New York, NY, March 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 1970 Black Film Series announces the debut of “Pearl Bowser and the 1970 Black Film Series,” a 55th anniversary multimedia installation at the Jewish Museum that re-presents all 14 films from Bowser’s groundbreaking 1970 retrospective through newly created vignettes, rare archival footage, and a short film celebrating the life and enduring legacy of the late Pearl Bowser (1931–2023), the Harlem-raised film scholar, archivist, and cultural activist revered as the “Godmother of Black Independent Cinema.”
Pearl Bowser Courtesy of PJ Bowser Productions & Right On Time Productions
On view at the newly renovated Jewish Museum in NYC, this debut immersive installation reimagines Bowser’s seminal 1970 program “The Black Film” series, a landmark retrospective thatbrought a range of overlooked ‘race films’ (1925–1965) into institutional focus and public awareness through her bold curation. It also ignited renewed recognition of early 1900s African American film pioneer Oscar Micheaux… Revisiting the groundbreaking series on its 55th anniversary, today’s installation re-presents all 14 films from the original series through newly created vignettes, rare footage and a captivating short film.
Lisa Collins serves as guest curator at the Jewish Museum, and producer. Aviva Weintraub serves as co-curator for the Jewish Museum. Mark Schwartzburt serves as producer. The installation is co-presented/co-produced by Right On Time Productions.
A Living Institutional History
The current installation features:
- A black-box projection room screening 14 newly curated vignettes, based on the 1970 series’ slate, and shown in their original order
- Archival excerpts from Bowser’s 1980s Paper Tiger interview discussing ‘race films’
- A newly featured interview with Bowser, at age 90, returning to the Jewish Museum five decades later, filmed by Collins and Schwartzburt
- A public panel discussion (February 9, 2026), moderated by Aviva Weintraub, Co-curator for the Jewish Museum with Lisa Collins (director/producer/co-editor) , Mark Schwartzburt (producer/doc short co-director) and Anthony Jamison (editor)
By blending historical reconstruction, cinematic exploration, and a live conversation, ‘Pearl Bowser and the 1970 Black Film Series’ is a time capsule, revisiting an impermanent 1970 Museum program and transforming it into a current-day institutional offering, updating its own bright legacy.
Honoring Pearl Bowser’s Legacy
Pearl Bowser reshaped the preservation, study, and exhibition of Black independent cinema. She co-founded African Diaspora Images and curated programs at institutions including MoMA, BAM, the Whitney Museum, and numerous HBCUs. Her documentary credits include “Mississippi Triangle”, “Namibia: Independence Now!”, “Stories About Us”, and the PBS film “Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies”. As well, she authored award-winning books and essays on Black cinema, worldwide.
Oscar Micheaux Courtesy of The New York Public Library
From 1970 to “Oscar’s Comeback”
While ‘Pearl Bowser and the 1970 Black Film Series’ honors the beginnings of Bowser’s sweeping archivist journey, Collins and Schwartzburt’s forthcoming epic feature documentary, “Oscar’s Comeback” -- with Bowser as their mentor, muse, and collaborator, expresses its culmination. Currently in advanced post-production, and filmed across two decades, “Oscar’s Comeback”, set in the ‘all-white’ town of Gregory, South Dakota, unfolds as a behind-the-scenes melodrama that follows a unique annual mom-and-pop film festival honoring their town’s Black ‘native son’, homesteader-turned-film-pioneer Oscar Micheaux (b. 1884) -- also known as as the ‘Godfather of Independent Cinema’. The multi-part, multi-perspective film slyly examines race, class, power, legacy, otherness, survival, and the ownership of history, in contemporary America.
Lisa Collins and Mark Schwartzburt Courtesy of Right On Time Productions / Visionaire World
About the Producers
Lisa Collins is a Student Academy Award-winning director, writer, and producer, whose work spans documentary and narrative films, journalism, cultural essays, and film festival programming. She holds degrees from Yale University and Columbia University (MFA). Her filmmaking work has received generous support by institutions, including Sundance Institute, Ford Foundation, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and Tribeca Film Institute.
Mark Schwartzburt is a filmmaker, producer, and New York State–barred attorney and energy marketing analyst whose work bridges documentary storytelling, public policy, and cultural history. He graduated from Emory University and Creighton Law. His filmmaking work has garnered grants from NYSCA, Ford Foundation, Tribeca Institute, and South Dakota Humanities Council.
Installation Details
Pearl Bowser and the 1970 Black Film Series
The Jewish Museum
Part of Exhibition: “Identity, Culture, and Community”
On view through March 1, 2026
Public Panel: February 9, 2026
Press Inquiries
Mandie Erickson
mandie [at] showroomseven.com
https://www.pearlbowserandthe1970blackfilmseries.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/seventhhousepr
