Events Calendar

Surviving the Intersections: Filmmakers Take on Race, Gender and Sexuality

Admission is free.

A day-long event featuring films and a discussion will examine the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. The films that will be screened are Tina Mabry’s Mississippi Damned, based on a true story of three poor, Black kids who reap the consequences of their family’s cycle of abuse and addiction; Lydia Nibley’s Two Spirits, a documentary about gender and sexuality in Native American culture and the brutal murder of a transgendered Navajo teenager; and Peter Bratt’s La Mission, a powerful story about masculinity, family, redemption and community. A panel featuring filmmakers and scholars will critically reflect on family dynamics, cultures of violence and what it means to live at the intersections.

About the Films

Mississippi Damned
Directed by Tina Mabry
Wanting to escape was the easy part. Based on a true story, Mississippi Damned presents three poor, Black kids in rural Mississippi who reap the consequences of their family’s cycle of abuse, addiction and violence. They independently struggle to escape their circumstances, forced to decide whether to confront what’s plagued their family for generations or succumb to the same crippling fate.

Two Spirits
Directed by Lydia Nibley
The documentary Two Spirits tells a nuanced story of what it means to be poor, transgendered and Navajo. It examines the lives of Fred Martinez and those in the community who were most affected by his murder. Two Spirits also reaches beyond being an account of violence to explore issues of gender, sexuality and spirituality in compelling ways.

La Mission
Directed by Peter Bratt
Having grown up in San Francisco’s Mission District, Che Rivera (former Law & Order star Benjamin Bratt) is a powerful man respected throughout the barrio for his masculinity and feared for his street smarts. Che worked hard to redeem his life and provide a good one for his son following the death of his wife. Che’s path to redemption, however, is tested when he learns his son, Jess, is gay. To survive his neighborhood and preserve his relationship with his son, Che must embrace a side of himself he’s never known.

Organized by Ange-Marie Hancock (Political Science and Gender Studies), Kara Keeling (Cinematic Arts and American Studies and Ethnicity) and Vincent Vigil (LGBT Resource Center). Co-sponsored by El Centro Chicano.

For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.edu

Location: Eileen L. Norris Cinema Theatre (NCT) - Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Daria Yudacufski