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Transcription: [00:27:22]

{SPEAKER name="Julius Lester"}
Outside of the fact that the, you know, are interesting to watch,
[00:27:25]

{SPEAKER name="Julius Lester"}
and interesting to know about, what do you see the value of the films today?
[00:27:30]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
Well, I think the fact that the whole era of--
[00:27:35]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
of the black role in American films has been ignored,
[00:27:38]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
with the exceptions of the Hollywood films,
[00:27:41]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
I think, historically, they're important. I think the fact that Paul Robeson appeared in a film
[00:27:46]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
made by an independent black filmmaker, no matter what the quality of tha film
[00:27:52]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
or-- or whether that film was circulated or not,
[00:27:56]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
it's important to know. And just from the point of view of the attitude that, uh,
[00:28:02]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
there weren't men around who thought in this business kind of way.
[00:28:06]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
I mean, this was the-- the quick way to make money at the time, and Oscar Micheaux
[00:28:11]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
demonstrated that he, like every other person who latched onto to the whole film-- film world,
[00:28:17]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
was able to make money at it. And we have records of, um, his corporations, and-- and
[00:28:22]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
how much he, you know, accrued in terms of film rentals, and he was, by those standards, a successful businessman.
[00:28:30]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
Um, not only from the point of view as a successful businessman, but
[00:28:35]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
also in all of his films, he featured some of the top actresses of the day,
[00:28:39]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
even though he juxtaposes these actors against the amateurist;
[00:28:42]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
frequently people who, you know, were not professional actors.
[00:28:46]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
Still, he provided an-- a, uh, roles for black actors that were not available at all
[00:28:53]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
in Hollywood type films, even in white independent films.
[00:28:56]

{SPEAKER name="Julius Lester"}
Okay, one last question. Just when is the monthly, uhm,
[00:29:01]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
festival of films that you're gonna be showing the beginning at New York State Theater?
[00:29:06]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
December 12th.

{SPEAKER name="Julius Lester"}
December 12th.
[00:29:07]

{SPEAKER name="Pearl Bowser"}
Sunday afternoons at--
[00:29:09]

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-01-05 12:19:26