To celebrate Black History Month, the Cinémathèque québécoise will be screening 15 iconic Blaxploitation movies. This genre, that hit its peaks in the 70s in the US, in a volatile and dissenting political, economical and social context, broke the color codes. The outdated portraits gallery which reduced Black people to servile objects is being replaced by a new esthetic of identy empowerment. This movie cycle intends to shed light on a rich and heteroclite filmography where various sub-genres intersect (action, martial arts, horror, western, drama) to disrupt the essentialist perception of Afro-American (life) experiences.Pam Grier, Tamara Dobson, Diahann Carroll, Richard Roundtree, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte are showing, to those willing to see, that Black is beautiful!
John Shaft is the ultimate in suave black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy, the leader of the Black crime mob, then against Black nationals, and finally working with both against the White Mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.
