Until the 1960s, people of colour who wanted to access mainstream cinema could only do so by fitting in with white norms of appearance and behaviour. In the early days of silent film, however, Josephine Baker and comediennes Minnie Devereaux and Bertha Regustus were already making their mark on many films with their extraordinary talent. They used their brilliance, humour and charisma to transcend the racial limitations and stereotypical roles associated with Black people. Even today, they invite us as an audience to consider and re-think Blackness in nuanced ways.
The pioneering women of Indian cinema also drove the plot of their films, playing powerful deities. Three early film fragments enable us to experience intense moments of beauty, experimentation and protest. The films use myths and epics as their source of inspiration, such as the legend of Krishna. They are also a vivid expression of »swadeshi«, a movement of the Indian people expressing self-assertion and rage against the colonial government, which exploited and dehumanised Indians. These early rarities engaged intensively with both the past and future of a colonised nation − from the »swadeshi« cinema of D.G. Phalke to the fury of an indigenous goddess in Béhula and the symbol of the struggle for liberation in Muralivala.
To understand and appreciate this heritage, Marny Garcia Mommertz, Terri Francis, Alison Starr and Iyesha Geeth Abbas will be framing short films and fragments in front of the camera, live and online. Today’s feminist perspectives will thus engage in dialogue with Black actresses from early silent film.

The silent short films and fragments are live accompanied by Raissa Mehner on electric guitar and Hugette Tolinga on percussion.

© André Symann

Raissa Mehner is an electric guitarist and composer. By using various effects pedals and devices, she constantly explores the possibilities of sound produced by her instrument. As a band leader and composer, her work mainly focuses on her quintet, Raissa Mehner Deviation, where she enjoys experimenting with playful and communicative improvisation.

Hugette Tolinga, the self-taught songwriter, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and singer is the founder and artistic director of the Huguembo Studio. In 2010 she formed her own group, Huguembo. Her powerful style stems from local Congolese rhythms and embraces music from all over the world. In addition to various transnational collaborations, she is a member of GROUP50:50.

* The programme owes its inspiration to the valuable research work undertaken by our colleagues for the DVD Cinema’s First Nasty Women.

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