Join us on Friday, September 27, 7:30pm, at Counterpath (7935 East 14th Ave., Denver) for night 8 of the Unseen Festival 2019!

Reading

Akusuo is a spoken word poet, essayist and speaker on homelessness. Originally from Dallas, she studied welding at Job Corps and multi discipline studies at University of New Mexico. My focus is on the relationship between black mothers and daughters, generational trauma, madness and survival. 

Dance

A Tucson, Arizona local, Hattie Houser began their dancing career at Encore Dance Academy. They are currently a senior pursuing their BFA Dance and Geography degrees at the University of Colorado Boulder. Hattie has been training in contemporary, modern, ballet, and other forms. Hattie has worked with esteemed artists in the Tucson and Denver-Boulder community and hopes to continue collaborating with artists in the future.

Lisa Engelken is a dancer, choreographer and producer from Denver. She has performed with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Visaversa Dance Buenos Aires, Gesel Mason’s No Boundaries and Rennie Harris Grassroots Project. She has also performed and trained with Alonzo King LINES summer program and the American Dance Festival. She holds a degree in Social Action Through the Arts from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Lisa has taught at Hudson Valley Conservatory, Peridance Center in NYC. Currently she is faculty to the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Denver School of the Arts and The BBoy Factory. Her work has been shown at San Francisco International Hip Hop Festival, Versa Style Festival LA and Breakin’ Convention Denver. She holds battle titles from Disciples of Funk House & Free Style Crew categories, Stackin’ Stylez 1v1 and Fight Club 1v1. Lisa is a Cultural Ambassador for the US State Department in Hip Hop Diplomacy. She is also the  founder and producer of the Hip Hop theatre show Breaking Barriers and the Crossover Project art program, educating performance through poetry and dance which premiered in Lima, Peru in 2017. 

Film

Curated by Amir George.

FILMMAKERS AMIR GEORGE & FITZGERALD IN PERSON!

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down – Fitzgerald – USA – 2019 – 5 min

Spirit Possession and Black Church. What happens when we create environments around our beliefs? Are there aspects of this cultural and religious performance that are beautiful and/or problematic?

Everything I Whispered to Dorothy – Fitzgerald – USA – 2019 – 10 min

A contemplation on the expressive power of love; one situated within the Black/African-American cultural context and that honors past expressions while looking to create new expressions free from cultural trappings. The film seeks to ask, “what is love, when is it situated in and thus, expressed from a specific culture context?”

“This film is dedicated to the memory and spirit of my grandmother, Dorothy.” – F

Man of the People – Amir George – USA – 2019 – 4 min

Man of the People is a political thriller surrounding the legacy of Chicago mayor Harold Washingston. A complex unfolding of his two campaign runs leading to his sudden and mysterious death during his second term.

Impepho – Amir George – USA – 2019 – 4 min

A moving visual for avant garde jazz artist Angel Bat Dawid based on her song Impepho. 

Water & Power – Amir George – USA – 2019 – 5 min

A dream like interpretation of Steve Dunn’s novel Water and Power, filmed in Denver in 2018. 

Passages of Excess (Spirit that Resides) – Amir George – USA – 2019 – 15 min

A passage from a voyage to Cuba that evokes spiritual resonance.

I’m Not Here Anymore – Fitzgerald – USA – 2019 – 4 min

A portrait of a troubled man.

Amir George is a filmmaker and curator who creates spiritual stories, juxtaposing sound and image with a non-linear perception. He creates fragmented vignettes that conjure the secret life of objects both found and collected. The characters that inhabit his stories tend to dwell outside of social norms and exist in the space between and in the process of becoming. Following up from his Better Made Progress collection of work presented in Denver in September 2017.

Fitzgerald. Filmmaker, visual artist and educator based in Denver, Colorado. His work consists of digital collage and films that explore conceptions about blackness, masculinity, identity as performance and representation. His work is specifically aimed at humanizing and de-commodifying the black body through moving images. His work has shown in the Color of Conversation Film Festival in Denver, Colorado, and the Chale Wote Street Arts Festival in Ghana, Africa.