1982 drama spotlighting racism in the film industry to get restoration premiere in New York this weekend
from IndieCollect
IndieCollect just completed the 4K restoration of ILLUSIONS. This breakthrough film by the legendary Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust) is premiering as part of “Passing You By: Impostorism on Film,” curated by Jessica Green. Made in 1982 but set in 1940s Hollywood, ILLUSIONS follows Mignon Duprée (a radiant Lonette McKee) who portrays a Black studio executive passing for white. Named to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2020, this subversive drama spotlighted racism within the film industry long before the #OscarsSoWhite campaign finally led to some change.
Senior restoration colorist Eva Yuma led the picture restoration team and will join Julie Dash and Jessica Green for an on-stage dialogue at the restoration premiere of the film at BAM Rose Cinemas in New York on August 10.
Click here to watch a new trailer for the film, created by IndieCollect’s Director of Restoration Services Cameron Haffner.
ILLUSIONS was restored in cooperation with the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Women Make Movies, with support from the Golden Globe Foundation and donors to IndieCollect’s Jane Fonda Fund for Women Directors.
| Illusions (1982) Dir. Julie Dash 34min, DCP With Lonette McKee, Roseann Katon, Ned Bellamy The breakthrough short film by the legendary Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust) is presented in the theatrical premiere of a new 4K restoration by Indiecollect. Illusions depicts the experiences of Mignon Dupre (McKee), a Black female Hollywood studio executive in the 40s who passes for white. Selected in 2020 for preservation in the National Film Registry, this subversive short spotlights the pervasive problem of racism within Hollywood, an industry uniquely positioned to broadcast skewed versions of America and its freedoms. Join us following the screening for a Q&A with Eva Yuma, colorist for the restoration of Illusions! Co-presented with Creatively Speaking. Get Tickets |
