On Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 6:30 pm, the Museum is proud to welcome back Hudson County’s own Black Maria Film Festival for the second of a four-part monthly series of award-winning hour-long documentaries. Program 2 features “The Land Beneath Our Feet,” by Sarita Siegel and Gregg Mittman. When the earliest known surviving motion picture record of Liberia resurfaced – rare archival footage from a 1926 Harvard expedition to Liberia – it began a collaborative project to bring the film footage back to Liberia. “The Land Beneath Our Feet” is an extraordinary film spanning a four-year investigation into history, memory, and present-day land conflicts in Liberia.

Black Maria Executive Director Jane Steuerwald will host the custom-curated programs, and lead a discussion with the audience. Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the films will screen at 7 pm, each lasting about an hour. Admission is a suggested $5 donation, which includes light refreshments.

Through December, a different award-winning one-hour documentary film from the Black Maria’s Global Insights collection will be presented, thanks to the support of the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and Tourism. The second program is Wednesday, Oct. 18, the third is Wed., Nov. 29, and the final session is Wed., Dec. 13.

Now in its 36th consecutive year, the Black Maria Film Festival focuses on diverse short films – narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary – including those, which address issues and struggles within contemporary society such as the environment, public health, race and class, family, sustainability, and more.