Self-Select Cinema in the Bentson Mediatheque
Choose from more than 300 titles from the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection or view one of the featured playlists accessible via touchscreen controls and projected on the big screen.
Tuesdays–Sundays. Noon until museum close. Always free.
Featured Playlist: Legacy of ‘68
Investigation of a Flame
In May 1968, a group of Vietnam War protesters walked into a draft board office in Maryland destroyed hundreds of selective service records with homemade napalm. This intimate, experimental documentary portrait follows the Catonsville Nine, a disparate band of resisters who broke the law in a defiant, poetic act of civil disobedience, and traces how the act helped galvanize the American public.
Directed by Lynne Sachs. 2001, digital, 45 minutes.
Inextinguishable Fire / Nicht Löschbares Feuer
One of Farocki’s earliest works, this film looks at the impact and manufacture of napalm, the deadly chemical weapon used frequently during the Vietnam War, and brings to the surface the hidden relationships between labor, industry, and destruction.
Directed by Harun Farocki. 1969, 16mm-to-digital, 25 minutes.
Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther
William Klein’s portrait of the charismatic leader was recorded in Algiers during the 1969 Pan African Cultural Festival. Made at the request of Cleaver and the Algerian government, the film follows Cleaver for three days, capturing a fascinating sketch of the controversial figure. He reflects on American racism, the attempts on his life, the Vietnam War, and the relationship between the American Black Power movement and African liberation groups.
Directed by William Klein. 1970, 75 minutes.
Legacy of ’68 series plays in the Cinema during May and continues with Summer Heat ’68, featuring narrative films, through July and August. Presented in concert with Rumblings and Echoes: Remembering 1968 series at The Trylon in June.
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