FREE On Demand Online Film Screening –
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
Sunday, JUNE 12 – Monday, JULY 4, 2022
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks explores the power of images in advancing racial, economic, and social equality as seen through the lens of Gordon Parks, one of America’s most trailblazing artists, and the generation of young photographers, filmmakers, and activists he inspired.
Directed by John Maggio; Produced by Monica Berra, Richard Lowe, George Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt, Matthew Henderson; Executive Produced by Alicia Keys, Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Jelani Cobb, Jacqueline Glover, Peter Kunhardt, Sr., Peter Kunhardt, Jr.
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks explores the enduring legacy of photographer, writer, composer, activist, and filmmaker Gordon Parks, and spotlights his visionary work and its impact on artists working today. Gordon’s legacy comes to life through three contemporary photographers: Devin Allen, whose photograph Baltimore Uprising of the 2015 Freddie Gray protests was featured on the cover of Time magazine; LaToya Ruby Frazier who for five years documented the Flint, Michigan water crisis and in 2020 photographed Breonna Taylor’s family for Vanity Fair; and Jamel Shabazz, whose New York City photographs of individuals and groups form a visual history of cultural shifts and struggles across the city. The film celebrates the power of images in advancing racial, economic, and social equality as seen through the lens of Gordon Parks, one of America’s most trailblazing artists, and the generation of young photographers, filmmakers, and activists he inspired.
“There’s another horizon out there, one more horizon that you have to make for yourself and let other people discover it, and someone else will take it further on, you know.” — Gordon Parks
The Kunhardt Film Foundation has created free Educator Resources to accompany the film, including lesson plans and interview archives and photo archive to accompany the film. A discussion guide and six lessons supports creative and dynamic conversation about Gordon Parks and the ways his trailblazing work continues to inspire photographers and filmmakers today. Adult learners, high school and college classrooms, museum programs, and youth art organizations will find dynamic and robust resources.
https://www.kunhardtfilmfoundation.org/educator-resources
The Gordon Parks Foundation permanently preserves the work of Gordon Parks, makes it available to the public through exhibitions, books, and electronic media and supports artistic and educational activities that advance what Gordon described as “the common search for a better life and a better world.”
We The Arts: Civic Engagement Through Art is an ArtsEd4All project taking place from June 12 – July 4, 2022, in celebration of Civic Season 2022.
From Juneteenth to the 4th of July, we invite you to participate in the second annual #CivicSeason through self-guided public art visits in San Francisco, as well as in-person and online events that invite civic engagement through the arts. We’re teaming up with hundreds of history museums and sites across the country through @HistoryMadeByUs, in partnership with the next generation shaping our democracy to launch a new tradition that makes room for all of our stories – and write the next chapter together.
ArtsEd4All 