Barbara O. Jones

Temptation knocks at commitment’s door with sounds of men, fire, and dancing in this heady early work from Julie Dash. Dynamic use of montage contrasts an ascetic life with the seductive pleasures of our persistent flesh, as the titular sister narrates her dilemma in mesmerizing, poetic voice-over.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and folklore while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots.

Of the cities in the world, few are depicted in and mythologized more in film and TV than the city of Los Angeles. Carefully weaving together footage from films made in or about the city, Thom Andersen gradually builds his thesis about how Hollywood has represented, and misrepresented, its hometown.