Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2016
The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen
Buy The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen' is a 2016 biographical documentary film by Jennifer Abod and Mary Duprey, depicting the life of Angela Bowen. Bowen grew up in Boston during the Jim Crow era, and grew up to become a classical ballerina, a noted dance teacher, a black lesbian feminist activist, a writer and a professor at Cal State Long Beach.
Synopsis
The film looks into the life of Angela Bowen (19362018), who was a black lesbian feminist activist, a classical ballerina and renowned dance teacher, and ultimately a professor in the California State University system. Her activism was equally strong in all aspects of her life she was as impassioned in her advocacy for the arts as she was for LGBTQI rights, which she championed as strongly as she did black women's rights.
'The Passionate Pursuits' follows Bowen's life from her childhood as a black girl in inner-city Boston during the Jim Crow era across the decades, until she became a legendary figure in her pursuits as a teacher, writer, feminist and activist. The film includes historic footage, photographs and interviews with key people from her past, such as her dance mentor, her dance partner, her former husband, her children, activists, and scholars. Interwoven throughout the film's narrative is the recognition of how race, class, gender and sexuality influenced her, and played into her choices and her survival strategies.
Production
Director Jennifer Abod, who is a radio personality, musician, feminist activist and journalist, first met Angela Bowen in 1979. The two became life partners, eventually marrying in 2013, after more than 30 years together. Abod began making 'The Passionate Pursuits' in 2000, at the onset of Bowen's Alzheimer's disease, in an effort to capture and share the extraordinary life of a woman whose passion and brilliance had pushed beyond the oppressive barriers of sexism and racism.
In 2014, Abod launched a crowdfunding project on Indiegogo, donations drive project to fund the film, fueled by orders of her film and book, 'The Old Womens Project'.
Reception
'The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen' met with positive reviews, and garnered several awards.
Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Professor of Women's Studies at Spelman College, wrote in a review of the film: "'Passionate Pursuits' is a compelling portrait of an important figure in the evolution of contemporary Black feminist history in the United States. The extraordinary life of Angela Bowendancer, writer, scholar, activist, professorprovides a window on important aspects of 20th century African American history, women's history and LGBTQ history." Dee Jay Cox, in a review for CV Weekly, opined that "The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen will inspire audiences to pursue their dreams with tenacity and courage."
Awards
Festival screenings
* London Feminist Film Festival
* Arts & Ideas Festival
* New Haven International Film Festival
* The Roxbury International Film Festival
* Outside the Frame: Radical Queer Film Festival
* Mix Film Festival, Milan
* North Carolina Gay/Lesbian Film Festival
* GayLesbioco E Queer Culture
* Green Salon Short Film Festival
See also
* List of LGBT-related films directed by women
References
Buy The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2016