The latest iteration of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art’s regular movie program, smARTfilms, returns Tuesday, Feb. 11. This series, curated by Sade McInnis, highlights “black excellence” in film.
The lineup includes five films.
Feb. 11: “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016)
A documentary directed by Raoul Peck. In 1979, author James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, “Remember This House.” The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Peck envisions the book Baldwin never finished.
Feb. 18: “Fences” (2016)
Directed by and starring Denzel Washington, who plays sanitation worker Troy Maxson in this drama, set in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, he creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son’s (Jovan Adepo) chance to meet a college football recruiter.
Feb. 25: “Precious” (2009)
Pregnant by her own father for the second time, 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) can neither read nor write and suffers constant abuse at the hands of her vicious mother (Mo’Nique). Precious instinctively sees a chance to turn her life around when she is offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative school. Under the patient, firm guidance of her new teacher, Ms. Rain (Paula Patton), Precious begins the journey from oppression to self-determination.
March 3: “Do the Right Thing” (1989)
Often counted among the greatest films of all time, Spike Lee’s third film is a story of racial tension in Brooklyn, as told in a single day — the hottest of the year.
Salvatore “Sal” Fragione (Danny Aiello) is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito), becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria’s Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin’ Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin’ Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.
March 10: “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018)
In early 1970s Harlem, daughter and wife-to-be Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny. Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together, but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.
Each film will have both a matinee and evening screening, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., respectively, every Tuesday through March 10.
For the early show, doors open at 1:30 and the movie starts at 2 p.m. In the evening, doors open at 7 and the movie starts at 7:30 p.m.
Dinner seating at the BIMA Bistro starts at 5:30 p.m., or guests can drop in for lunch prior to a matinee performance. Reservations are recommended (call 206-451-4011) and dinner/lunch is not included in the event’s ticket price.
The cost of admission is $10 to $12 for individual screenings, $40 to $48 for a series pass. Visit www.brownpapertickets.com to purchase (event #4478040 or search “smARTfilms”).
