Gibbes Film in Focus: Passing Strange

Whether a classic noir or a cutting-edge documentary, the Gibbes believes in the power of great filmmaking: to bring people together, to put audiences in touch with new ideas, and to celebrate the diversity of the human experience.

Join us this fall for the second installment in our film series Gibbes Films in Focus: Passing Strange where we’ll explore the perils of race-passing, a genre of American cinema that from the film adaptation of Show Boat starring Ava Gardner to Julie Dash’s 1982 independent film Illusions has long captivated American audiences.

$10 Adults | $5 Students/Faculty with Valid ID

November 19 | 6:30PM Special Netflix Screening of the 2021 Sundance selection Passing directed by Rebecca Hall and inspired by the novel of the same name by Nella Larsen.

Synopsis

Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga) is living on the edge. Light-skinned, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a racist white man unaware of her African American heritage, and has severed all ties to her past after deciding to “pass” as a white woman. Clare’s childhood friend, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thomson), just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, and is simultaneously allured and repelled by Clare’s risky decision to engage in racial masquerade for personal and societal gain.