California State University, Northridge's Spring 2025 Cinematheque is collaborating with CSUN's Department of Africana Studies to celebrate Black History Month with a special series, "Black Cinema: Cultural Labor and Liberation," featuring two films by acclaimed director Robert Townsend, "The Hollywood Shuffle" and "10,000 Black Men Named George."
"This event reflects how the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication celebrates Black History Month and the theme is labor," said Dianah Wynter, cinema and television arts professor and curator of the Cinematheque. "We celebrate it with film art and fine art to show how the arts can support and reinforce culture."
The first film in the series is Robert Townsend's comedic satire, "Hollywood Shuffle" that lampoons Black stereotypes in Hollywood. Starring Townsend and Kennan Ivory Wayans, "The Hollywood Shuffle" will be screened at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Armer Screening Room, Room 100, in Manzanita Hall, located at the southwest corner of the campus near Etiwanda Avenue and Nordhoff Street. Following the screening of the film, Townsend will do a Q&A moderated by professor Nate Thomas.
"When 'Hollywood Shuffle' came out it was a sensation," Wynter said. "The director financed it with credit cards and only had a budget of $100,000 but made millions of dollars in just a couple of weeks. It is encouraging for aspiring filmmakers."
"10,000 Black Men Named George," a historical drama directed about the unionizing of Pullman porters, will be shown on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
"The movie is a piece of history that many do not know about," Wynter said. "The Pullman porters were the first profession that Black men could get, and they usually were college graduates. Everyone called them George because no one learned their names. It was very courageous to come together and form a union against the odds in that time in history."
"10,000 Black Men Named George" will also be screened in the Armer Screening Room and a Q&A session with Townsend will follow.
"This is a great opportunity for film students because they will get the chance to ask him how he found the courage to put these films together, as well as how he was able to put together a film with such a low budget but still come out successful," said Wynter.
"This year's theme, 'labor,' which is curated by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, highlights the significant contributions of Black labor," said Kandace Harris, associate dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication. "In celebrating Black history, culture, and community, the Cinematheque is honored to screen Robert Townsend's 'Hollywood Shuffle,' and '10,000 Black Men Named George," as they exhibit Black Artistic Expression as Cultural Labor and Black Labor Movements."
A pre-screening reception will take place before both screenings at 6 p.m.
CSUN's Cinematheque is free and open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to arrive early. The Department of Cinema and Television and Arts offers student professional experiences to prepare them for all fields in the film industry, as well as the skills to achieve their goals. For more information about the Cinematheque, visit https://news.csun.edu/event/cinematheque-presents-black-cinema-cultural-labor-and-liberation-10000-men-named-george-qa-with-director-robert-townsend/