I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Details

Directed by: Dick Fontaine, Pat Hartley

Runtime: 1h 32min Certificate: 12

Topics: History & Archive

This new 4K restoration of I Heard It Through The Grapevine brings James Baldwin back to the screen in his centenary year.

Originally released in 1982, I Heard it Through the Grapevine is not so much a portrait of the seminal writer James Baldwin, as a deep immersion into his own exploration of the American South, two decades on from the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

Travelling across the country, Baldwin revisits the landmarks of the Civil Rights struggle and critical sites of resistance – Selma, Birmingham, Atlanta. As he recalls the progress of the movement, he reunites with friends and former activists, together questioning what has been achieved, twenty years on.

While co-directors Dick Fontaine, who passed away in October 2023, and Pat Hartley deftly interweave archive footage, they never stray far from the guiding intellect of Baldwin. The result is an intimate and emotionally charged journey, raising questions that resonate ever louder through the passing decades.

Restored by Harvard Film Archive.

In memory of director Dick Fontaine.