In 1916, the Ebony Film Corporation was formed in Chicago with the goal of producing short comedies featuring all-African American casts. While white-capitalized, the company hired an African American producer, Luther J. Pollard, as its President and General Manager. The film’s comedies were aimed at general audiences and focused on the slapstick comedy popular in the mainstream industry. What were Pollard’s ambitions? How did he understand his work in relation to the constraints around Black representation in the broader American film industry? Until recently, very little information about the company has been known to survive, and scholars of African American film history have long puzzled over Pollard’s involvement with Ebony. Through new material the Chicago Film Archives discovered about Pollard, the presenter discusses the work of Ebony, its relation to other Black filmmaking companies, and the Chicago-based film industry of the 1910s.
Presenter:
In-Person