REVIEW: Artists of LA Rebellion remembered in new documentary

Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema From UCLA, the new documentary from director Zeinabu irene Davis, is a thoughtful, educational and important film about the so-called L.A. Rebellion movement that sprung from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

Davis’s documentary is an intimate account of how and why so many black cinematic artists joined together at the school and began creating their works of social, political and personal weight.

Bookending the L.A. Rebellion movement are events in the city’s history that served as glaring examples of the sharp divides across racial lines. The artistic output followed the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the late 1960s Watts riot, and ended around the time of Rodney King’s beating and subsequent trial. In between these events, a variety of filmmakers flexed their creative muscles in a place where experimentation was allowed, creativity was awarded and authenticity was championed.

Throughout the 100-minute feature, Davis plays clips from many of the L.A. Rebellion films, and these short, but powerful, extracts are the true treasure of Spirits of Rebellion. So many (too many) of these films were never properly distributed and lacked much of an audience outside of the film school scene. Watching even these assembled clips makes the documentary historic in its quest for preservation and commentary.

Of the many directors and films represented in the documentary, a few stand out for their obvious influence. There’s no denying the poignance or power of Julie Dash’s 1991 feature, Daughters of the Dust, which was the first American feature directed by an African-American woman to receive a general theatrical release, according to UCLA. Ditto for Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, a breathtaking and authentic look at the Watts neighborhood on 16mm. These are two films that are revelatory, even decades after their emergence on the film scene. They continue to be lauded at film festivals and institutions across the United States.

Besides Dash and Burnett, other filmmakers in Spirits of Rebellion include the late Jamaa Fanaka (Penitentiary), Barbara McCullough (Shopping Bag Spirits and Freeway Fetishes: Reflection on Ritual Space), Haile Gerima (Bush Mama and Sankofa) and Shirikiana Aina (Brick by Brick and Sankofa), among many others. Davis also turns the camera on herself because she was part of the movement and influenced by her peers.

Many issues are explored in these 100 minutes, including exclusion in the collegiate system, the difficulty of African and African-American artists to find distribution for their work, the creative ways these filmmakers gained an audience and the many themes the directors wanted to explore with their movies. There is also a segment on blaxploitation films, which emerged at roughly the same time that the UCLA movement was gaining ground. Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl (soon to be released by the Criterion Collection) is also discussed for its influence on the L.A. Rebellion artists.

Several of the interviews are gleaned from a get-together Davis hosted for many of the filmmakers. The cameras were also rolling during a screening event at UCLA that saw many of the directors answering questions about their work. In some ways, there are too many people and film clips represented, and slowing down the narrative to focus on only a few cinematic examples could have enriched the audience’s understanding.

Spirits of Rebellion leaves the viewer with not only an appreciation for the L.A. Rebellion movement and an understanding of how it grew from the leadership of Professor Teshome Gabriel, but also a desire to see these films in their entirety. One hopes with the advent of online streaming and DIY distribution in the 21st century these documentaries and dramas are able to find the audience and impact they deserve.

By John Soltes  / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema From UCLA (2016) recently played the African Diaspora International Film Festival in New York City. The documentary, featuring filmmakers of the L.A. Rebellion movement, was directed by Zeinabu irene Davis. Rating: Click here for more information.