BLACK LENS: LOSING GROUND (Cert PG)

7:00pm, Thursday 7 December 2023

A feminist film focused on a complex, intellectual & sexual black female character.

This mesmerising, lyrical film, released in 1982, is a study of the strained relationship between philosophy professor Sara and her mercurial painter husband Victor.

Buoyant following the acquisition of his work by a museum, Victor implores Sara to join him for a summer retreat in upstate New York. She acquiesces, but when they reach their destination, matters are complicated by Victor’s roving eye (he instantly embarks on a serious flirtation with a beautiful Puerto Rican dancer) and Sara’s commitment to her academic research on the pursuit of the ‘ecstatic’, a state stubbornly at odds with her bookish, serious persona.

It is an ultra rare example of a feminist film focused on a complex, intellectual and sexual black female character.

Losing Ground is the luscious semi-autobiographical film by poet, playwright and director Kathleen Collins (1942-1988). It details a middle-class marriage of two remarkable people heading towards a crossroads in their relationship. Brilliant, powerful and funny, Kathleen’s voice lives long and strong with this stunning piece of cinema.

LOSING GROUND (Cert PG) (viewer discretion – Parental Guidance advised)

Following the screening, we invite you to stay a while to explore and engage in an open and candid conversation, curated by our film programmer, Ephraim Webber.