August 30, 2010 — On Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m., the University of Virginia Art Museum will present the first in a four-part film series to accompany the museum's exhibition "Man Ray, African Art, and the Modernist Lens."

Organized by International Arts and Artists, the exhibit presents photographs of African objects by the American artist Man Ray and his international avant-garde contemporaries of the 1920s and 1930s. The accompanying film series will extend the examination of the exhibition's key themes in four separate programs: "African-American Performance in Hollywood," "Documents of French Colonial Africa," "Josephine Baker in Paris" and "Man Ray: Filmmaker." The film viewings will be followed by discussions led by University faculty.

All of the films will be screened at 5:30 p.m. in Campbell Hall, room 160. The film series is free and open to the public. For information, call 434-243-2050 or e-mail museumoutreach@virginia.edu.

The schedule:

Sept. 13: "African-American Performance in Hollywood"

The landmark 1929 American musical "Hallelujah!" and the short film "Black and Tan" will be discussed by Eric Lott, professor of American studies and English.

Sept. 20: "Documents of French Colonial Africa"

The films "Sous les masques noirs" ("Under the Black Masks"), "La France est un empire" ("France is an Empire") and "Les statues meurent aussi" ("Statues Also Die") will be followed by a discussion with Alison Levine, assistant professor of French language and literature.

Sept. 27: "Josephine Baker in Paris"

Excerpts from the films "La Revue des revues" ("Parisian Pleasures") and "La Princesse Tam Tam" ("Princess Tam Tam") will be followed by a discussion with Carmenita Higginbotham, assistant professor of art and American studies, on the American expatriate performer Josephine Baker.

Oct. 4: "Man Ray: Filmmaker"

Matthew Affron will discuss four classic experimental films by Man Ray: "Retour à la raison" ("Return to Reason"), "Emak-Bakia, L'Etoile de mer" ("The Starfish") and "Les Mystères du Château de Dé" ("The Mysteries of the Château of Dice"), as well as "Ballet mécanique," by Fernand Léger and Dudley Murphy, with cinematography by Man Ray. Affron is associate professor of art history and curator of modern art at the U.Va. Art Museum.