Revelation Film Festival has announced that a retrospective screening program of titles dealing with the issue of Black Lives Matter will be included in their inaugural Couched online film festival.

Social justice has always been at the core of Revelation's programming and the inclusion of four film titles to the online event will seek to offer solidarity in seeking justice and racial equality.

The Black Voices Matter program features  two titles from director Charles Burnett; 1978's Killer of Sheep and My Brother's Wedding from 1983. Both films deal with everyday life in black communities. 
The starkly neo-realist Killer of Sheep was named as not only one of the greatest achievements in African-American cinema but also as one of the great achievements in cinema by Cinematical.
My Brother's Wedding, having received a restoration by the Pacific Film Archive and a digital re-edit by the director, is an eye-opening revelation— wise, funny, heartbreaking and timeless.
 

George T. Nierenberg's 1982 documentary Say Amen, Somebody is a joyous, funny and deeply emotional celebration of African American culture. One of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time, it features the father of Gospel, Thomas A. Dorsey; its matron, Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith; and earth-shaking performances by the Barrett Sisters and the O'Neal Twins.
 

Australian made, the utterly unique musical One Night The Moon was released in 2001. Directed by Rachel Perkins and Kevin Lucas and featuring Kaarin Fairfax and Paul Kelly, the story of a young girl missing in the outback in 1932 is based on the true story of Aboriginal Tracker Riley and the documentary based on his life. 

Festival Director Richard Sowada says that events in the US, combined with acts we’ve recently witnessed in WA’s Pilbara undertaken in utter disregard to culture and country, point directly to the enormous inequities rooted deeply in our culture.

“As a cultural event, one of our primary tools is context, so if we can bring some form of context to that discussion, it’s incumbent on us to do just that. In some small way, we hope this retrospective of defining and potent voices in cinema of social justice can contribute to that discussion.”

Screening from 9-19 July, Revelation's online festival COUCHED will present 30+ feature narrative and documentary films plus a selection of short films, Q+As, special events and panel discussions.

Films will be available for rent for a 24 hour period through the festival and passes are on sale now. Festival Director Richard Sowada and Programmer Jack Sargeant will also be available for discussions on titles via the Festival's online hub throughout the entire event.

For further information please visit the Revelation website.