ANIMATING HISTORY | free screening & discussion

The screening will feature short films ANNA  and THE DIARY OF MICHAEL SHINER, and feature film THE BELL AFFAIR. Each film is based on the award-winning book A Question of Freedom: The Families Who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War by William G. Thomas (History). In his research, Thomas discovered enslaved families used the court of law to initiate freedom-making and how each family strives to achieve and maintain freedom. He writes, “freedom suites were, in effect, a public counterpart of the Underground Railroad. Through them a network of Black families waged a desperate battle over freedom through the law.”

Enjoy a post-screening Q&A with the filmmakers: Kwakiutl L. Dreher, Director and co-writer; William Thomas, Historian and co-writer, and Michael Burton, Producer and Art Director.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES JUNETEENTH ACTIVITIES

Tuesday, June 18 – 12:30 p.m @ The Nebraska Union (Platte South Room)
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: THE MAKING OF THE BELL AFFAIR
A Brown Bag Lunch Pre Talk
Dr. Kwakiutl Dreher, Associate Professor of English and Director, screenwriter, and producer will take the audience behind the scenes on her involvement in the making of the team’s feature film The Bell Affair. 

Wednesday, June 19 – 7:00 p.m. @ The Ross
ANIMATING HISTORY: A Mini-Film Festival featuring stories on the making of freedom
Short films: ANNA & THE DIARY OF MICHAEL SHINER (28 minutes)
15 minute intermission
Feature Film: THE BELL AFFAIR (85 minutes)
Post Screening Q&A

ANNA (11 minutes) | November 1815. An enslaved woman named Anna is sold away from her family in Maryland to slave traders, taken to Washington, D.C., and locked in a tavern garret. She is about to be sent to Georgia and separated from her husband and children. Desperate and trapped, she makes a decision that changes everything. Based on true events, Anna is the story of one woman’s quest for freedom and family. More info…

THE DIARY OF MICHAEL SHINER (17 minutes) | Michael Shiner was an enslaved man who labored at the Washington, D.C., Naval Yard. He wrote one of the only diaries of an enslaved person known to exist. Spanning 56 years, the diary covers politics, family, and natural phenomenon. Based on his writings, this short film depicts the day he saved his wife from the notorious slave traders, Franklin and Armfield. More info…

THE BELL AFFAIR (1 hour, 25 minutes) | Daniel and Mary Bell sued for their freedom from slavery and won. After slaveholders threatened to re-enslave them and their children, the Bells led one of the largest escape attempts in American history. Their inspiring story is brought to cinema for the first time. Filmed and directed remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, the cast was never in the same room with each other or with the director at the same time. More info…