Ethnic Notions

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

September 2005 •English

The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.

No Other Land

November 2024 •Arabic

This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank's Masafer Yatta by Israeli soldiers and the alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

When We Were Kings

October 1996 •English

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

No Maps on My Taps

October 1979 •English

The remarkable spirit of tap dancers and their history provides a joyous backdrop for intimate portraits of hoofers Sandman Sims, Chuck Green, and Bunny Briggs.

Still A Brother: Inside the Negro Middle Class

January 1968 •English

The Black middle class, torn between white goals and Black needs, are examined by producers William Greaves and William Branch in a 90-minute NET Journal documentary.

Death Squadrons: The French School

September 2003 •French

After the Battle of Algiers, France and its army exported, as true experts, anti-subversive methods to Latin America and the United States in the 1960s. After more than a year of investigation in Argentina , in Chile, Brazil, the United States and France, the director collected, sometimes under the cover of a hidden camera, recorded conversations, the exclusive testimonies of the main protagonists. From General Aussaresses to former Minister of the Armed Forces Pierre Messmer, including General Reynaldo Bignone (head of the military junta in Argentina from 1982 to 1984), General Albano Harguindéguy, General Manuel Contreras, and Generals John Johns and Carl Bernard, this investigation gives us a hidden reality of the country of Human Rights.

Dresden Story

January 1954 •English

People are interviewed in Dresden, Ontario, to sample local attitudes towards racial discrimination against black people that brought this town into the news. After a round-up of the opinions of individual citizens, white and black, commentator Gordon Burwash joins two discussion panels, presenting opposite points of view. The rights and wrongs of the quarrel are left for the audience to decide.

Finding the Gold Within

October 2014 •English

Six young black men from Akron, Ohio, enter college, determined to redefine society's images and low expectations. Despite their confidence, the stark reality of being away from home brings a series of crises. Well trained in critical and metaphorical thinking, and unusually articulate about their inner lives, each of the protagonists guides us to his core. Since sixth grade, they have been part of an innovative mentoring program called 'Alchemy, Inc.' that uses mythological stories, drumming and writing. In the twice-yearly reunion workshops everyone speaks of his trials and his triumphs with authenticity, intelligence, honesty and heart. In turns quiet, thoughtful and exuberant, the six protagonists grow before our eyes, whether navigating racial provocations, or seeking support with new friends, estranged fathers and wise grandmothers.

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story

May 2000 •English

Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians.

The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp

January 2024 •English

Three men seeking asylum in Ireland find themselves on the streets, caught between restrictive migration policies and an increasingly aggressive far-right movement. Dennis Harvey captures an explosive sequence of events on the streets of Dublin.

No Regret

June 1993 •English

Five gay Black men who are HIV-positive discuss how they are battling the double stigmas surrounding their infection and homosexuality.

But... Seriously

March 1994 •English

A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.

Sean Penn, l'enfant terrible de l'Amérique

May 2024 •French

Sean Penn is almost a living legend. His filmography paints a picture of an 'other America': the lower class, the oppressed and the outsiders. Whether as an actor or director, he turns all the great myths upside down.

Speakers for the Dead

January 2000 •English

A film about small Ontario town's struggle to restore a desecrated African-Canadian cemetery and the resulting turmoil over it.

Briser le code

January 2020 •French

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

September 2008 •English

Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Coded Bias

November 2020 •English

Exploring the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini's startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.

« Je ne suis pas chinetoque » : Histoire du racisme anti-asiatique

February 2024 •French

Journalist Émilie Tran Nguyen invites the viewer to follow her in her quest and discover, at the same time as her, the historical origins of this anti-Asian racism. Told in the first person, alternating archive images, interviews with historians, sociologists and field sequences, this film traces the making of prejudices in the French imagination and pop culture, to twist the neck of stereotypes, deconstruct and act.

Be Water

January 2020 •English

In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.

Oachkatzlschwoaf

Invalid date •English

Words are loaded with meaning. Certain ones conjure joyful memories and others remind us of less happy times. For Nenda Neururer, the word 'oachkatzlschwoaf' invokes a range of emotions. The German word is very hard to pronounce and is synonymous with the Austrian state of Tyrol where locals tease outsiders by asking them to pronounce it. Despite growing up in Tyrol, Nenda Neururer often felt like an outsider when confronted with this word. But when she moved to London she grew nostalgic for it and it became her little secret. Found in Translation is a series made as part of the In The Mix project, in partnership with BBC Studios TalentWorks, Black Creators Matter and the Barbican.