Jacob Burns Film Center Blog

Jonathan Demme on Nothing But a Man

On Sunday, February 24, we are screening a restored print of the film Nothing But a Man, part of Jonathan Demme‘s “Rarely Seen Cinema.” While all “Rarely Seen” screenings are important to him, this one is extra special. Take a look at what Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme has to say about this Sunday’s screening:

“Every edition of “Rarely Seen Cinema” is a special occasion, but our upcoming screening on Sunday, February 24th at 3:00 pm is especially rare and deep for me, with our screening of the restored print (gorgeous black and white!!!!) of Nothing But a Man, starring Ivan Dixon and Abby Lincoln. I was a passionate young film buff immersed mostly in European imports and westerns when Nothing But a Man showed up at a neighborhood art theater near me and changed my life. By that I mean this beautiful film opened my head up, introduced me in a shattering way to the notion of race, drove me to James Baldwin, Soul on Ice, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, — thus birthing a whole new world-view for me, where previously there had been a basically blissful haze of movies, movies, movies. In short order I was down in Washington joining civil rights demonstrations, getting involved. Can a motion picture change the way things are? No, we haven’t seen that happen yet. Can a motion picture change the way one person feels about the way things are? Yes, I can vouch for that. Exhibit A — Nothing But a Man.”

Come see Nothing But a Man on February 24th at 3:00 pm, followed by a Q&A with Jonathan Demme and visual artist, hip hop pioneer and filmmaker Fab 5 Freddy. Check out our previous blog post about the event and get your tickets today!

Nothing But a Man is a Cinema Conservancy Release of a Cinedigm/New Video Film. Restored by Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation.