Ayoka Chenzira

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit

Openly addressing sensitive issues of slavery and the African diaspora, this animated short traces the origins of funk, soul, and rhythm from the "boogie spirit's" original home in Africa, to its worldwide influence in today's popular culture.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of relaxers, gels, and curlers. This short film has become essential for discussions of racism, African American cinema, and empowerment.

Williamswood

An experimental short film with themes of machinery, modernization and the human form. Produced as part of a program sponsored by Austrian machinery corporation EMCO.

Alma's Rainbow

The teenage daughter of a Brooklyn beauty-parlor owner blossoms under the influence of her recently-returned show-biz aunt.

MOTV (My Own TV)

A love story between a Jamaican immigrant and his wife that turns bittersweet when the search for the American dream goes awry.

HERadventure

A coming-of-age story that features a reluctant young woman who accidentally falls to Earth and ends up a superhero. Originally conceived as a project which combined live action filmmaking with interaction through video game mechanics.

Syvilla: They Dance To Her Drum

Chenzira's 1979 tribute to dancer-choreographer Syvilla Fort.

Snowfire

A father struggles to fully embrace the life and death of his gay son.

Pull Your Head to the Moon: Stories of Creole Women

A gay man living through the HIV/AIDS crisis reflects upon his recent history of loss with the help of his grandmother, who tells him a story of her own trauma and loss during the Jim Crow-era South.

In the Rivers of Mercy Angst

A woman struggles to free herself from the "Keeper of Memory" in this surreal odyssey.

The Lure and the Lore

A collaboration between filmmaker Ayoka Chenzira and performance artist Thomas Pinnock, who performs his "immigrant folktales" using traditional lore of his native Jamaica to dramatize his migration to New York in the 60's.

Dynasty

Follows two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they feud for control over their fortune and their children focusing on Fallon Carrington, the daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington, and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal, a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class.

Greenleaf

The unscrupulous world of the Greenleaf family and their sprawling Memphis megachurch, where scandalous secrets and lies are as numerous as the faithful. Born of the church, the Greenleaf family love and care for each other, but beneath the surface lies a den of iniquity—greed, adultery, sibling rivalry and conflicting values—that threatens to tear apart the very core of their faith that holds them together.

Beacon 23

Aster Calyx and Halan Kai Nielsen are inextricably drawn to Beacon 23. Navigating one threat after another, they unravel the beacon’s mysteries, just in time to face their most powerful enemy.

A League of Their Own

In 1943, Carson Shaw travels to Chicago to try out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. There, she meets other women who also dream of playing pro baseball and makes connections that open up her world. Rockford local Max Chapman also comes to the tryouts but is turned away. With the support of her best friend Clance, she must forge a new path to pursue her dream.

Kindred

A young aspiring writer discovers secrets about her family's past when she finds herself mysteriously being pulled back and forth in time to a 19th century plantation.

4400

4400 overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalized people who vanished without a trace over the last hundred years are all returned in an instant, having not aged a day and with no memory of what happened to them. As the government races to analyze the potential threat and contain the story, the 4400 themselves must grapple with the fact that they've been returned with a few "upgrades", and the increasing likelihood that they were all brought back now for a specific reason.