Event

"Strange Fruit" Film Screening w/Director Joel Katz

Join filmmaker Joel Katz for a first ever Vermont screening of his riveting documentary, "STRANGE FRUIT" on the big screen at Next Stage, Thursday, November 17th at 7PM.

The film explores the history and legacy of a song unique in the annals of American music. Best-known from Billie Holiday's haunting 1939 rendition, the song "Strange Fruit" is a harrowing portrayal of the lynching of a black man in the American South.

The film tells a dramatic story of America's past by using one of the most influential protest songs ever written as its epicenter. The saga brings us face-to-face with the terror of lynching as it spotlights the courage and heroism of those who fought for racial justice when to do so was to risk ostracism and livelihood if white - and death if black.

The film examines the history of lynching, and the interplay of race, labor, the Left and popular culture that would give rise to the civil rights movement.

Following the film, Joel Katz will facilitate a discussion about his making of the film and the cultural context for what is likely the first protest song widely distributed in 20th century America.

This event is a benefit for Next Stage Arts Project, Inc.