SPECIAL EVENT
HELL-BOUND TRAIN (1930, 60 min.)
HEAVEN-BOUND TRAVELER (1932, 15 min.)
VERDICT: NOT GUILTY (1933, 8 min.)
Directed by James and Eloyce Gist
ONLINE TICKET SALES HAVE ENDED, BUT TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR STARTING AT 7:30.
Silent films with new scores written by Rockland musician Sam Waymon, who will be present for a post-screening discussion.
Community Partner: African American Historical Society of Rockland County
James and Eloyce Gist were evangelical Christians who made films by, for, and about the black community that explored themes of good and evil, morality, and Christian life. Hell-bound Train is a cautionary tale of intemperance, jazz, and bad decisions, set on a train filled with unrepentant sinners hurtling toward damnation, elements of which can only be described as surrealistic. This will be the very first public screenings of Heaven-Bound Traveler and Verdict: Not Guilty since they were restored by the Library of Congress.
Meet the composer: Sam Waymon
Sam Waymon was commissioned by the Library of Congress to write new musical scores for these three films. He will join us at this screening for a discussion of the films and their new music. You can learn more about Sam Waymon, who will be honored by the Rockland County Legislature this fall, in a profile published on July 19 in Nyack News & Views.
HELL-BOUND TRAIN, HEAVEN-BOUND TRAVELER and VERDICT: NOT GUILTY are part of a major restoration of dozens of films by black filmmakers, “Pioneers of African American Cinema, conducted by the Library of Congress and Kino Lorbor, to be released on DVD in July.
