Documentary Film on History of Blacks in Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction Books
“The Invisible Universe documentary reveals the history of the representations and participation of Black people in the genres of fantasy, horror and science fiction, or speculative fiction (SF). Framed through the POV of a time traveling Archivist, the documentary explores 150 years of speculative fiction literature, its origins, developments, key personalities and current state, all through the perspective of Black people and history. The documentary demonstrates how the genres, which were premised on the ideology of white supremacy, have been adopted and adapted by Black writers as a form of artistic resistance for envisioning different worlds and futures”
The film includes interviews with Black writers of SF like, Samuel R. Delany, Octavia E. Butler, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnedi Okorafor, Brandon Massey, and N.K. Jemisin. This feature-length documentary has been in the works for several years. I discovered it while looking for a more recent video for author Brandon Massey. It looks like it will be a fascinating film.
Six months ago this film was in post-production and theatrical and streaming distribution was planned for this year 2017. The film’s producer, director, and writer, M. Asli Dukan, is currently soliciting financial support; you may learn more on the film’s website: http://invisibleuniversedoc.com/
