Tag Archives: Black Lives Matter

BRENDON SCHOLL — DRAW WITH ME

When I first heard about the Trevor Project, I remember thinking “I wish there was something like that for me when I was struggling in the closet as a kid in the small suburbs of Greece.” Fast forward a decade later. I would find myself at the United Nations sitting on a historic panel on Transgender Health on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with the subject matter being our film and its impact. People see a short documentary, but what they don’t see is the series of events that led to it. One of my earliest childhood memories is that of observing my toy action figures, examining their anatomy while wondering who I was. What would follow would be a long journey of self-acceptance from marrying a woman (though I was a gay man deep down), to coming out of the closet and pursuing my dreams as a filmmaker in the United States. At the first opportunity I joined the Trevor Project as a volunteer and have since done my best to support many youth going through their own coming out journeys and struggles with suicidal thoughts.

A lucky turn of events connected me with Leslie Ann Lopez, a talented opera singer set to perform in my first feature film Man In the Attic. Through Leslie Ann I met her child, Brendon Scholl, a youth with whom I clicked immediately. It was friendship at first sight. I remember walking into Brendon’s room, enamored by it being filled with art, covering every crevice of the wall and ceiling. Brendon was very open about their art and what it meant to them, and they shared the story behind some of their drawings and how art had saved them. My coming out journey was not easy either, so Brendon’s story spoke to me in a profound way, though being gay and being trans are vastly different journeys. As our friendship continued to unfold, the CEO of the Trevor Project—who was also a friend—mentioned that it would be an honor to have Brendon as a speaker in one of their events. When sharing the invitation with the family, I also shared my wish to document the family’s story and Brendon’s transition and coming out story in a film preceding their speech. Brendon and their family joined with excitement, ready to share their story in order to support other youth going through similar journeys. That was when all the dots connected, becoming the beginning of DRAW WITH ME

Although I knew that telling this story came with a lot of responsibility, I felt ready and the family truly made me feel safe and comfortable in doing so. The entire family joined as one in supporting Brendon and the film, from their loving grandmother to their aunts Lynda Lopez and Jennifer Lopez, who both joined the film; Lynda by using her voice as a journalist asking the right questions and Jennifer with an educational introduction shared with millions of her followers. What I truly believe drew me to the story though, was Brendon’s confidence in knowing who they were at such a young age, and being ready to use their experience as a tool for other youth who were struggling with their identity and coming out.Constantine Venetopoulos

DRAW WITH ME—a short film (with coda) by Venetopoulos documenting the young artist and BLM activist and their transition from Rebecca to Brendon—is available for streaming. See link below for details.

DRAW WITH ME

Directed by Constantine Venetopoulos

Arena Screen

Now streaming.

From top: Brendon Scholl, image courtesy and © Scholl; Scholl with their aunt Lynda Lopez, still from the film; Draw With Me poster; President Joseph R. Biden, still from the film; Constantine Venetopoulos. Images courtesy and © the filmmaker and Ithaka Films.

CONTINUOUS REPLAY PERFORMANCE AND FUNDRAISER

As part of a fundraiser for Black Strategy FundThe Brotherhood Sister Sol, and Buy From A Black Woman, the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company presents a virtual recreation of Zane’s CONTINUOUS REPLAY.

Amidst the isolation and racial uprisings in the early summer of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic continued its spread, forty-four current and former company members came together (while being apart) to create something as a community in support of the Black Lives Matter movement… In 1991, three years after Arnie’s passing at the height of the AIDS pandemic, Jones made Arnie’s CONTINUOUS REPLAY choreography into a full company work—which has connected generations of company members and was, for most of them, the only way to know Arnie. The diverse cast of performers spanning four decades—including Arthur Aviles, Sean Curran, Odile Reine-Adelaide, Stefanie Batten Bland, Rosalynde LeBlanc, Heidi Latsky, Jenna Riegel, and many others—filmed themselves while in isolation across four continents. The original soundtrack is created by composer John Oswald and editing of the videos was done by Associate Artistic Director Janet Wong.*

See link below for details.

BILL T. JONES—CONTINUOUS REPLY: COME TOGETHER*

Thursday, November 19.

5 pm on the West Coast; 8 pm East Coast.

