Nationtime

Directed by William Greaves

Year: 1972

Country: U.S.

Language: English

English Closed Captions

Best known for his avant-garde meta-documentary Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, William Greaves (1926–2014) was also the director of over 100 nonfiction films, the majority focused on African American history, politics, and culture. Nationtime is a report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered black voices from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Richard Hatcher, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, Isaac Hayes, Richard Roundtree and H. Carl McCall. Narrated by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, the film was considered too militant for television broadcast at the time and has since circulated only in an edited 58-minute version. This new 4K restoration from IndieCollect, with funding from Jane Fonda and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, returns the film to its original 80-minute length and visual quality.

Reviews

"Buzzes with long-term historical power."

- Richard Brody, The New Yorker

"Resurrects a remarkable 1972 time capsule of American politicking at the root. It’s a snapshot of ground-level organizing... lifted up by sky-high oratory."

- Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

“In restoring Nationtime, a record of Black resilience has been preserved and the National Black Political Convention’s influence further affirmed.”

- Aaron Hunt, Little White Lies

"A vivid portrait of a once-in-a-lifetime gathering... remind[s] us of both the long road to justice and the hard work that goes into paving the way."

- Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

"Nationtime documentary captures... one of the most powerful, Black-and-proud gatherings of all time."

- Craig Lindsey, Houston Chronicle

"This rousing and revelatory documentary celebrates a diversity of black voices, finding support and solidarity even amid expected tensions and divisions."

- Malin Kan, AFI Fest

"The 52-year filmmaking career of Greaves has resulted in an immense, multi-faceted body of work. Greaves was able to defy social, racial and economic barriers to become one of the most prolific documentary filmmakers of his era."

- Scott MacDonald, William Greaves: Filmmaking as Mission

Cast

Sidney Poitier
Harry Belafonte
Rev. Jesse Jackson
Isaac Hayes
Richard Roundtree

Amiri Baraka in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Coretta Scott King in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Rev. Jesse Jackson in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Dr. Betty Shabazz in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Harry Belafonte in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

A musician in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Dick Gregory in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Isaac Hayes in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Bobby Seale in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Richard Roundtree in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Crowd members in a scene from <i>Nationtime</i>, courtesy Kino Lorber

Venue	City	State	Screening Options
14 Pews	Houston	TX	Virtual Cinema
a/perture cinema	Winston Salem	NC	Virtual Cinema
AFI Silver	Silver Spring	MD	Virtual Cinema
Ambler Theater	Ambler	PA	Virtual Cinema
Amherst Cinema	Amherst	MA	Virtual Cinema
Anthology Film Archives	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks	Bethlehem	PA	Virtual Cinema
Austin Film Society	Austin	TX	Virtual Cinema
BAM Rose Cinemas	Brooklyn	NY	Virtual Cinema
Beautiful Ventures			Virtual Cinema
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)	Berkeley	CA	Virtual Cinema
Brattle Theatre	Cambridge	MA	Virtual Cinema
Charles Theatre	Baltimore	MD	Virtual Cinema
Cinema 21	Portland	OR	Virtual Cinema
Cinema Detroit	Detroit	MI	Virtual Cinema
Cinema Lamont	Oak Park	MI	Virtual Cinema
Cinema Worcester	Worcester	MA	Virtual Cinema
Cinemapolis	Ithaca	NY	Virtual Cinema
CineSpeak	Philadelphia	PA	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinemas	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Cleveland Cinematheque	Cleveland	OH	Virtual Cinema
Colonial Theatre	Belfast	ME	Virtual Cinema
Coral Gables Art Cinema	Coral Gables	FL	Virtual Cinema
County Theater	Doylestown	PA	Virtual Cinema
Crandell Theatre	Chatham	NY	Virtual Cinema
DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
Detroit Institute of Arts	Detroit	MI	Virtual Cinema
Digital Gym Cinema	San Diego	CA	Virtual Cinema
Facets	Chicago	IL	Virtual Cinema
FilmBar	Phoenix	AZ	Virtual Cinema
Fine Arts Theatre	Asheville	NC	Virtual Cinema
Foreign Press Association			Virtual Cinema
Fox Theatre	Toronto	ON	Virtual Cinema
Freedom Flicks – Center for Constitutional Rights	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
Gary International Black Film Festival	Gary	IN	Virtual Cinema
Hiway Theater	Jenkintown	PA	Virtual Cinema
Hollywood Theatre	Portland	OR	Virtual Cinema
Howard University	Washington	DC	Virtual Cinema
Indiana University Cinema	Bloomington	IN	Virtual Cinema
Laemmle Theatres	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
LANGSTON	Seattle	WA	Virtual Cinema
Lark Theater	Larkspur	CA	Virtual Cinema
Lightbox Film Center	Philadelphia	PA	Virtual Cinema
Lumiere Cinema	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston	Houston	TX	Virtual Cinema
Museum of the Moving Image	Astoria	NY	Virtual Cinema
Niagara Artists Centre	St. Catharines	ON	Virtual Cinema
Nickelodeon Theatre	Columbia	SC	Virtual Cinema
North Park Theatre	Buffalo	NY	Virtual Cinema
O Cinema	Miami Beach	FL	Virtual Cinema
Olympia Film Society	Olympia	WA	Virtual Cinema
Pageant Theatre	Chico	CA	Virtual Cinema
Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center	Patchogue	NY	Virtual Cinema
Plaza Theatre	Atlanta	GA	Virtual Cinema
Princeton Garden Theatre	Princeton	NJ	Virtual Cinema
Reg Lenna Center for the Arts	Jamestown	NY	Virtual Cinema
Riverview Theater	Minneapolis	MN	Virtual Cinema
Roxie Theater	San Francisco	CA	Virtual Cinema
Senator Theatre	Baltimore	MD	Virtual Cinema
SIFF Film Center	Seattle	WA	Virtual Cinema
SNF Parkway Theatre	Baltimore	MD	Virtual Cinema
Sol Cinema Cafe	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
State Theatre	Modesto	CA	Virtual Cinema
Suns Cinema	Washington	DC	Virtual Cinema
Taking Over Presents	Brooklyn	NY	Virtual Cinema
Tampa Theatre	Tampa	FL	Virtual Cinema
TCAN Cinema	Natick	MA	Virtual Cinema
The Apohadion Theater x SPACE	Portland	ME	Virtual Cinema
The Cinematheque	Vancouver	BC	Virtual Cinema
The City College of New York	New York	NY	Virtual Cinema
The Congress of African People	Atlanta	GA	Virtual Cinema
The Frida Cinema	Santa Ana	CA	Virtual Cinema
The Grand Berry Theater	Fort Worth	TX	Virtual Cinema
The Independent Picture House (Charlotte Film Society)	Charlotte	NC	Virtual Cinema
The Loft Cinema	Tucson	AZ	Virtual Cinema
The Neon	Dayton	OH	Virtual Cinema
The Screening Room	Newburyport	MA	Virtual Cinema
Theatre Raymond Kabbaz	Los Angeles	CA	Virtual Cinema
Time & Space Limited	Hudson	NY	Virtual Cinema
Tivoli at the Nelson-Atkins	Kansas City	MO	Virtual Cinema
Tivoli Theatre	Chattanooga	TN	Virtual Cinema
Tropic Cinema	Key West	FL	Virtual Cinema
Violet Crown Austin	Austin	TX	Virtual Cinema
Violet Crown Charlottesville	Charlottesville	VA	Virtual Cinema
Violet Crown Santa Fe	Santa Fe	NM	Virtual Cinema

Nationtime

Directed by William Greaves

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Nationtime

Directed by William Greaves

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