August 19, 2023 6 PM Reception | 7 PM Celebration and Audience Q&A
Dundee Theater
Moderated by Deirdre Haj Event Chairs: Cindy Heider and Rachel Jacobson
Update: 25 TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW FOR THIS EVENT About See Change
Launched in 2020, See Change is Film Streams’ initiative to reach gender parity among directors of the films we program. We’re proud to lead the industry as the only arthouse organization tracking our efforts in this way.
Join us as we welcome the most prolific Black woman theatrical film director of our time, Kasi Lemmons, for a discussion of her work and career. Film Streams will present Lemmons with the first ever Film Streams Wavemaker Award in honor of her contributions to the filmmaking industry. Join us for a cocktail reception with Kasi Lemmons catered by Lola's Cafe prior to this exciting event.
As an actor, director, writer, producer, librettist, mentor, and educator, Kasi Lemmons is one of the most powerful voices of our time. Her first feature, “Eve’s Bayou,” is considered one of the essential works of the 1990s and in 2017 was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. Her second film, “The Caveman's Valentine,” starring Samuel Jackson, opened the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Lemmons’ third feature “Talk to Me”, starring Don Cheadle, earned the 2008 NAACP Image Award for outstanding directing. Her fourth film, “Black Nativity,” was released nationwide on Thanksgiving 2013. In 2019, Lemmons’ fifth film, “Harriet,” starring Cynthia Erivo as the iconic freedom fighter, was nominated for two Oscars, including Best Actress. Her first libretto, “Fire Shut Up In My Bones,” composed by Terence Blanchard, opened The Metropolitan Opera’s ’21-’22 season, the first opera by an African-American composer and librettist ever performed at The Met. Her sixth film, “Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” opened Christmas ’22. Lemmons is an Arts Professor in the Graduate Film Department at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Film Streams Kasi Lemmons Retrospective Series • August 11-17, 2023
