Events Calendar

Join Bijou Film Board and the Afro-American Cultural Center for our screening of Black Is...Black Ain't!

In this award-winning documentary from African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs, known for Ethnic Notions (1987), Color Adjustment (1991), and Tongues Untied (1989), this film explores the multiplicity of expressions of African-American identity, and what it means "to be Black." The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the Black community, and includes interviews with Cornel West, bell hooks, and Angela Davis. The creation of the film itself is a race against time—Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications, and the film includes interviews from his hospital bed as he struggles with his own health and mortality.

Bijou Film Board is a nonprofit, student-run organization dedicated to the exhibition of independent, foreign, and classic cinema. We partner with organizations on campus and in the greater Iowa City community to bring special cinematic events to the University of Iowa, promoting film education and conversation.

The Afro-American Cultural Center, known as the Afro House, is a space for Black students to feel welcomed and at home on campus. Afro House empowers students, faculty, staff, and community members to excel in their endeavors, stretch themselves to experience diversity, engage in activism, make positive choices, and serve their communities.

All Bijou programming is FREE for UI students and $8 for the general public, screened at FilmScene (at the Chauncey) at 404 E College St.

Free student tickets for Partnership films must be claimed at the door. To purchase general admission tickets in advance, visit the FilmScene website at ic.filmscene.org/series-special-events/ .