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AFI DOCS 2021: Racial Justice Films
With the power to educate, to inspire, to change hearts and minds and to call-to-action, the AFI DOCS film festival’s incredible selection of documentaries on the subject of racial justice is a celebration of protest, of speaking out against injustices and of finding joy in connecting with community and a network of changemakers. Take to the streets with CJ Hunt, to the archives with Pauli Murray and lace up those rollerskates to roll down Black Lives Matter St. in Washington, DC. Join us in a resounding call that Black and Indigenous filmmakers and films matter.
THE SLOW HUSTLE
After Baltimore Police Detective Sean Suiter is killed in the line of duty, the tragedy soon becomes enmeshed in a widening corruption scandal that threatens to unravel the public’s already strained relationship with law enforcement. Following the World Premiere screening, watch a special conversation with director Sonja Sohn and producer Marc Levin moderated by President of the African American Film Critics Association Gil Robertson. BUY TICKETS
THE NEUTRAL GROUND
Comedian and satirist CJ Hunt (THE DAILY SHOW) is asking difficult questions about this country’s Confederate monuments. In THE NEUTRAL GROUND, he hopes to discover some clarity, by diving into history. Following the screening, watch a special conversation with director/writer CJ Hunt and producer Darcy McKinnon moderated by AFI Festivals Senior Programmer Ken Jacobson. BUY TICKETS
SUMMER OF SOUL (. . .OR WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
In 1969, the same summer as Woodstock, another epic music festival — celebrating American music and African American history — took place in Harlem, New York. Following the screening, watch a special conversation with director Ahmir Thompson/Questlove moderated by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Curator Dwandalyn Reece. BUY TICKETS
R.I.P. T-SHIRTS
A small custom T-shirt shop in Washington, DC, sees a generation of Black youth experience gun violence. This short screens as part of the AFI DOCS Film Festival Shorts Program 5. BUY TICKETS
RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER
One hundred years after the two-day Tulsa Massacre, one of America’s most violent racial conflicts, this documentary explores the role of media during these early 20th century events and today’s revived call for justice and anti-racism. GET FREE TICKETS
THE ONE AND ONLY DICK GREGORY
Following the screening, watch a special conversation with director Andre Gaines, executive producer Valerie Edwards and subject Christian Gregory moderated by MSNBC Correspondent Trymaine Lee. Following the screening, watch a special conversation with director Andre Gaines, executive producer Valerie Edwards and subject Christian Gregory moderated by MSNBC Correspondent Trymaine Lee. BUY TICKETS
MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
Academy Award® nominees Betsy West and Julie Cohen (RGB) profile the remarkable Pauli Murray, whose legacy as one of the 20th century’s great human rights activists and legal scholars finally gets the attention it deserves. Following the screening, watch a special conversation with directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West and producer Talleah Bridges McMahon moderated by AFI Festivals Programmer Malin Kan. BUY TICKETS
THE I AND S OF LIVES
The smoothest area of resistance. The “I and S” of “Lives” is traced by a lone rollerskater on Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC, on a summer afternoon in 2020. This short screens as part of the AFI DOCS Film Festival Shorts Program 2. BUY TICKETS
DAUGHTER OF A LOST BIRD
Kendra grew up in white suburbia knowing little of her Native American heritage. The search for her birth mother leads her to face a legacy of family trauma and joy. Following the screening, watch a special conversation with director Brooke Swaney and subjects Kendra Mylnechuk Potter and Sandy Henderson moderated by entertainment journalist & TV producer KJ Matthews. BUY TICKETS
