Black Nature Films in the Park

About Facilitators

Founded by Melissa Lyde in 2015, Alfreda’s Cinema screens films that tell Black stories that resonate with depth and love, the richness and culture of our history, our dynamics, our shapes, our colors, and our truth.

Prospect Park Alliance is the non-profit organization that sustains, restores and advances Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s Backyard, in partnership with the City of New York. The Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas; restores the park’s buildings and landscapes; creates innovative park destinations; and provides free or low-cost volunteer, education and recreation programs. Through the work of the Alliance, Prospect Park is an international model for the care of urban parks, and one of the premier green spaces in the United States.

Objective:

Alfreda’s Cinema and Field Meridian’s Nature School return to the stars to end this outdoor film season with a majestic program at the Prospect Park Boathouse in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance. 

We continue our cosmic trip through Nature + Film with John Sayles’ sci-fi classic, The Brother From Another Planet (1984.) alongside featurette, a place in the sun: and other things I tell myself on hopeless days by Daequan Collier (single-channel, 2024.) Journing into other worlds that feel like real alternatives effectively changes our approach, often triggering an existential confrontation. The natural world is transformative and with these two films as portals to the soul’s journey, we invite inspiration with these watershed perspectives often underseen. 

Joe Morton as huminode, mute space traveler, encounters 80’s Harlem, NYC, viscerally in the Black-American experience, easily an encounter any outsider would not choose willingly. Sayles approach turns that thinking on its head and into an out-of-this-world troupe now deemed 80s camp. Morton’s portrayal turns Christ-like in purpose as he attempts to resolve the urgent needs of his day-to-day fellows turn protectors, whilst evading two men dressed in black. The Brother from Another Planet (1984.) has unknowingly become a part of the Afro-futurist canon but should have it’s own moment as a testament to the 1984 lexicon of Science-fiction epics, standing tall among the likes of a Alex Cox’s Repo-man and David Lynch’s Dune, The Brother From Another Planet is a quiet triumph, a masterpiece.

Bronx-born, Brooklyn based, DaqQuan Collier shares a place in the sun: and other things I tell myself on hopeless days (single-channel, 2024.) for the second time since its completion and is a stellar companion to the night’s feature. Equalling the momentum of the soul’s journey with Collier’s insight to cosmic travel through his imagination. The stylized use of his family’s home movies, combined with a reinterpretation of the “teletubbies” as a Black musical act, Collier’s a place in the sun proves to be a must-see! 

What to Bring:

• Camp Chairs
• Snacks
• Friends
• Blanket

Disclaimer:

This event is rain or shine. In case of rain, we will be moving the screening indoors into the Prospect Park Boathouse.

The Boathouse is wheelchair accessible. The outdoor screening will take place facing the lake and offer seating on the steps of the boathouse and along the walkways. We will reserve a few folding chairs for participants but recommend bringing a camp chair (and maybe even a blanket) for your own comfort. Bathrooms are accessible and located inside the Boathouse.

Closest accessible park entrance is Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Road.