7:30 p.m.	Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property Charles Burnett (U.S., 2002)

Nat Turner, leader of a notorious 1831 slave revolt, was a self-styled prophet, his messianic vision revealed in the jailhouse Confessions transcribed by white attorney Thomas R. Gray. Or he was the natural man portrayed by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Or he was driven by a forbidden passion, as detailed by William Styron. He was a revolutionary hero, or a murderer and a madman. Or, as Henry Louis Gates Jr. says in this documentary, "there is no Nat Turner"—the historical man has been lost among conflicting stories. A Troublesome Property features interviews with descendants of Turner and those killed in the rebellion, as well as authors including Styron (who calls Turner a boon to "anyone looking for a metaphor"), and dramatizations of multiple versions of events with a different actor portraying Turner each time. With characteristic thoughtfulness and honesty, Burnett considers the nature of historical interpretation and the responsibility of art.

—Juliet Clark

• Written by Burnett, Frank Christopher, Kenneth S. Greenberg. Photographed by John Demps. With Carl Lumbly, Tommy Hicks, James Opher, Michael Lemelle. (60 mins, Color, Video, From California Newsreel)

Total running time: 74 mins

Preceded by short:

Olivia's Story (Charles Burnett, U.S., 1999). In this gentle short, a young Korean American woman and her grandmother reflect on history, memory, and race, while diverse kids play a Little League game in view of the Capitol. Written by Dai Sil Kim-Gibson. (14 mins, Color, 16mm, From Dai Sil Kim-Gibson)