Past Film/Video | Visiting Filmmakers | Classics

Naked Acts

(Bridgett M. Davis, 1996)

Bridgett M. Davis in person

New Restoration

Info & Tickets

Close-up of a woman’s face looking to the right of the frame. She is wearing a dark coat over a red shirt and she has red hair.

Nov 15, 2024 7:00 PM

Film/Video Theater

$8 members and adults 55 and over
$10 general public
$5 students

ACCESSIBILITY
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you have questions about accessibility or require an accommodation such as CART captioning or ASL interpretation to participate in this event, please email accessibility@wexarts.org or call (614) 688-3890. Requests made by two weeks in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access, but the Wexner Center for the Arts will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.

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Bridgett M. Davis joins us to introduce her lone feature film, Naked Acts, one of an exciting number of recently restored films by African American women filmmakers.

Milestone Films has been instrumental in spotlighting overlooked films by African American women filmmakers with the recent restorations and releases of such films as Kathleen Collins’s Losing Ground (1982), Ayoka Chenzira’s Alma’s Rainbow (1994), and now Naked Acts (1996). Jake-ann Jones stars as Cicely, an aspiring actor whose estranged mother was a Blaxploitation icon. When she finally lands her first big role in an indie film there is a catch: the film requires a nude scene. Cicely desperately wants the part, but the demand resurfaces a great deal of childhood trauma, not the least of which is a childhood sexual assault. Set among a group of Black artists in New York City, the film provocatively explores Cicely’s family dynamics as she tries to reconcile her professional aspirations with her self-image. A Q&A with the director follows the screening. (87 mins., 4K DCP)

Please note: Naked Acts contains a scene of offscreen sexual abuse that may be troubling for some viewers. If you are in need of resources, please contact SARNCO.

IMAGE CAPTION
Naked Acts, courtesy of Milestone Films with Kino Lorber.

Know before you go

Where to park: We recommend parking in Ohio Union South Garage to avoid special event parking fees and ensure your validation sticker for $2 parking applies. Learn more about parking validation.

"[Naked Acts] exalts the hard-won breakthrough of self-depiction, of controlling the means of production; it opens pathways to a future cinema more radical than itself."

Richard Brody, New Yorker

Tag(s)

Film/Video

Naked Acts has been digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center in collaboration with Milestone Films. This 2023 restoration is from the 16mm a/b rolls preserved at the Indiana University Black Film Center & Archive.

FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
National Endowment for the Arts
Ohio Humanities

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Greater Columbus Arts Council 
The Wexner Family
Institute of Museum and Library Services 
Mellon Foundation
Every Page Foundation
Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts
CampusParc
Nationwide Foundation
Lois S. and H. Roy Chope Fund of The Columbus Foundation
Ohio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme
The Columbus Foundation
Axium Packaging

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Ohio State Energy Partners
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection
David Crane and Elizabeth Dang
Melissa Gilliam and William Grobman
Rebecca Perry Damsen and Ben Towle