7:00 p.m.	Your Children Come Back to You and Short Films Alile Sharon Larkin (U.S., 1979)

A single mother ekes out a living from welfare check to welfare check, struggling to provide for her daughter. She is faced with deciding whether to look after her personally or to allow her sister-in-law to provide "more than enough" to go around. Larkin’s film masterfully presents a child’s perspective on wealth and social inequality.

—Samuel B. Prime

• (30 mins, B&W, 16mm)

Preceded by:
Rich
(S. Torriano Berry, U.S., 1982)

On the day of his high school graduation, an African American youth battles for self-determination as a convergence of forces, including his family and the neighborhood gang, attempt to shuttle him toward a future of lowered expectations. At once gritty and tender, this character study features an intimate scene shot on location at the Watts Towers. Mark Quigley (22 mins, B&W, DigiBeta transfer from 16mm)

Shipley Street
(Jacqueline Frazier, U.S., 1981)

A construction worker, frustrated with his inability to get ahead, decides with his wife to send their daughter to an all-white Catholic school, where the girl is confronted with harsh discipline and racist attitudes. Jacqueline Frazier’s film neatly encapsulates the unthinking, everyday racism of white institutions and their trafficking of offensive racial stereotypes, paying particular attention to their effects on young children. Jan-Christopher Horak (25 mins, Color, DigiBeta transfer from 16mm)

Fragrance
(Gay Abel-Bey, U.S., 1991)

When George visits his family before heading off to the Vietnam War, he is confronted by the conflicting ideals of his veteran father, who encourages his patriotism, and his militant brother, who urges him to stay home in protest. The complex issue of whether African Americans should be fighting for justice at home or abroad is embodied most poignantly in the character of Bobby, the youngest son, a schoolboy torn between the political allegiances of his father and older brothers. Allyson Nadia Field (38 mins, B&W, DigiBeta transfer from ¾" Video)

Total running time: 115 mins