Using the Collection
A significant portion of the work produced by this esteemed group of filmmakers — including UCLA student films, independent shorts, theatrically released motion pictures, television projects and select interviews — is available for onsite research viewing by appointment at the Archive Research and Study Center, located in Powell Library. To arrange a visit, please contact the Archive Research and Study Center.
For a listing of L.A. Rebellion titles held at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, please consult the UC Library Search catalog. You may also review the Archive's L.A. Rebellion Filmography for additional information.
More Information
About the Collection
In the late 1960s, in the aftermath of the
Watts Uprising, against the backdrop of the continuing civil rights movement and the escalating Vietnam War, a group of African and
African American students entered the UCLA School of Theater, Film and
Television, as part of an Ethno-Communications initiative designed to be
responsive to communities of color (also including Asian American, Chicana/o/x and
Native American communities). Now referred to as the "L.A. Rebellion,"
these mostly unheralded artists created a unique cinematic landscape as — over the course of two decades — students arrived, mentored one another
and passed the torch to the next group.
Beyond the films themselves, what makes the L.A. Rebellion movement a discovery worthy of a place in film history is the vitality of its filmmakers, their utopian vision of a better society, their sensitivity to children and gender issues, their willingness to question any and all received wisdom, their identification with the liberation movements in the Third World, and their expression of Black pride and dignity.