film: through a lens darkly: black photographers and the emergence of a people

Over two years ago, we mentioned Thomas Allen Harris’ documentary “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People”; and now the documentary has its US premier next month at the Film Forum in New York on August 27th.

By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

“Inspired by Deborah Willis’s groundbreaking book, Reflections in Black (Willis is also a co-producer), the documentary casts a broad net that begins with filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris’s family album. It considers the difference between black photographers who use the camera to define themselves, their people, and their culture and some white photographers who, historically, have demeaned African-Americans through racist imagery. The film embraces both historical material (African-Americans who were slaves, who fought in the Civil War, were victims of lynchings, or were pivotal in the Civil Rights Movement) and contemporary images made by such luminaries as Roy DeCarava, Gordon Parks, and Carrie Mae Weems. “Through A Lens Darkly” is a cornucopia of Americana that reveals deeply disturbing truths about the history of race relations while expressing joyous, life-affirming sentiments about the ability of artists and amateurs alike to assert their identity through the photographic lens.”