Women’s Film Preservation Fund Screening – Visions: TV Dramas by Maya Angelou and Momoko Iko

The pioneering PBS TV series Visions, produced by Barbara Schultz from 1976 to 1980, presented 40 programs that brought together playwrights and directors addressing controversial topics in American culture. One of these programs, The Tapestry and Circles, consists of two short dramas directed by Maya Angelou and written by Alexis De Veaux. Another program, The Gold Watch, was adapted by Japanese American playwright Momoko Iko from her play of the same name.

These important works were recently preserved by NYWIFT’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) which was funded by Nancy Malone. Ann Deborah Levy, WFPF Co-Chair, Barbara Schultz, Executive Producer of the Visions series, and Sandra Schulberg, Visionsseries Story Editor and WFPF member, will introduce the films.

The Visions screenings are co-presented by NYWIFT’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) and the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) as part of MOMI’s on-going Changing the Picture series.

The screenings are made possible by KCETLink. 


2:00 p.m. 
The Tapestry 
Director: Maya Angelou/Screenwriter: Alexis De Veaux
1976, 52 mins. 
Starring Gloria Jones Schultz and Glynn Turman

Circles
Director: Maya Angelou/Screenwriter: Alexis De Veaux
1976, 31 mins.
Starring Raymond G. Allen, Sr., Ruth Beckford-Smith and Tamu

“The Tapestry” (Courtesy of KCETLink)         “Circles” (Courtesy of  KCETLink)

The Tapestry and Circles present portraits of young ambitious African American women in the 1970s trying to realize their dreams while coping with the fears and constraints of their families and communities, written by Alexis de Veaux. In The Tapestry, Jet, a young law student has altruistic goals, but her ambition creates conflict with her boyfriend and best girlfriend who find her goals of positive change threatening. At the same time, she is haunted by voices from the church choir from her past. Circles focuses on the tension between a religious and overprotective grandmother trying to shield her granddaughter from the evils of the world as the young woman seeks to set off on her own.

4:30 p.m.
The Gold Watch (pictured above)
Dir. Lloyd Richards/Screenwriter: Momoko Iko
1978, 90 mins. 
Starring Mako, Philip Baker Hall, Richard Narita, Shizuko Hoshi, and Jesse Dizon

The Gold Watch, written by Momoko Iko and based on her childhood experience, tells the story of Japanese immigrants in a West Coast farming community as they cope with racism and internment in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Depicting a chapter of the American past that has been sadly neglected, the movie, though aired in 1978 but set in the 1940s, has special resonance today in light of our continuing national conversation on immigration and racism. 

Tickets:

$12 Regular Admission

$9 Seniors (65 +) and Students (18 +) with valid I.D.

Discount Code for 20% off of ticket prices, as applicable: WFPF20 Order Online!

The Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) is the only program in the world dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry through preserving films made by women. It was founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art. The WFPF’s goal is to ensure that the contributions of women to film history are not forgotten. To date the WFPF has preserved a remarkable spectrum of more than one hundred American films in which women play key creative roles. These include works by early feminists, women of color, social activists and artists that represent a unique and irreplaceable part of our nation’s cultural legacy. 

Museum of the Moving Image advances the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. In its stunning facilities—acclaimed for both its accessibility and bold design—the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings of significant works; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, craftspeople, and business leaders; and education programs which serve more than 50,000 students each year. The Museum also houses a significant collection of moving-image artifacts.