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Bone Black: Midwives vs. the South

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Bone Black: Midwives vs. The South is an experimental documentary about the history and erasure of Black midwives in the American South and how the attack on birth workers has contributed toward the Black infant and maternal mortality crisis.





Directors Spotlight


Imani Nikyah Dennison

Director

Imani Dennison, she/they, is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and award winning Filmmaker born in Louisville, Kentucky. Imani graduated from Howard University where they studied Political Science and Photography. Imani’s work interrogates histories of Black culture in the South and African diaspora, usually centered in folklore, fantasy, and hidden histories. Imani is a 2023 Flaherty curator fellow and head Programmer at Black Science Fiction; a Black led creative experiment dedicated to the preservation of Black imagination. Imani has created commissioned documentary works for PBS, Tribeca, ITVS, and Procter & Gamble. Imani is a part of the 2022 Tribeca Queen Collective Directing Program where they recently released their latest film, Bone Black: Midwives vs the South that made its international premier at the Tribeca Film Festival. This work has gone on to win Best Short Documentary at both the 2023 Black Star Film festival and New Orleans Film festival. Imani is currently a 2023 Chicken & Egg/POV grant recipient allowing them to advance on finishing their short creative non-fiction film, The People Could Fly about the ritual of roller skating and how roller rinks emerged as sanctuaries for Black culture in Louisville, Kentucky.



  • Year: 2023
  • Runtime: 21 minutes
  • Country: United States, Ghana
  • Language: English
  • Director: Imani Nikyah Dennison
  • Cast: Maria Milton, Efe Osaren, Alia Richmond, Luisah Teish
  • Cinematographer: Cathy Ye
  • Composer: Nyokabi Kariũki, Chris Ryan Williams
  • Editor: Stellan Clark
  • Executive Producer: Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, Loretha Jones, Sandra Nam
  • Music: Cinque “Ignabu” Kemp, Steve Souryal
  • Producer: Flor de oro Tejada
  • Production Design: Helen Peña
  • Premiere: Philadelphia




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