their liberal policies with the reality of their communities.
By sharing the voices of Boulder’s Black community, with those featured ranging in age from 12 to 78, the film shows how deeply the roots of institutional racism are embedded and opens a pathway for dialogue, insight, and positive change. Some stories are searing while others are hopeful. Seeking to open a space for dialogue among Boulderites and those in similar cities, This Is [Not] Who We Are asks if a more equitable and diverse future is possible not just in Boulder, Colorado, but across America.
OCTOBER 26: MY DEPRESSION
USA | 30 min. | 2014 | English.
Directors: Robert Marianetti, Elizabeth Swados, David Wachtenheim
Featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi & Fred Armisen
Both heartfelt and entertaining, My Depression uniquely illuminates the symptoms, emotions and side effects of depression using animation, comedy and music.
The film helps to make a difficult and sometimes taboo topic more understandable, both for those who may be suffering from depression as well as family and friends of people with the disorder.
My Depression takes viewers through an individual’s journey from the early symptoms through the darkest moments, and the search to try to find help and light at the end of the tunnel.
While the film uses humor to make the subject more accessible and combat the stigma associated with depression, it is also serious in its intent to show how difficult it is to live in a constant state of psychic pain and diminished energy.
Although there is no definitive cure for depression, as the film illustrates, there are a variety of ways to alleviate the pain, survive depression, and move towards a positive, fulfilling life.
Based on composer, writer, and director in theater Elizabeth Swados’ award-winning memoir, My Depression: A Picture Book
November (Day TBD): THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT
USA/Armenia | 94 min. | 2024 | Armenian with English subtitles.
Director: Emily Mkrtichian
In THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT, myth and reality intertwine to reveal the lives of four women facing the loss of their homeland. This poetic, urgent film offers an intimate portrait of four Armenian women whose lives were forever altered by the invasion of Artsakh. What began as a quiet observation of their daily lives became, after the war, an urgent chronicle of survival — a cinematic act of memory and resistance. Their stories transform grief into beauty and pain into something enduring, reminding us of the power of story to keep a place alive even as it is being erased.
In 2018, Emily Mkrtichian initially set out to make a film about the daily lives and hopes of women in Artsakh – an autonomous, disputed ethnically Armenian territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia with an enduring legacy of conflict. She followed a minesweeper, an aspiring politician, a women’s rights activist, and a judo champion as they navigated a precarious peace while building their lives and communities. In 2020, when Azerbaijan launched a surprise attack and war broke out again, Mkrtichian continued filming as shelling began around her, witnessing her subjects’ worlds and dreams immediately transform. The documentary evolved from an observational meditation on strength into an urgent portrayal of survival, capturing the personal and cultural impacts of a homeland at risk of loss, and the power of story to keep it alive.
November (Day TBD): PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE
USA | 90 min. | 2024 | English
Director: Catherine Gund
Featuring artists Faith Ringgold and Mary Enoch Elizabeth Baxter, PAINT ME A ROAD OUT OF HERE uncovers the whitewashed history of Faith’s masterpiece “For the Women’s House” and follows its 50-year journey from Rikers Island to the Brooklyn Museum in a heartbreaking, funny and true parable for a world without mass incarceration.