William Greaves established himself as a songwriter and a stage and screen actor during the 1940s. He appeared in both ‘race films’ (Miracle in Harlem, 1948) and in a Hollywood ‘problem picture’ (Lost Boundaries, 1949).
In the Company of William Greaves – Retrospective
An early member of the Actors Studio, he taught acting for years. Despite these successes, Greaves came to feel that he could be of greater service to society by becoming a documentary filmmaker. He was moved by the fact that both African-Americans and European-Americans were ignorant of Africa and the African diaspo‑ ra, and by the irony that he, as an African-American, could not access filmmaking training in the United States. He moved to Canada and joined the National Film Board, learning the craft of filmmaking, first editing, then directing films, including the breakthrough cinéma vérité film, Emergency Ward (1959). He returned to the USA in the hope that his filmmaking skills would be useful, given the evolving civil rights movement, and was soon hired by the United States Information Agency to document a major arts festival in Senegal (The First World Festival of Negro Arts, 1966). Over the next decade, Greaves made film after film, consistently trying new approa‑ ches and working for various production organisations. Over the decades, Greaves made many tributes to African-American contributors to American and world culture, such as Frederick Douglass: An American Life (1985), Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice (1989) and Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001).
— Scott MacDonald, Co-curator of the retrospective
17 Oct
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19:00
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Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
21 Oct
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19:00
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Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
William Greaves
1968
United States
75’
“Superficially, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One concerns the shooting of a screen test in Central Park by a film crew. In actual fact, this very personal feature…
BLACK NATION: DOCS WITH DAVID GREAVES
17 Oct
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21:30
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Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Just Doin’ It: A Tale of Two Barbershops
William Greaves
1976
United States
29’
Nationtime is the only substantive record of the first national African-American political convention, held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972. Greaves: “Nationtime was narrated by Harry…
Nationtime
William Greaves
1972
United States
80’
Nationtime is the only substantive record of the first national African-American political convention, held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972. Greaves: “Nationtime was narrated by Harry…
POWER AND LEADERSHIP I
18 Oct
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19:00
/ 91’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
22 Oct
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10:30
/ 91’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Tickets available soon
Space for Women
William Greaves
1981
United States
32’
Produced for NASA, with the cooperation of its Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, Space for Women shows the variety of ways in which women were…
Black Power in America: Myth… or Reality?
Black Power in America: Myth... or Reality?William Greaves
1986
United States
59’
Produced for NASA, with the cooperation of its Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, Space for Women shows the variety of ways in which women were…
18 Oct
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19:30
/ 69’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala Luís de Pina
24 Oct
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17:30
/ 69’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala Luís de Pina
Miracle in Harlem
Jack Kemp
1948
United States
72’
During the late 1940s, Greaves appeared in several ‘race films’ (films made by blacks and whites for African-American audiences). “At the time, Miracle in Harlem…
Power and Leadership II
18 Oct
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21:30
/ 90’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
25 Oct
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21:30
/ 90’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Still a Brother, Inside the Negro Middle Class
William Greaves
1968
United States
90’
A panorama of the complex situation of ‘middle-class’ African Americans in the late 1960s. Jacqueline Stewart has called the film “a tour de force exploration…
CANADIAN EYE I
20 Oct
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16:30
/ 64’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
24 Oct
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15:30
/ 64’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Putting It Straight
William Greaves
1957
Canada
14’
Putting It Straight, the first film Greaves directed and edited for the NFB, focuses on a woman who notices that a local child, whose teeth…
Smoke and Weather
William Greaves
1958
Canada
22’
Putting It Straight, the first film Greaves directed and edited for the NFB, focuses on a woman who notices that a local child, whose teeth…
Emergency Ward
William Greaves
1959
Canada
30’
