Film: Free Members-Only Screening: I Am Not Your Negro

2017, 93 min, B&W and color, DCP | Written by James Baldwin and Raoul Peck; directed by Raoul Peck; with Samuel L. Jackson

Includes a conversation with director Raoul Peck

From Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, whose biopic Lumumba exploded onto the international scene 15 years ago, comes another film that fuses the cultural and historical momentum of an era. In this documentary, Peck uses found footage of author, cultural figure, and agent provocateur James Baldwin taking on the social issues of the 1960s and 1970s with such clear-eyed forcefulness that he seems to be discussing the present-day world. And given the current shape of things in the United States, I Am Not Your Negro has more heat and weight than any film examining racial attitudes of the past few years. Peck employs a narration read by Samuel L. Jackson that is one of his finest performances in recent memory. The artful edited collection is a Jackson voice-over of Baldwin’s own writings, from his essays to his collected works, including his magnificent volume on movies, The Devil Finds Work. Peck will take part in a Q&A after the screening to talk about the decade he spent raising money and assembling the footage that became I Am Not Your Negro.

In conjunction with Film Independent at LACMA

LACMA | Bing Theater

LACMA Film Club and Film Independent members can reserve tickets starting at 12 pm on Thursday, December 15. | Free; limit two tickets per membership. | Proof of member status is required to reserve tickets during advance reservation period. | Reserve Tickets

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for the screening can be picked up at LACMA’s Ticket Office, located in the Hammer Building, on the day of the event—as early as 11 am. Tickets are for general unreserved seating. Ticketed guests must be in their seats 15 minutes prior to the advertised start time or seats may be released. Reservations do not guarantee entry, even with a ticket in hand. Entry is first come, first served, so please arrive early. Program and guest participation subject to change or cancellation without prior notice. Tickets are nontransferable and can only be picked up by the individual who purchased or reserved them.