Photo by Duwayno Robertson

(James Spooner, US, 2003, 66 min, in English)

Afro-Punk focuses on four African Americans dedicated to punk rock, interspersing band footage and interviews with over 80 other Black punks across the US. Featuring performances by Bad Brains, Tamar-kali, Cipher, and Ten Grand, this critically acclaimed documentary explores the intersection of music, culture, and activism within the Black (and often isolated) punk community.

Post-screening Q&A with James Spooner!

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$10 General Admission. Featuring Black Ends (pictured) and Brontez Purnell! James Spooner will be at the show as well, with books and DVDs for sale and signing.

Brontez Purnell

Brontez Purnell has been making music since the ‘90s. He started in The Social Lies, a hardcore Afro-punk duo in Alabama in his teens, and later Gravy Train!!! He then went on to lead his long-running project, The Younger Lovers. He is also a dancer, filmmaker, choreographer (The Brontez Purnell Dance Company), and the author of eight books.

Black Ends

Black Ends are one of the greatest bands to come out of Seattle in recent memory. Dubbing their music “gunk pop” — a descriptor they invented because there’s “an edge to it, some anger, and some not giving a fuck at all” — the trio use their experimental, ’90s alt-rock-indebted approach to navigate queer love, mental health, racial trauma, and beyond. Nicolle Swims has an unmissable voice, landing somewhere between apathy and aloofness, and boasts a guitar tone that sounds perpetually out of tune, which makes their songs feel like they’re just shy of falling off the rails. In the end, though, hundreds of words could be written about their scuzzy, hypnotic sound, but it’s best if you just hear it for yourself. — Neville Hardman

(William E. Badgley, United Kingdom, 2022, 86 min, in English)

Rebel Dread is the story of Don Letts, a first-generation British-born Black filmmaker, DJ, musician, and cultural commentator. The film frames Don’s story with the 1968 Enoch Powell ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech and the 2018 ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy.

The film covers Don’s relationship with the nascent punk scene of the 1970s and ’80s – how rastas and punks found a common bond, both outside of the mainstream, and how Don introduced reggae to the punks. Don was part of the inner circle of The Clash and Johnny Rotten. He later formed Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones, and made music that incorporated dance, reggae, rap, film samples and rock n roll.

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Image courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment

(David Roth, US, 2021, 52 min, in English) $0–25 Sliding scale admission!

The Baldies shares the story of a mid-1980s group which formed based on the fashion of British skinhead culture. Inspired by historical street gangs including the Fordham Baldies and the Wanderers, the gang discovered a mutual distaste for and fought against Nazi-skinheads active in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. Notably, they fought against the White Knights, a Nazi-skinhead gang, as well as St. Paul-based Bound for Glory, one of the largest white power bands in the world. Eventually the Baldies created a more inclusive group, the Anti-Racist Action (ARA). Members included skinheads and others who protested Nazis as well as other societal reformation topics including police brutality, foreign wars, the housing shortage and income inequality.

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(Mandy Stein & Ben Logan, US, 2012, 107 min, in English)

Bad Brains were already unique when they formed in 1977, gaining an immediate fan base in their native Washington DC for their blistering hardcore punk shows. But Bad Brains had already cut their musical teeth playing jazz fusion under the name Mind Power, and their version of punk was already pushing in different directions. While inspiring the likes of youngsters Henry Rollins (Black Flag) and Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and countless others, Bad Brains were already a step ahead of their contemporaries and embraced reggae, further adding to their musical palette. Following the band’s career through ups and numerous, often painful, downs, this absorbing documentary from directors Mandy Stein and Ben Logan combines scorching live footage with band interviews, as it charts their comeback tour and the group’s often-fraught internal relationships.

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(Rubika Shah, United Kingdom, 2019, 80 min, in English)

Britain, late-1970s. Punk is exploding. The country is deeply divided over immigration. The National Front, a far-right and fascist political party, is gaining strength as politicians like Enoch Powell push a xenophobic agenda. Outraged by a racist speech from Eric Clapton, music photographer Red Saunders writes a letter to the music press, calling for rock to be a force against racism. When NME, Melody Maker, and Sounds all publish the letter, Red is flooded with responses, and teams with like-minded creatives to create Rock Against Racism (RAR) and a fanzine, Temporary Hoarding. Temporary Hoarding speaks directly to progressive youth, reporting on issues that the mainstream British media ignores, like immigration, the Catholic side of the Northern Ireland conflict, and the police’s controversial “suspected persons” (sus) powers. In spite of violent retaliation by the National Front, RAR spreads across the UK and Europe, becoming a grassroots youth movement that attracts the support of The Clash, Steel Pulse, Tom Robinson, and more.

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Still courtesy of Film Movement.

• James Spooner signing Black Punk Now at Black & Tan Hall
• A beautiful brunch spread by Chef Tarik Abdullah (!!!)
• Black Punk Vanguard Award ceremony
• Award presented to Kimya Dawson
• Head back to the Forum for films starting at 4pm!

(Henry Selick, US, 2022, 106 min, in English)

From the delightfully wicked minds of Henry Selick and producer Jordan Peele, comes Wendell & Wild, an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele) – who enlist the aid of Kat Elliot – a tough teen with a load of guilt – to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre and comedic adventure like no other, an animated fantasy that defies the laws of life and death, all told through the handmade artistry of stop motion.

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Still courtesy of Netflix.

(Celeste Bell & Paul Sng, United Kingdom, 2021, 96 min, in English)

Poly Styrene was the first woman of color in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. As the frontwoman of X-Ray Spex, the Anglo-Somali punk musician was also a key inspiration for the riot grrrl and Afropunk movements.

But the late punk maverick didn’t just leave behind an immense cultural footprint. She was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell, who became the unwitting guardian of her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship.

Featuring unseen archival material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary follows Celeste as she examines her mother’s unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Poly the icon and Poly the mother.

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Still courtesy of BBC Arena.