Dreams Are Colder Than Death + Strange Fruit

Director: Arthur Jafa, Skip Norman

2013 / 80min / DCP

“The final offering is a discursive incantation of Black aesthetics and politics. Norman was born and raised in the DMV. Strange Fruit documents a speech by Bobby Seal in Europe. The film shares a title and thematic connection with a painting by Dial on view at HW. It screens with Jafa’s Dreams Are Colder Than Death. Jafa was born and raised in the  Deep South, in the Delta, what he calls the cradle of all Black culture in the US. The dreams and legacies that are spoken of in his haunting film emanate directly from the experiences of Dial's generation in that region. We might draw some parallels between the way Dial works with materials and assemblage, also social commentary, and the modes in which Jafa operates. In any case, Jafa is the heir to the unclassifiable brilliance of Thornton Dial.” —Greg de Cuir Jr

Preceded by Strange Fruit (Skip Norman, 1969, 29')

In 2022, STRANGE FRUIT was digitized and restored in 2K resolution on behalf of Deutsche Kinemathek at BASIS BERLIN Postproduktion, based on the 16 mm black-and-white original negative, the 16mm color reversal original, and the 16 mm sound mix. Digitization was funded by the German film heritage program.

Dreams Are Colder Than Death courtesy of Arthur Jafa, Gladstone Gallery, and Sprüth Magers.