The Cinematheque

In December 1969, Fred Hampton, the charismatic, 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, was shot dead in a police raid. A group of Chicago independent filmmakers were in the midst of making a documentary about Hampton at the time. Their project shifted to become an inquest into Hampton’s death—and a forceful refutation of the official version of events. Directed by Howard Alk (who collaborated on several films made by Bob Dylan), the film mixes activist documentary with investigative report, and stands as a corrective to the simplistic depictions of the Panther movement often seen in the media. In our age of Black Lives Matter, this searing account of racial injustice remains, sadly, as timely and relevant as ever.

Preservation funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation and The Packard Humanities Institute.

preceded by

The Jungle
USA 1967
Charlie Davis, Jimmy Robinson, David Williams
22 min. 35mm

An early example of modern, independent African-American filmmaking, this unique docudrama, made by inner-city high-school students in Philadelphia, offers a raw, streetwise portrait of gang life.

Preservation funded by the National Film Preservation Foundation.