Documentary Film, dir. Samuel George
Wednesday, December 8, at 6:00pm - DC Shorts, Goethe-Institut, and the Bertelsmann Foundation will co-host a screening and discussion of
Go-Go City: Displacement & Protest in Washington, DC, followed by a talkback with director Samuel George, legendary Go-Go disc jockey DJ Rico, and CEO of Go-Go Radio Live Nico Hobson.
RSVP
For decades, Washington, DC has been a beacon for Black culture and community. Now, however, a wave of economic and cultural gentrification occurring at breakneck speed threatens to erase this history.
Go-Go City: Displacement & Protest in Washington, DC, a documentary film by Samuel George of the Bertelsmann Foundation, dives into this rich and colorful tapestry and the forces behind the gentrification that stand to mute it. The film interweaves scenes of protest as displaced communities take to the streets to rally around the city’s beloved Go-Go music.
The documentary features interviews with legends of Go-Go such as Big Tony Fisher, Sugar Bear, and Anwan “Big G” Clover; business leaders Richard “Dickie” Shannon of Horace and Dickie’s and Virginia Ali of Ben’s Chili Bowl; and political figures such as city council member Robert White. The film offers a historical overview of the cultural and economic forces that made Washington, DC “Chocolate City."
Go-Go City follows protesters for racial justice who took to the District’s streets in the summer of 2020, the music took on another life. The documentary follows this movement with vérité scenes of protests and marches that often centered Go-Go bands, performing live on the back of flatbed trucks.
As protest organizer Terrence Odom says in a poem that opens the film, "Just sit back and listen. This is a new resistance."
“Go-Go City: Displacement & Protest in Washington, DC” is an Official Selection of the American Documentary Film Festival, Official Selection of the NorthWest Documentary Film Festival, and Official Selection of the Washington, DC International Film Festival, an Official Selection of the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival, and an Official Selection, Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival. It is the winner of the Gold Award at the Spotlight Documentary Film Festival, and the Winner of the Award of Merit with the Impact Documentary Film Awards.
Proof of vaccination will be required upon entry. The Goethe-Institut will enforce indoor masking mandates.
Please note that the event will be hosted in the former cultural center known as The Corner at Whitman-Walker, 1701 14th St. NW, several feet from the main entrance to the Goethe-Institut.
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