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Film and Media Arts

From moving pictures to an established industry, film and media have the power to capture our most powerful stories. Learn more about how it has evolved and helped tell diverse stories.

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A black and white photo of the Nicholas Brothers, Fayard on the left and Harold on the right, mid-air as they jump with their arms up and their legs pointed to the side. The two are in sync, their body language matched up to one another. Behind them is a band playing brass and wind instruments.
'Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971' Reveals the Tenacity of Black Creativity in Film
A new exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures highlights how Black cinema, despite the challenges of American racism, has carved its own paths throughout history.
A young man with a lot of cameras hung around his neck.
How Wattstax Kickstarted This R&B and Funk Photographer's Long Career
Bruce Talamon has trained his lenses on some of the music industry’s brightest stars, but it all began at Wattstax.
A faded colored photo of a stage propped up in the air with steel and metal rods. Performers in white funk/'70s clothing and gold jewelry stand on stage and perform. A man in white bell bottoms, a fringe jacket and silver chains holds up a silver trumpet. A man with a white afro and a white vest stands with a saxophone. A man stands in the middle wearing a white jacket with long fringe hanging off the sleeves and an intricate gold chain around his neck. He is singing into a microphone. Two men stand near him, also in white, flashy outfits playing the guitar and bass respectively.
Remembering Wattstax: A Celebration of Black Joy, Music, Healing and Community
Fifty years ago, music label Stax Records organized Wattstax, a benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that commemorated the seventh anniversary of the 1965 Los Angeles Uprising.
R&B and Funk Photog Looks Back at Wattstax
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R&B and Funk Photographer Bruce Talamon Looks Back at His Historic Wattstax Photos
Noted photographer Bruce Talamon recalls Wattstax and the events that shaped his career.
oscars-politics
Film Academy Apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather, Who Declined Brando's Oscar
Sacheen Littlefeather made Oscar history when she turned down Marlo Brando's best-actor Oscar in 1972 over the treatment of American Indians by the film industry. Nearly 50 years later, the Academy formally apologizes to Littlefeather and welcomes her to a "healing" event next month at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
A black and white photo of a compact dirt road leading up to a mountain range in a desert environment. A road drives down the road, towards the camera. Clouds hover closely to the mountain range.
Toxic Individualism is Hurting the Alabama Hills. Indigenous Knowledge Can Save Them.
The Alabama Hills is a beautiful, scenic, diverse and world-famous location, sought out by artists, filmmakers and tourists for its landscape allure. Yet over the years these hills have been used, abused and vandalized by visitors.
Two men on a horse on a beach.
Photo Essay: In Oxnard, Latinos by the Beach Create 'A New Reality'
Award-winning photojournalist Julie Leopo finds a new reality on the shores of Oxnard, where Brown bodies like hers could exist by the water.
People wearing elaborate traditional garments typical of the Indigenous communities in the Philippines.
Powerful Photo Series Honors Indigenous People of the Philippines
Los Angeles photographer Francis Gum showcases the traditions and history of the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines through his work with San Francisco-based Parangal Dance Company.
A rendering of a city that is culturally-embedded with African American culture. It shows streets and cars that are brightly-patterned.
A Prototype Wakanda? Culturally-Relevant Infrastructure Is Artist’s Response to Gentrification
Artist Ben Caldwell’s answer to the very real fears around gentrification and the attendant dispossession of Black people and their social contributions is Sankofa City, a multi-pronged media project that celebrates Leimert Park’s unique history while embracing technological change and redevelopment
Natasha, who is wearing a red dress with white flowers, and Shant, who is wearing a white, cable-knit sweater, clink wine glasses over a dinner table topped with a white tablecloth and various dishes. Natasha and Shant look at each other as they toast.
This Armenian Dating Show Doubles as a Lesson in Geopolitics and Culture
Lighthearted, fun and a sneaky lesson in world politics. "The Armenian Dating Show" explores the spiderweb of history and culture that connects Armenians in America.
Fredrika Newton and Dana King stand on either side of a bronze bust of Black Panther Party leader Huey P. Newton. Fredrika Newton, who was long gray braids, places her hand on Huey's cheek as she looks up at the bust with reverence. Dana King, who has gray, curly, shoulder-length hair topped with a purple knit hat, looks over at Fredrika with a respectful gaze. Surrounding the women are a crowd of people holding umbrellas. They sky above is gray and overcast.
Black Panther Party Leader's 'Love and Legacy' Captured in Sculpture and Documentary
Short documentary "For Love and Legacy," a film by A.K. Sandhu, explores the nexus of art, race, and legacy as it follows sculptor Dana King and activist Fredrika Newton as they build a monument — a bust of Black Panther Party (BPP) leader Huey P. Newton, Oakland's first public monument honoring a member of the BPP.
A black and white photo taken from below of composer Arnold Schoenberg conducting. He's holding a baton and gestures one of his hands as he faces an orchestra, which is out of frame. Sylvain Noack, the concertmaster, can be seen to the left, playing a violin.
The Exiles and Émigrés That Shaped the Sound of Early Hollywood
Talented composers fleeing Nazism made a new home for themselves in the United States and, in the process, helped create the vibrant sounds and the emotional pull of such Hollywood movies as "Casablanca," "Sabrina" and many more.
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