CineSPEAK presents: Bill Gunn’s ‘Ganja and Hess’

Join us at Bartram’s Garden for a special outdoor presentation of Bill Gunns’ Ganja and Hess with a pre-show performance by Contour and a post-show Q&A with composer Sam Waymon.
BYO seating, beverages, and snacks. Movie concessions will also be available for purchase. Costumes encouraged!
25% of all ticket sales will be donated to Prevention Point. Prevention Point Philadelphia is a nonprofit public health organization providing harm reduction services to Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Learn more here.
 
Event flow:
6:oopm: Doors open and performance by Contour
7:oopm: Film begins
Q&A with Sam Waymon to follow!
 
ABOUT THE FILM:
Dir. Bill Gunn / US / 1973 / 113 min / English
‘A sensual, scholarly, magic-realist exploration of Black history and Black desire.’
—The New York Times
‘An underground classic! The most complicated, intriguing, subtle, sophisticated, and passionate Black film of the ’70s.’
—American Film Now
Flirting with the conventions of blaxploitation and horror, Bill Gunn’s revolutionary independent film Ganja & Hess is a highly stylized and utterly original treatise on sex, religion, and African American identity. Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead) stars as anthropologist Hess Green, who is stabbed with an ancient ceremonial dagger by his unstable assistant (director Bill Gunn), bestowing upon him the blessing of immortality… and the curse of an unquenchable thirst for blood. When the assistant’s beautiful and outspoken wife Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes searching for her missing husband, she and Hess form an unexpected partnership. Together, they explore just how much power blood holds.
Later recut and released in an inferior version, this edition represents the original release, restored by The Museum of Modern Art with support from The Film Foundation, and mastered in HD from a 35mm negative.
WATCH THE TRAILER
 
TICKET DETAILS
General Admission: $10 (recommended)
West/Southwest residents and ACCESS Cardholders: $2 (Guests must provide proof of benefits or residency within 1 mile of Bartram’s Garden)
If you cannot afford either price point, no stress! No one will be turned away for lack of funds. please pay-what-you-can in the corresponding field.
**DONATIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!** Every penny helps. Support Cinespeak’s efforts to launch a brick-and-mortar indie / art-house cinema in West Philadelphia…Coming in early 2023!