The Museum is hosting a spring series of screenings of Black Maria Film Festival award-winning documentary films on the first Wednesday of the month, April – June, presented by Festival director Jane Steuerwald, often with filmmakers as special guests.

The third program, on Wednesday, May 2, will feature an hour-long documentary by Laura Kissel called, “Cotton Road,” released in 2015. “Cotton Road” uncovers the transnational movement of cotton and tells the stories of worker’s lives in a conventional cotton supply chain. From rural farms in South Carolina to factory cities in China, we span the globe to encounter the industrial processes behind our rapacious consumption of cheap clothing and textile products. Are we connected to one another through the things we consume? “Cotton Road” explores a contemporary landscape of globalized labor through human stories and provides an opportunity to reflect on the ways our consumption impacts others and drives a global economy.

Laura Kissel is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker whose work explores contemporary social, cultural and political landscapes and the use of orphan films. She was named the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Media Arts Fellow for 2007-2008 and has received numerous fellowships and grants for her work, including a Fulbright Award, a MacDowell Fellowship, funding from the South Carolina Humanities Council and the Fledgling Fund.

Doors open at 6:30, the films screen at 7 pm, followed by Q&A. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are $5 at the door. Seating is limited, reservations are advised.

Click here to reserve a seat.

The Black Maria Film Festival’s Hudson County Movie Tour is made possible through the generous support of The Hudson County Executive Thomas De Gise and the Board of Chosen Freeholders – the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs & Tourism.

Since 1981, the Black Maria Film Festival has been celebrating and preserving the diversity, invention, and vitality of the short film. The Festival’s home is New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ and is named after Thomas Edison’s original West Orange film studio dubbed the “Black Maria” because of its resemblance to the black-box police paddy wagons of the same name.

Black Maria is an international juried film competition, focusing on short films including those that shine a light on issues and struggles within contemporary society. Its touring programs always include provocative works by diverse filmmakers from across the US and around the world. These artists often represent an under-served constituency who might not otherwise have the opportunity for live public exhibition nationwide or abroad.