Scribe Video Center Celebrates the Film Work of Toni Cade Bambara
Scribe Video Center Celebrates
the Film Work of Toni Cade Bambara
on Thursday, December 13 and Friday, December 14, 2007
"Our lives preserved. How it was; and how it be. Passing along in the relay.
That is what I work to do: to produce stories that save our lives." -Toni Cade Bambara
(Philadelphia, PA) -- Scribe Video Center celebrates the work of writer, activist, feminist, and filmmaker Toni Cade Bambara with two film focused programs on Thursday, December 13 and Friday, December 14. Already the acclaimed writer of The Salt Eaters and Gorilla, My Love and editor of The Black Woman, Bambara taught at Scribe Video Center from 1986 to 1995. A major influence on the independent film community, nationally and internationally, she had a particularly strong impact on media makers in Philadelphia – notably women and people of Color. Scribe was founded in December 1982 as a place where people could explore, develop and advance the use of electronic media, including video and audio, as artistic media and as tools for progressive social change. So, it is with much pride that Scribe Video Center begins its 25th anniversary year with a celebration of Bambara’s film work and her enduring influence.
On Thursday, December 13 at 7:00 pm at International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, Scribe presents a panel and film screening entitled “Savoring the Salt – The Film Work of Toni Cade Bambara” on the occasion of the publication of the new book Savoring The Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara, edited by Linda Janet Holmes and Cheryl A. Wall, published by Temple University Press.
The evening will celebrate Bambara’s life and work with a lively panel featuring Linda Janet Holmes and Cheryl A. Wall, editors Savoring The Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara; poet Sonia Sanchez; filmmaker Louis Massiah; cinematographer Arthur Jafa, and cultural writer Dr. Clyde Taylor, all who discuss their experiences of working with Bambara and her cultural impact. The evening will conclude with a rare public screening of The Bombing of Osage Avenue (1986, 58 min), produced and directed by Louis Massiah for WHYY TV 12, written and narrated by Toni Cade Bambara.
Of all the television hours devoted to this internationally infamous event, The Bombing of Osage Avenue is possibly the first to look at the real human loss, not only in the deaths that include a number of MOVE children, but the proud community of families that survived race wars, gang wars and drugs, only to be nearly destroyed by its own city. Massiah establishes the setting for the tragedy early on, and Bambara's poetic narration draws one deeper into the drama. Massiah says, “the film is not journalism per se, but there is a journalistic aspect to it. It has a bigger canvas than the event that happened on May 13, 1985. Bambara as the writer/narrator is not trying to be Walter Winchell or some crack jaw reporter. It is a different kind of read. It’s in her voice.” The Bombing of Osage Avenue has received numerous awards, including the Oscar Micheaux Award, the Global Village Festival Documentary Award and Prized Pieces’s Best Documentary Academy Award.
Savoring the Salt - A Celebration of the Film Work of Toni Cade Bambara is presented in partnership with Film at International House and Temple University Press. There will be a preevent Fundraiser for Scribe Cocktail Reception at 5:00 at International House. Tickets to attend the reception and program are $50. And for $100 supporters will receive admission to the event, a copy of the new book Savoring the Salt: The Legacy of Toni Cade Bambara and a oneyear membership to Scribe Video Center. These are available in advance by calling Scribe at 215.222.4201. General Admission tickets to the panel and film are $10 and available at the door or in advance by calling 215.222.4201 or online at ticketweb.com.
On Friday, December 14 at 7:00 pm, Scribe presents the program Toni Cade Bambara Narrates as part of the monthly exhibition series, Storyville. The evening features two films Bambara narrated. John Akomfrah’s Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993, 52 min), an homage to a towering figure in the African-American freedom struggle, collects testimonies, eyewitness accounts and dramatic reenactments to tell the life, legacy, loves, and losses of Malcolm X. Also screening is Philadelphia filmmaker, Nadine Patterson’s Anna Russell Jones: Praise Songs for a Pioneering Spirit (1993, 26 min), about an African-American woman who made great strides in the early 20th century as a textile designer, World War II veteran and nurse. Storyville screenings take place the 2nd Friday of every month and are held at Scribe Video Center, 4212 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Admission is $5, free for Scribe members.
For information about Scribe events call 215 222 4201 or visit www.scribe.org
To request high res images or screening copies of the films please contact Gretjen Clausing, Scribe Program Director at 215.222.4201 or email her at gretjen@scribe.org.
Release Date: Wednesday, November 28th 2007
