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St. Clair Bourne's Shortlist

Published on July 17, 2007

The Shortlist article series is your opportunity to learn about the films that inspire intellectual, artistic and activist leaders--leaders like filmmaker St. Clair Bourne. We asked St. Clair to share his favorite films and his thoughts on the power of documentary to change the world. So what films make St. Clair Bourne's Shortlist? Keep reading to find out.

Filmmaker St. Clair Bourne

Who is St. Clair Bourne?

Over the past 35 years, St. Clair Bourne has been the producer, director and writer of some forty-five film productions, including documentaries for HBO, PBS, NBC, BBC and National Geographic in addition to his own independent work. He has produced the feature-length documentary Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks for HBO. With actor Wesley Snipes as narrator and executive producer, Bourne directed John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk and also directed Paul Robeson: Here I Stand!, a two-hour documentary for the "American Masters" PBS series. He was also a co-producer on the HBO dramatic feature Rebound, the true story of playground basketball legend Earl "The Goat" Manigault as well as Woodie King's independent theatrical feature The Long Night. Bourne is the executive producer for Visitors, Melis Birder's documentary about the family and friends of the incarcerated and Filiberto: Dead or Alive about the Puerto Rican nationalist Filiberto Ojeda Rios. Bourne is currently shooting a film about veteran photographer Ernest Withers and a documentary series about the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party for PBS.

St. Clair Bourne on the Power of Film

In the American media, political conditions directly influence screen images. For example, because the purpose of the Africans brought to America by Europeans was to provide service as slaves, their depiction in art and media were also used to rationalize and reinforce the concept of African inferiority and submission. This is a tendency that continues to this day.

My own beginning in filmmaking in 1968 as a staff producer for "Black Journal," the first national black-oriented public affairs television series, was influenced by political conditions. Among the complaints by Black people during that period was the lack of media acknowledgement regarding black participation in and contributions to American society. When planned and spontaneous rebellions erupted in the cities where there were large black populations, public funds and positions in the television industry were made available to provide black media access to quiet the raging storm. As a staff producer for the newly created "Black Journal" series, I helped document the political and cultural activity of the times which, in the process, influenced the editorial tone and the images in other mainstream television documentaries about black issues.

Everyone should have the right and opportunity to see themselves reflected in the cultural expressions of the land in which they live and examine the issues that affect their lives. The documentary is one of the best methods to do that.

St. Clair's Film Picks

Still a Brother: Inside the Black Middle Class: This documentary, with its politics, intriguing narrative structure and its "inside" cultural authenticity through the subjects' voices, was the first documentary to recognize that a Black middle class existed and to treat it with complexity and respect. In his examination of the black middle class in 1966, William Greaves cautions against the wholesale acceptance of "white middle class values." Three decades later, the film's message still reverberates today as white citizens are questioning these "values" as well, given corporate fraud, the outsourcing of jobs and the disappearance of worker pensions.

A Time for Burning: An early (1966) cinema v�rit� masterpiece about a white minister who feels that to make a contribution to the civil rights movement, he has to integrate his all-white congregation with a black congregation. Jersey follows the minister until he's fired by his own congregation for his efforts. What really amazed me about the film was that a documentary could tell a story based on reality in a narrative form--an innovative approach for the time.

The Weather Underground: Co-directors Sam Green and Bill Siegel show in gripping fashion how anti-Vietnam War activists confront their own personal position of privilege within the class structure in the U.S. even as they struggle to bring that government down. Through much of the 1970s, The Weather Underground bombed government buildings, banks and institutions across the country while attempting to evade one of the largest manhunts in FBI history. The film also examines the U.S. government's suppression of dissent in the 1960s and 1970s.

Stranger with a Camera: In 1967 during the government's "War On Poverty," a visiting filmmaker documenting that campaign was shot and killed by a local Kentucky resident. The search for the reasons behind this shooting provides an opportunity to explore the judgment of filmmakers who promote social change. This film is a mystery that explores class issues, media representation, culture and community.

Flag Wars: This cinema v�rit�-style documentary is a fascinating look inside the conflicts that surface when African American working class homeowners are confronted by an influx of white gay home buyers. Capturing the blunt honesty of unguarded moments, Flag Wars shows in human terms the consequences of capitalism and the pursuit of the "American Dream."

Recalling Orange County: Part memoir and part political story, this film deals with class within the context of immigration. A clash between working class Mexican immigrants and wealthy white suburbanites over the educational policies of school board member Nativo Lopez also sparks a conflict between recent latino immigrants and their more assimilated second and third generation latino brethren.

Maid in America: This film underscores the vital role domestic workers play in many American households and showcases how the new maids are redefining their place in society through the Workers Rights movement. One of the employers featured in these three mini-portraits is a middle class African American family. The history of domestic workers, the film argues, illustrates the changing relationship of minorities to the middle class. Latina immigrants become the new face of household labor, once primarily the work of black Americans.

The New Americans: A totally engaging twelve-hour documentary series following the lives of a multicultural group of new arrivals to the U.S. Yes, twelve hours is a long time to sit through a doc, but I was fascinated by The New Americans's sensitive and accurate depiction of the trials and triumphs of America's newest citizens-to-be.

A Litany for Survival: The Life and Works of Audre Lorde: A portrait of the award-winning black, lesbian, poet and activist, Audre Lorde, whose writings--spanning five decades--articulated some of the most important social and political issues of the 20th century. This moving film explores her life and a body of work that connects the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement and the struggle for lesbian and gay rights.

In Search of Our Fathers: This very personal film documents filmmaker Marco William's seven-year search for the father he never knew and his coming to terms with the truth of his origins. As Williams peels away the layers of mystery that surround his father's absence, his single-minded determination strikes a universal chord. This portrayal of a son's search for identity shows that even in a "fatherless" household, there can be strong family ties that support the younger generation. I especially like that it's one of the few first-person black documentaries.

Bastards of the Party: This insider doc chronicles the history of Los Angeles street gangs from the 1950s to 1990s and shows how members of the notorious Blood and Crip gangs became members of the Black Panther Party and then, after the fall of the Black Liberation Movement, became the "bastard" offspring of the political parties of the 60s. Director Cle "Bone" Sloan is a veteran member of the Athens Park Bloods.

When the Levees Broke: A straight-ahead contemporary landmark classic that will stand the test of time. Told by those that experienced the natural and human effects of Hurricane Katrina, this documentary says more about the state of America than any other of this period.