Renowned filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson appears in person to present the Chicagoland debut of his 2013 feature, THE ISLAND OF ST MATTHEWS. A portrait of collective memory, lost family artifacts, and the lived experience of ecological change, ISLAND trains its lens on his parents’ hometown of Westport, a rural community outside of Columbus, Mississippi.

Artist talk with artist, activist, and MacArthur genius awardee LaToya Ruby Frazier

This program brings together two recent hybrid documentaries that prove that the botanical is political. Filmmakers Kera MacKenzie, Andrew Mausert-Mooney, and Emily Drummer will appear for a discussion following the screening.

LEVIATHAN plunges viewers into the sights and sounds of a New England fishing vessel, using mobile cameras, audacious framing, and heavily treated audio to explore the intersection of human, animal, and machine activity. Following the screening, co-directors Paravel and Castaing-Taylor will appear for discussion.

Focusing on landscapes of decay and material traces of structural neglect, the films of Crystal Z. Campbell and Christopher Harris challenge our perception of American injustice. Harris and Campbell will appear after the screening to discuss the ways their films offer techniques for visualizing and challenging the “slow violence” of environmental racism.

Plains Cree/Scots artist Thirza Cuthand explores queer sexuality, Indigenous identity, and forms of personal and collective crisis in her defiantly DIY videos, performances, and autobiographical writings. For this program, Cuthand will appear in person to introduce and discuss her "NDN Survival Trilogy,” a recent series of videos that address the impacts of colonialism, resource extraction, and climate change through the artist’s distinctly intimate and irreverent voice.