From top: Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane; Zane, Continuous Replay, Maison de la Danse de Lyon, 1993 performance, image courtesy Numeridanse; Continuous Replay: Come Together; Jones, photograph by Anthony Barboza, courtesy and © the photographer and Getty Images; Zane and Jones, Secret PasturesBAM Next Wave Festival, 1984, set design by Keith Haring, 1984, photograph by Tom Caravaglia, courtesy and © the photographer and the Keith Haring Foundation.

PATRISSE CULLORS — MALCOLM X REVISITED

From the Crenshaw Dairy Mart artist collective focused on trauma-induced conditions of injustice to scripting the season finale of Good Trouble on Hulu—a show about communities of color, women, queer, and trans folk living in Los Angeles—artist, organizer, BLM co-founder, and freedom fighter Patrisse Cullors thrives on speaking out through art alongside other inspiring creators.

Redcat presents the premiere of Cullors’ virtual event MALCOLM X REVISITED, a new commissioned video work recorded exclusively for the venue. The work explores the iconic historical figure Malcolm X and the current impact of the movement for Black lives.*

See link below for details.

PATRISSE CULLORS—MALCOLM X REVISITED*

Friday and Saturday, October 2 and 3.

8 pm on the West Coast; 11 pm East Coast.

Redcat

From top: Malcolm X; Patrisse Cullors on set for Malcolm Revisited, photograph by Alexandre Dorriz, image courtesy and © Cullors and the photographert; Cullors, image courtesy and © the artist; Malcolm X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), courtesy and © Grove Press.

DORIAN WOOD — ARDOR

In March [2020, when everything was] shut down, knowing that I wouldn’t be going anywhere for a very long time, I took a month off to be sad and frustrated. When the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor set off a series of massive nationwide actions led by Black Lives Matter, I turned my feelings of anger and helplessness into motivation, which inspired me to work simultaneously on ARDOR and REACTOR. I created these two works to serve as love letters to activists, medical workers, and service workers everywhere—music to encourage acts of resistance, and to soothe at the end of the day…

[In June 2020] I was generously offered a week-long residency at Human Resources Los Angeles to do whatever I wanted. After months of being at home [in quarantine], I was so happy to have the opportunity to let loose inside a big, empty space, and one that has hosted so many of my past performances. I invited my dear friend and longtime guitarist Michael Corwin to come down and record a mix of original and cover songs we’d performed together over the years. We were masked and distant throughout the recording session. After the first hour of setting gear up, we immediately fell into our own special chemistry. Thus, most of the songs you hear on ARDOR are single recorded takes. — Dorian Wood

ARDOR—the first of two upcoming albums by Dorian Wood—will be released on Friday, September 4. The album includes three original compositions by Wood, as well as songs by Prince, Juan Gabriel, Malvina Reynolds, Violeta Parra, and Chavela Vargas.

On the weekend of ARDOR’s launch, the Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles presents a livestream album release concert.

See links below for details.

DORIAN WOOD—ARDOR

Pre-order now.

DORIAN WOOD—ARDOR LIVESTREAM CONCERT

ICA / LA

Sunday, September 6.

Noon on the West Coast; 3 pm East Coast; 8 pm London; 9 pm Paris.

Dorian Wood, photographs by Gonzo Bojorquez (2); Wood, photograph by Max Fleury; Dorian Wood, Ardor (2020) cover; Wood, photograph by Fleury; Wood, photograph by Bojorquez. Images courtesy and © the artist and the photographers.

PATRISSE CULLORS AND ALFRE WOODARD IN CONVERSATION

In conjunction with the online release of Chinonye Chukwu’s CLEMENCY—now streaming free across multiple platforms—the film’s star Alfre Woodard will join Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors for a conversation about race, criminal injustice, and incarceration.

This virtual conversation is presented by the Screen Actors Guild. See links below for details.

CLEMENCY

Now streaming on Hulu.

PATRISSE CULLORS and ALFRE WOODARD IN CONVERSATION

Wednesday, July 29.

1 pm on the West Coast; 4 pm East Coast.

See Stuart Schrader, “Harm of the Law,” Artforum 58, no. 9 (May / June 2020), 102–103.

From top: Alfre Woodard in Clemency (2019); Aldis Hodge in Clemency; U.S. poster. All film images courtesy and © the actors, the photographers, and Neon. Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir (2018), courtesy and © the authors and St. Martin’s Press; Patrisse Cullors, photograph by Drew Escriva, courtesy and © the author and the photographer.