‘Emma Mae’ (1976)
Friday, December 16, 2011
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm, UCLA Hammer Museum – Billy Wilder Theater
L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema – Film Series
This major film exhibition by the UCLA Film & Television Archive celebrates an historic artistic movement of Los Angeles-based African American and African filmmakers who met at UCLA from the 1960s to 1980s and worked to forge a cinema that would be responsive to black communities. The Archive will present more than 50 film and video works, most of which have never screened theatrically, many in new or restored prints, and often with the filmmaker present.
‘Emma Mae’ (1976): Emma Mae arrives in Los Angeles from Mississippi replete with rough edges, as well an exceptional ability to kick ass. Emma Mae’s plain looks and shy demeanor set her apart from supermama heroines of this “Blaxploitation” era (e.g., ‘Foxy Brown’, ‘Cleopatra Jones’). But when folks underestimate her, Emma Mae surprises everyone, including her no-good boyfriend Jesse, with her extraordinary physical and emotional strength.
Preceded by: ‘Bellydancing—A History & An Art’ (1979): Alicia Dhanifu, who appears in Jamaa Fanaka’s ‘Emma Mae’, constructs a rigorous history of belly dancing—its roots and history, forms and meanings.
Tickets: Advanced tickets: $10 online. In-person sales one hour before showtime: $9 general public; FREE to UCLA students with valid ID; $8 other students/seniors.
