Sounds In Cinema: Paul Laurence Dunbar
Event
Join us for curated documentary screenings that explore the intersection of African American music and cinema, featuring authentic industry conversations and special guest appearances. Part of our First Free Wednesdays programming, these screenings occasionally include live discussions with the artists, producers, and music professionals who created the stories we preserve.
About the Documentary
Paul Laurence Dunbar: Beyond the Mask, Lewis’s most recent documentary, explores the life and legacy of the first African American poet to gain national and international fame. The two-hour film, which won a regional Emmy Award, received major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Ohio Humanities. The documentary has screened at film festivals in Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Paris, and been presented at prestigious institutions including the Library of Congress, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, and the Atlanta History Center.
About the Filmmaker
Frederick Lewis is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and Professor of Screenwriting & Documentary Storytelling at Ohio University’s School of Media Arts & Studies. For 14 years prior to transitioning to higher education, Lewis worked as a producer, writer, and director in commercial, cable, and public television throughout New England.
His independent documentaries have aired on PBS stations across the United States and screened at more than 100 cultural and educational venues, including the National Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, the National Civil Rights Museum, and the Muhammad Ali Center. His work has taken him from Russia and Greenland to Argentina, Chile, and throughout Europe, creating visually rich portraits of complex historical figures and movements.
Lewis holds an M.A. in Creative Writing/Literary Arts from Brown University and is a recipient of Ohio University’s Presidential Teacher Award, the institution’s highest honor for transformative teaching and curriculum innovation.
Details
venue
National Museum of African American Music
510 Broadway
Nashville,
TN
37203
United States
