''Four Women'' is a 1975

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

film produced and directed by

Julie Dash Julie Ethel Dash (born October 22, 1952) is an American film director, writer and producer. Dash received her MFA in 1985 at the UCLA Film School and is one of the graduates and filmmakers known as the L.A. Rebellion. The L.A. Rebellion refers ...

featuring music by

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

Summary

Dancer Linda Martina Young captures the spirit of four women: Aunt Sarah, Saffronia, Sweet Thing and Peaches to the

ballad Four Women. The women represent stereotypes of black women as they attempt to survive in America.

Production

Linda Martina Young choreographed the dance performance, which Dash refers to as a "choreopoem". The film is celebrated as one of the first experimental films by a black woman filmmaker. The film, unlike others that portrayed the positive aspects of black womanhood, explored the negative realities many black women face in America.

Restoration

In addition to the original 16mm rolls, a new print was created from the color negative A/B rolls and original track negative.

Screenings

* Cinema Remixed and Reloaded Exhibit, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, 2007 * One Way or Another: Black Women's Cinema, BAMcinematek, 2016 * L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema Exhibit * We Wanted a Revolution: :Black Radical Women, 1965-1985, Brooklyn Museum, 2017.

References

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