Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures presents an exhibition that explores the achievements and challenges of Black filmmakers and actors from the dawn of cinema up to the civil rights movement

by Dolores O'Donoghue
Words Dolores O’Donoghue

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the world’s premier institution dedicated to the art and science of movies, opened in September 2021. The seven-storey, 300,000-square-foot museum draws on the unique resources of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is located in the heart of Los Angeles’s Miracle Mile. Visitors are offered an unparalleled experience with exhibitions and programmes that tell the stories of the fascinating world of moviemaking.

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971, the second major temporary exhibition to be organised by the museum, offers the public a chance to learn more about how Black performers and filmmakers have helped shape the evolution of moviemaking. It explores the achievements and challenges of both independent producers and the studio system, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s through to the height of the civil rights movement. The exhibition features rarely seen excerpts of films restored by the Academy Film Archive, as well as other narrative films and documentaries, newsreels and home movies, photographs, scripts, drawings, costumes, equipment, posters, and historical materials such as entrance tickets, note cards and telegrams, along with augmented reality experiences designed specifically for the exhibition.

 

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