ARCAM, Green Machine, and VFS present Boots Riley, with I'm A Virgo
Q&A hosted by Doc Nix
Thursday, April 27, 2023 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Johnson Center, Cinema
Free screening of Boots Riley's new series, I'm A Virgo (2023). Following, Boots Riley will sit down with Doc Nix for a discussion, welcoming questions from the audience.
Visionary filmmaker and musician Boots Riley presents an advanced screening of the first four episodes of I’m A Virgo, a darkly-comedic fantastical coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), a 13-foot-tall young Black man in Oakland, CA. On escaping his insular home, Cootie discovers the beauty and contradictions of the outside world he forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, The Hero (Walton Goggins).
The standout cast also includes Brett Gray, Kara Young, Allius Barnes, Olivia Washington, Mike Epps, and Carmen Ejogo.
I’m A Virgo, co-produced by Amazon Studios and Media Res Studio, premiered at SXSW 2023. Boots Riley and Tze Chun are the series co-showrunners and serve as executive producers, alongside Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer for Media Res Studio, Rebecca Rivo, and Jharrel Jerome. The series features original music and score by art pop duo Tune-Yards.
Boots Riley is a community organizer, activist, rapper, and cofounder of Oakland hip-hop group The Coup, who have released six albums since 1993’s Kill My Landlord. He is the founding member and lead vocalist of Street Sweeper Social Club featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine on guitar.
His directorial debut, Sorry to Bother You premiered to strong critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. By embedding messages regarding economic and class critique as well as politically progressive movement building into dystopian science fiction satire, Sorry To Bother You brought issues surrounding income inequality into wide public discussion in the United States and abroad.
A dedicated community based activist, Boots was deeply involved with the Occupy Oakland movement and was one of the leaders of the activist group The Young Comrades.
He is the author of the critically acclaimed collection of essays “Tell Homeland Security-We Are the Bomb” (Haymarket Books).
Dr. Michael Nickens (Doc Nix) is Director of Campus Life Ensembles and Collaborative Arts, and Associate Professor of Music at George Mason University. He is the leader of the Green Machine, the #1 pep band in college basketball by the NCAA in 2015 and commended by the Senate and House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dr. Nickens launched Mason’s fife and drum corps and WGI world-champion drumline, and oversees Mason’s winterguard.
This collection of performing units, known as the Green Machine Ensembles, are internationally known for their thrilling, high-energy performances at Mason ceremonies and basketball games, professional sports games and events (Capitals, Nationals, Wizards, and Commanders), community events (Celebrate Fairfax, the Nike Womens’ Half Marathon, White House Easter Egg Roll), and marching competitions, as well as their popular internet videos that have over 100 million views.
This event is presented by Anti-Racist Collaborative Arts At Mason (ARCAM); Green Machine; VFS; Film at Mason; African and African American Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; College of Visual and Performing Arts; English Department; Global Affairs; History and Art History; Screen Cultures; University Life; and Women and Gender Studies.
#VisitingFilmmakersSeries #FilmAtMason #ARCAM #GreenMachine #ImAVirgin
For more information:
Dr. Matt Dievendorf, mdievend@gmu.edu, Green Machine
Samantha Beach Sinagra sbeach2@gmu.edu, Film at Mason
Cynthia Fuchs cfuchs@gmu.edu, Director, Visiting Filmmakers Series at Mason; Director, Film at Mason
