A groundbreaking, filmic exploration of the tensions among passion, desire, reason, aesthetics, and partnering written and directed by Skidmore alumna Kathleen Collins. Losing Ground is one of the first feature-length motion pictures directed by a Black American Woman, the film has recently been inducted by the National Film Registry.

The film was recently restored and widely re-released to critical acclaim. One of the first fictional features by an African-American woman, the film tells the story of Sara Rogers, a black professor of philosophy, who is embarking on an intellectual quest to understand “ecstasy” just as her painter husband Victor sets off on a more earthy exploration of joy.

 Following the film, Samantha Noelle Sheppard, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Cornell University, and Ruby Fludzinski, a documentary filmmaker working on a film about Collins, will discuss the film and Collins’s career. 

This event is organized by the Media and Film Studies Program the Tang Teaching Museum, with support from the Black Studies Program, the Skidmore Racial Justice Initiative, and the offices of Alumni Relations and Institutional Diversity. It is free and open to the public.

 The film’s trailer, may be found here. As Skidmore College recognizes Black History Month, we hope you will consider joining us tomorrow evening. Thank you.