Directed by Kathleen Collins • 1982 • United States
Starring Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones
One of the first feature films directed by an African American woman, Kathleen Collins’s LOSING GROUND tells the story of a marriage between two remarkable people, both at a crossroads in their lives. Sara Rogers (Seret Scott), a black professor of philosophy, is embarking on an intellectual quest to understand “ecstasy” just as her painter husband, Victor (Bill Gunn), sets off on a more earthy exploration of joy. Over the course of a summer idyll in upstate New York, the two each experience profound emotional and romantic awakenings. Applying a deft comic touch to a deeply personal exploration of love, race, and gender, Collins crafts a charming, complex tale of personal discovery that, after decades of neglect, has reemerged as a still-fresh landmark of independent cinema.
Directed by Robert Towne • 1982 • United States
Starring Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly
Academy Award–winning screenwriter Robert Towne (CHINATOWN) made his directorial debut with this tale of a promising hurdler (Mariel Hemingway) who finds much-needed emotional and athletic su...
Directed by Barbra Streisand • 1983 • Untied States
Starring Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving
Barbra Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major Hollywood film with this charming, gender-bending musical adaptation of an Isaac Bashevis Singer story....
Directed by Billy Woodberry • 1984 • United States
Starring Nate Hardman, Kaycee Moore, Angela Burnett
Scripted and shot by Charles Burnett, Billy Woodberry’s slice-of-life revelation is a key masterpiece of the LA Rebellion, the black independent-cinema renaissance that emerged from UCLA’s film...
