Afrofuturism
17 Episodes
Coined in 1994 by critic Mark Dery, the term “Afrofuturism” has become an essential framework for art about imagined and alternative Black experiences. As the author Ytasha Womack writes, “Afrofuturism combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity, and magic realism with non-Western beliefs.” Afrofuturist ideas have found fertile ground in film, and this expansive series takes viewers on an international, intergalactic journey that stretches back long before the term existed, and far into the future. Spanning animation, documentary, and genre spectacle, these exuberant visions of Black creativity, resistance, and freedom zigzag across the African diaspora from New York to Brasilia to Kinshasa to worlds unknown. Curated by Ashley Clark, the series draws together films from Space is the Place: Afrofuturism on Film, which took place at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2015; a sequel planned for 2020 that was canceled due to the pandemic; and a selection of all-new titles, many of them available for streaming for the first time.
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16:49Episode 1Introducing Afrofuturism
Episode 1
This introduction by Criterion curatorial director Ashley Clark was recorded in 2020.
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1:21:41Episode 2Space Is the Place
Episode 2
Directed by John Coney • 1974 • United States
Starring Sun Ra, Barbara Deloney, Raymond JohnsonAvant-jazz mystic Sun Ra brought his pioneering Afrofuturist vision to the screen with this film version of his concept album. It’s a wild, kaleidoscopic whirl of science fiction, sharp social comment...
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1:17:26Episode 3Ornette: Made in America
Episode 3
Directed by Shirley Clarke • 1985 • United States
Starring Ornette ColemanThis freewheeling documentary captures Ornette Coleman’s evolution over three decades. Documentary footage, dramatic scenes, and some of the first music-video-style segments ever made chronicle his boyhood in segregated T...
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1:30:01Episode 4Welcome II the Terrordome
Episode 4
Directed by Ngozi Onwurah • 1995 • United Kingdom
Starring Suzette Llewellyn, Saffron Burrows, Felix JosephNgozi Onwurah’s radically ahead-of-its-time Afrofuturist vision WELCOME II THE TERRORDOME made history as the first theatrically distributed British feature directed by a Black woman. Neve...
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The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry
Episode 5
Directed by Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough • 2008 • United States
Starring Lee “Scratch” Perry, Peter Tosh, Benicio Del ToroVisionary record producer and dub innovator Lee “Scratch” Perry—who defined the sound of reggae through his pioneering work with artists like Bob Marley and the Wailers...
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1:32:47Episode 6Milford Graves Full Mantis
Episode 6
Directed by Jake Meginsky with Neil Young • 2018 • United States
Starring Milford GravesThis portrait of renowned percussionist and founding pioneer of avant-garde jazz Milford Graves finds him exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity. The film draws the viewer through th...
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1:49:45Episode 7Neptune Frost
Episode 7
Directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman • 2021 • United States, Rwanda
Starring Cheryl Isheja, Bertrand Ninteretse, Eliane UmuhireCodirected by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, this visually wondrous sci-fi punk musical takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped colt...
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27:46Episode 8Odds and Ends
Episode 8
Directed by Michelle Parkerson • 1993 • United States
In the year 2096, Black women warriors wage a battle against racial and gender annihilation. In this devastated universe, a fable unfolds on the interplanetary frontlines. Lieutenant Loz Wayard, a courageous young Amazon, learns the price of ...
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Planet X
Episode 9
Directed by Ulysses Jenkins • 2006 • United States
Ulysses Jenkins looks at the Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans through the lens of the Planet X doomsday myth and a proclamation of coming disaster to African Americans issued by avant-garde jazz prophet Sun Ra.
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07:27Episode 10Dark Matters
Episode 10
Directed by Monique Walton • 2010 • United States
Starring Sade JonesA woman obsessed with extraterrestrials and UFO sightings begins to question her own ethnic, cultural, and planetary origins.
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16:04Episode 11The Becoming Box
Episode 11
Directed by Monique Walton • 2011 • United States
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a mysterious box appears in the backyard of three siblings—a portal that may offer an escape from their surroundings.
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15:25Episode 12Public Service Announcement
Episode 12
Directed by Athi-Patra Ruga • 2014 • South Africa
A stunning cosmic kaleidoscope of fluorescent, pixelated nature imagery is set to a dryly satirical lesson on the totalitarian, matriarchal political structure of the fictional republic of Azania.
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Relic 2
Episode 15
Directed by Larry Achiampong • 2017 • United Kingdom
The third RELIC film in what is currently a quadrilogy considers the rise of nationalism in the global West and imagines a future in which a united Africa ascends to prosperity, harmony, and independence.
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Relic 3
Episode 16
Directed by Larry Achiampong • 2017 • United Kingdom
Detailing the struggles of a migrant worker trying to make a life in a hostile, alien environment, RELIC 3 sets aural tales of sexual manipulation, violence, and exploitation to striking images of landscapes across the UK.
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1:20:30Episode 17The Burial of Kojo
Episode 17
Directed by Blitz Bazawule • 2018 • Ghana, United States
Starring Ama K. Abebrese, Joe Addo, Henry AdofoA profusion of dazzling, magical-realist images grace the visually and emotionally stunning debut feature from musician turned filmmaker Blitz Bazawule. Through the eyes of Esi (Cynthia Dankw...
