Movies by Robert Philipson
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T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s
The 1920s saw a revolution in technology, the advent of the recording industry, that created the first class of African-American women to sing their way to fame and fortune. Blues divas such as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Alberta Hunter created and promoted a working-class vision of blues life that provided an alternative to the Victorian gentility of middle-class manners. In their lives and music, blues women presented themselves as strong, independent women who lived hard lives and were unapologetic about their unconventional choices in c...
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Body and Soul: An American Bridge
A documentary about the jazz standard and it's roots in Jewish and African-American culture/