WATERPROOF
A look into the polarizing attributes of Water as a conduit in the Black experience. Water can be all things catastrophic—a burial, an ending, humanity's evolving transporter through time and space—while cradling life as we know it. Water's vitality remains a touchstone for Black filmmakers, often channeling a spiritual connection centered between scenes. Waterproof visualizes Water's historical importance to Black life, reframed by these filmmakers and concluding with an essay film compiled by Melissa Lyde.
Guest programmed by Melissa Lyde, co-presented by Alfreda's Cinema.
TOWARDS THE COLONIES by Myriam Charles. 2016. 5 min.
WATER RITUAL #1: AN URBAN RITE OF PURIFICATION by Barbara McCullough. 1979. 6 min.
MAMAN BRIGITTE by Ayanna Dozier. 2021. 3 min.
SHE GATHER ME by Miatta Kawinzi. 2021. 11 min.
WATERFALLS by F. Gary Gray. 1995. 4 min.
NEGRO BAPTISM filmed by Reverend S. S. Jones. mid-1920s. 1 min.
FOR OUR GIRLS by Imani Dennison & Michele Stephenson. 2021. 10 min.
Thanks to Third World Newsreel.
Post-screening DJ set by Jon Jon Hernandez next door at Rockaway Brewing Co. until midnight.
Our Sponsors
Rockaway Film Festival would like to thank VBX™~Vernam Basin Terminal for generously hosting us at the Arverne Cinema in addition to BBX™~Barbadoes Basin Terminal for contributing to such.
RFF is proud to be sponsored by Blundstone®, Istic Illic Pictures, and NYC Ferry. Rockaway Film Festival made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Rockaway Film Festival is funded in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Art, and by the Howard Gilman Foundation administered by Flushing Town Hall. RFF receives additional support from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.