Double Feature Screening: The Funnel & PLENUM

Both films will be screened followed by a Q&A with director Charlene A. Carruthers.

The Funnel

The Funnel follows Trina (Cat Christmas), a young Black poet living on the South Side of Chicago, as she navigates an escalating housing crisis with her mother. After falling into an intimate recollection of her family's history, she awakes in a world with people, sounds, and possibilities she's never known. An encounter with a familiar spirit opens her eyes and heart to a new gift.

Director's Statement

Creating The Funnel allowed me to show up for myself, my ancestors, and future generations of Black people seeking more complete stories about our lives. I was inspired by Saidiya Hartman’s groundbreaking book, “Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments,” and the rich portrayal of young Black women rebelling against the politics of respectability. In bringing the story to Chicago, I was able to connect the essence of Black life in the 1940’s kitchenette building with today’s ongoing struggles for housing justice.This allowed me to focus on the physical, spiritual, and emotional interiority across generations. In doing so, I join a tradition of Black feminist filmmaking that focuses on the beautiful struggle of Black life with care and a commitment to telling the truth.As a first-time director, I could not have dreamed of a better cast and crew to make this film. The Funnel is just the beginning of my journey with this epic tale – each character has a story that must be told more deeply and in a longer format. I hope that this film agitates audience members into more curiosity about housing justice, Black queer and trans lives and offers an example of what is possible when love is a bridge. *Black love always wins.*

The Funnel Trailer

Plenum

In 1995, two siblings face the AIDS crisis during a historic Black political conference as they navigate family estrangement, encounter queer and trans ancestors, and envision futures for the African Diaspora. An experimental reconstruction of the 1995 Black Nations?/Queer Nations? Conference, PLENUM follows the experience of siblings Ajani and Tracy, as they make their way from Chicago to New York City. While Tracy is worried that Ajani’s recent HIV positive diagnosis will drive him into isolation, Ajani fears the consequences of telling their father as he enters a new community and phase of life.

Director’s Statement

Telling more complete stories about the lives of Black people allows me to imagine and work towards more complete solutions. PLENUM builds on the momentum of the knowledge I gained as a filmmaker and ongoing public engagement with film at the intersections of racial, queer and trans justice. While access to legal marriage and the representation of queer and trans people in elected office are considered progress towards equality by progressives and far too radical by conservatives, PLENUM takes up a radical Black, queer and feminist lens that agitates viewers to demand much more from policymakers and everyday people alike. Each character offers a fresh perspective on what has been and continues to be at stake for Black people in the United States and across the diaspora.

When we began pre-production for PLENUM, I knew that we would create a film that would mark the 30th anniversary of the Black Nations?/Queer Nations? Conference and bring the HIV/AIDS crisis into today’s conversations about Black liberation. I did not know that our message of diasporic connection and call for belonging beyond citizenship would enter the world as U.S. funding for HIV/AIDS care, prevention, and education are being eliminated globally. The tragedy of the lives that will be lost is terrifying. And, the potential of a world in which the U.S. government and conservative interests don't control healthcare for millions just might be on the way.
PLENUM is a love letter to our ancestors and future generations. This film has forced me to grow as a filmmaker and as a Black queer woman who is committed to our collective liberation. I look forward to sharing this project with a diasporic audience.

Plenum Trailer