To honor Black History Month, the Music Box Theatre presents the return of the Black and African-American filmmaker series MELANIN, ROOTS, AND CULTURE, a cinematic celebration of Black storytelling, throughout February, beginning Feb. 1, 2025. I had the pleasure of speaking with Tyler Balentine, the curator behind this dynamic program, which offers a diverse mix of classic and contemporary films and a short program featuring local Black Chicago filmmakers.
A Vision for Black Film Representation
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: How did you first get involved in curating this program? Was this something you always envisioned doing?
Tyler Michael Balentine: It was an idea pitched at our program meetings and Ryan and Rebecca wanted to talk more about what I wanted to do.
A friend of mine had a short film he wanted shown. And I’m like, okay, I can help you out with that but you have to be on board with having other people’s films shown. It just made more sense to go ahead and get more black filmmakers on board. And I was thinking of something for Black History Month, which is around Oscar time too. I thought that was a perfect opportunity to go ahead and do something for Black filmmakers, especially people that I already know who are in my network.
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: What’s your secret to creating a program that keeps audiences captivated and coming back for more?
Tyler Michael Balentine: My approach is just finding films that do resonate with us. (Black people). Just thinking about all the films that I’ve seen over the years. And then films I already know resonate with other black people too. With Richard Pryor: Here and Now and then The Woman King I thought those two films, their difference in the time periods in which they came out in, would appeal to a wide audience.
Curating a Narrative Beyond the Slave Trade
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: These films speak to such a wide range of experiences. How do you ensure that the programming truly represents the richness of Black culture and history?.
Tyler Michael Balentine: Our history does not start with the transatlantic slave trade. It is very, very broad and goes back hundreds and hundreds of years. From the motherland to where we are now. I definitely want to make sure to include that as well with with my programming.
Why Richard Pryor: Here and Now?
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Let’s dive into the films you’ve selected. What made you choose Richard Pryor: Here and Now for this program, and what do you hope audiences will take away from it?
Tyler Michael Balentine: Richard Pryor is arguably the greatest stand-up to ever exist in the mainstream world. He’s done a lot of things for comedy influencing people like Keenan Ivory Wayans, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, and Chris Rock.
Richard Pryor is a part of black history and things that he talks about are part of black history. My favorite joke is when he talked about that fire. You feel that fire? The film also shows a human level to our stories. For him to go ahead and admit all these things that happened to him and be very, very transparent in his comedy, shows how much you can progress as a person.
Spotlighting the Woman King
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: That’s such a great pick. And then there’s The Woman King, a film that had such an impact. What about it stood out to you, and how does it contribute to the theme of this series?
Tyler Michael Balentine: So with The Woman King just having this film showing Black women in more of an action-adventure was important. Viola Davis, LaShawna Lynch, and John Boyega are in it as well. It is just so eye-opening and the picture is beautiful. This particular community within West Africa and how this group of women contributed to society and to the world. It’s just a good reminder of what black women are being and how we can see them in different roles. This is the film you want to see forever.
A Platform for Chicago’s Black Filmmakers
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: Short films often bring such powerful, personal stories to the forefront. Can you talk about the short films in this showcase and why they’re an essential part of the program?
Tyler Michael Balentine: The short films that we’ll have showing are:
• A Portrait of Platonic Black Love by Ahlaam Yasmin
• Daughters by Sharyon Culberson & Brittani Nightengale
• Man of the People by Amir George
• Cottage Grove by George Ellzey Jr,
• Too Thankful -A Revelation by Brenden Smith.
Audience Engagement and Special Events
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: This program sounds like a fantastic opportunity to connect with filmmakers. Will audiences have a chance to meet them and ask questions?
Tyler Michael Balentine: Absolutely. we’ll have a Q&A after each screening and all six of the filmmakers will be there. They’ll go ahead and answer questions from me and then I’ll have audience participation as well.
Key Dates & Special Events
Reggie Ponder, The Reel Critic: It sounds like you’ve created a real celebration here. Can you remind us of the key dates, times, and any special events tied to this series?
Tyler Michael Balentine: Absolutely. Melanin, Roots, and Culture kicking off Black History Month, February 1st was opening night with a screening of Richard Pryor: Here and Now. There was a comedy pre-show featuring Jarell Scott Barnes, Mike Robinson, Arlena Hall, and Jillian Ebanks. We also had which was also available in the lounge and at concessions.
February 19th and 25th we will showcase short films by Black creators in Chicago with our Life Within the Lens showcase. And on the 19th, around 5:45 pm – 6:00 pm, we’ll have a special gathering with food and conversation. It’s my 31st birthday and my mom as well as the directors will be there to chat.
February 23rd at 8 pm we have The Woman King which will be preceded by a music video screening from local rapper J Bambi. His music video, Church Fan will kick-start the evening.
The MELANIN, ROOTS, AND CULTURE film series pays tribute to Black film and local Black filmmakers. It’s a Black celebration of creativity and culture. And who doesn’t like a celebration? Come for the cinema, conversation or the culture but this is something you don’t want to miss.
