Activists on Screen
Inspired by the Museum's centennial as well as our ongoing exhibition, Activist New York, this non-fiction film series delves into stories of social activism in New York City. It features recent documentaries exploring how New Yorkers past and present have created public and private spaces to seek racial justice, affordable housing, educational equity, safety for gender expression, and more. Each film will be followed by a conversation with filmmakers and other notable guests.
Activists on Screen is programmed by Sarah Seidman, MCNY's Puffin Foundation Curator of Social Activism, and film curator Melissa Lyde, founder and creator of Alfreda's Cinema.
About the co-programmer:
Melissa Lyde is from Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of Alfreda’s Cinema, a long-running immersive Black video-art series and lifestyle, currently working toward opening its own space in Brooklyn. In addition to residencies with The Metrograph, Melissa has curated for BAM, Film Forum, Maysles Cinema, Light Industry, Anthology Film Archives, and many more collaborations with festivals and film collectives at home and abroad. Alfreda's Cinema was recently profiled in Crater Magazine's first issue, highlighting New York's underground film exhibition community. Melissa has written for The Journal of Film and Media Studies: IN FOCUS, Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media, BloodVine, and Metrograph's film journal.
Coming Up:
- March 30, 3:00pm - Queer Gaze in Cinema featuring Elegance Bratton's Pier Kids (2019) and Tourmaline's Atlantic is a Sea of Bones (2017).
- April 13, 3:00pm - Affordable Housing featuring Rabble Rousers (2022).
Activists on Screen: The Sun Rises in The East
Join us for a screening of "The Sun Rises in The East" chronicling Black activism in late 1960s Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn; a talkback with Kamau Ware and the filmmakers will follow.
Activists on Screen: Black Documentary Shorts
Join us for a screening of a selection of documentary shorts by Black filmmakers.
Activists on Screen: Queer Gaze in Cinema
This March, join acclaimed artists and filmmakers exploring the queer gaze in cinema.
Activists on Screen: Affordable Housing
Join us for a screening of a selection of documentary shorts by Black filmmakers.Supporters
Activist New York and its associated programs are made possible by The Puffin Foundation, Ltd.
Activist New York is the inaugural exhibition in The Puffin Foundation Gallery, which is dedicated to the ways in which ordinary New Yorkers have exercised their power to shape the city's and the nation's future.
