Presented by Shoga Films in association with Afronaut Media
Queer Harlem Renaissance is a series of short films and documentaries about the unsung, yet influential LGBTQ+ community of the Harlem Renaissance - one of the most revered movements of Black art & culture in America. While the emphasis on racial transformation has been celebrated over the years, not many people are aware of the queer contributions of artists like, Ma Rainey, Richard Bruce Nugent, & Claude McKay - all of whom greatly influenced black art & culture in the 1920s. Even the works of well known figures (such as Langston Hughes & Bessie Smith) have had their complex sexuality de-emphasized over time, or in some cases, left out entirely. The series Queer Harlem Renaissance highlights these trailblazers and their contributions to history.
Sampson on QHR: Introduction (Shoga Films, 2019, 1:30 min.)
Ma Rainey's Lesbian Licks: Music Video (Robert Phillipson, 2013, 4 min.)
Queer Harlem Renaissance: A Prospectus (Robert Phillipson, 2020, 15 min.)
Shadow: A Poem (Shoga Films, 2015, 1 min.)
Congo Cabaret: Short Film (Deondray & Quincy Gossfield, 2018, 15 min.)
Live-stream discussion with:
Dr. Robert Philipson (Producer, Shoga Films) @shogafilms
Khalil Sullivan (Musician/ Producer, Shoga Films) @khalilsullivan
Kalyn Rivers (Actor, Smoke,Lilies, & Jade) @kay_riv13
Anna Pochmara (Literature Professor, Univ. of Warsaw) @ania_pochmara
Moderated by: Marcus Cinque Harris (Digital Producer, Afronaut Media) @mhtheverb
Shoga Films is a 501(3)(c) non-profit (based in Oakland, CA) that is comprised of a production company with educational outreach initiatives. We are focused on producing content, including various short films and documentaries about the influential and unsung LGBTQ+ community of the Harlem Renaissance. Over the past few years, our projects have been acclaimed and featured at various international film festivals and media outlets.
This program is part of:
Made In Harlem: Remembering The Renaissance
February – June 2020
Made In Harlem: Remembering The Renaissance, on the occasion of the Harlem Renaissance’s landmark 100th anniversary uses the wide-ranging lens of documentary film to capture and commemorate, explore and expand the many layers of experience that made up--and continue to make up--the Harlem Renaissance. The series brings together a variety of mostly nonfictional film sources to examine visual representations of the Renaissance and the lasting influence of these representations on political and artistic output, collective memory, present-day black experiences, and the Harlem of today.
This series is supported by the West Harlem Development Corporation.