Putting It Straight, the first film Greaves directed and edited for the NFB, focuses on a woman who notices that a local child, whose teeth…
CANADIAN EYE II
20 Oct
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19:00
/ 77’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
25 Oct
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17:00
/ 77’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala Luís de Pina
Profile of a Problem Drinker
Stanley Jackson
1957
Canada
29’
Profile of a Problem Drinker is aimed at drinkers, family members and work colleagues who struggle to live with the difficulties alcohol addiction creates. Blood…
Blood and Fire
Terence Macartney-Filgate
1958
Canada
30’
Profile of a Problem Drinker is aimed at drinkers, family members and work colleagues who struggle to live with the difficulties alcohol addiction creates. Blood…
Stigma
Stanley Jackson
1958
Canada
20’
Profile of a Problem Drinker is aimed at drinkers, family members and work colleagues who struggle to live with the difficulties alcohol addiction creates. Blood…
HISTORIC PORTRAITS I
20 Oct
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21:30
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Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
25 Oct
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19:30
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Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala Luís de Pina
Frederick Douglass: An American Life
William Greaves
1985
United States
33’
Most people know little about Frederick Douglass beyond the fact that he was a major force in the abolition of slavery and an important voice…
Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice
William Greaves
1989
United States
55’
Most people know little about Frederick Douglass beyond the fact that he was a major force in the abolition of slavery and an important voice…
21 Oct
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19:30
/ 99’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala Luís de Pina
Lost Boundaries
Alfred L. Werker
1948
United States
99’
Following the end of World War II, Hollywood produced a series of ‘problem pictures’ that engaged crucial social issues. Lost Boundaries focuses on race—a light-skinned…
21 Oct
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21:30
/ 100’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 ½
William Greaves
2005
United States
100’
The rediscovery of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One in 1991, and the widespread recognition it received, prompted Greaves to consider returning to the original project, which had…
22 Oct
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15:30
/ 65’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Souls of Sin
Powell Lindsay
1949
United States
65’
“Powell Lindsay wrote the script of Souls of Sin, which is about two characters: Dollar Bill, a young black man in Harlem, trying desperately to…
HISTORIC PORTRAITS II
22 Oct
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19:00
/ 117’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey
William Greaves
2001
United States
117’
This feature-length film is part of Greaves’ final major project, which included 12 video modules, a teaching guide and a website. The project explores and…
THE ROOTS OF BLACK ART
23 Oct
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19:00
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Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
24 Oct
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19:00
/ 96’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Wealth of a Nation
William Greaves
1966
United States
21’
When the United States Information Agency wanted a news item about a major arts festival in Dakar, Senegal, Greaves was provided with minimal funding and…
The First World Festival of Negro Arts
William Greaves
1966
United States
41’
When the United States Information Agency wanted a news item about a major arts festival in Dakar, Senegal, Greaves was provided with minimal funding and…
From These Roots: A Review of the Harlem Renaissance
William Greaves
1974
United States
31’
When the United States Information Agency wanted a news item about a major arts festival in Dakar, Senegal, Greaves was provided with minimal funding and…
PSYCHODRAMA PLAYING
23 Oct
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19:30
/ 111’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala Luís de Pina
In the Company of Men
William Greaves
1969
United States
53’
Greaves was interested in J. L. Moreno’s technique of psychodrama, which involves patients dramatising traumatic experiences in order to help them confront and overcome them.…
The Deep North
William Greaves
1988
United States
58’
Greaves was interested in J. L. Moreno’s technique of psychodrama, which involves patients dramatising traumatic experiences in order to help them confront and overcome them.…
BLACK JOURNAL MAGAZINE
23 Oct
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21:30
/ 117’
Cinemateca Portuguesa - Sala M. Félix Ribeiro
Black Journal: Episode 9
William Greaves
1969
United States
59’
Black Journal was the first nationally broadcast African-American television series in the United States. Greaves co-hosted with Lou House (aka Wali Sadiq). The series explored…
Black Journal: Episode 18
William Greaves
1969
United States
60’
Black Journal was the first nationally broadcast African-American television series in the United States. Greaves co-hosted with Lou House (aka Wali Sadiq). The series explored…
