Black Is, Black Ain’t marks 15 years since the release of Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins’ debut feature Medicine for Melancholy (2008). This impactful film depicts the subtle romance between Micah and Jo, two Black San Franciscans who journey through the rapidly changing city, exploring their connection and grappling with love and Blackness. Our program will feature a thought-provoking public conversation between Black cinema scholar and MoAD’s Cultural-Critic-in-Residence, Dr. Artel Great (San Francisco State University) and Hana Baba, host of the daily radio program “Crosscurrents” on NPR Station KALW in San Francisco. Together, Baba and Dr. Great will examine the cultural politics, cinematic vision, and understated influence of Medicine for Melancholy, while addressing the film’s larger social themes that include: questions of class and identity, Black love and belonging, and community preservation and gentrification.

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