Please note…

This screening has reached its registration capacity.

Don’t miss the Q&A…

After you register for this screening, be sure to register for the follow-up event, Members-Only Q&A: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, featuring a conversation with screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson. (Friday, December 18 – 3:00 pm PT)

Film Independent Members, you and a guest are invited to watch Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in our Film Independent Presents Online Screening Room, powered by Vision Media.

Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Academy Award® winner Viola Davis). Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music. As the band waits in the studio’s claustrophobic rehearsal room, ambitious cornet player Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry — spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories revealing truths that will forever change the course of their lives.

Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom celebrates the transformative power of the blues and the artists who refuse to let society’s prejudices dictate their worth. Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted for the screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the film is produced by Fences Oscar® nominees Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Colman Domingo, Glynn Turman, Michael Potts, Taylour Paige, Dusan Brown, Jeremy Shamos and Jonny Coyne co-star alongside Grammy® winner Branford Marsalis’ score.

 
2020, 93 minutes, color | Directed by George C. Wolfe | Written for the Screen by Ruben Santiago-Hudson | Starring Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Michael Potts, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige, Jeremy Shamos, Dusan Brown, Joshua Harto | Produced by Denzel Washington p.g.a., Todd Black p.g.a., Dany Wolf

Registration Information

All Film Independent Members can register for this online screening starting at 4:00 pm on Monday, December 14. | Registration is free; one registration per Membership. | Proof of Member status is required to complete registration.

Arts Circle and Film Lover Members are guaranteed access to this event; email membership@filmindependent.org for more information.

How to Watch

On the first day of screening availability, registered Members (and guests, when applicable) will be emailed a secure link by our partner Vision Media to watch this title in the Film Independent Presents Online Screening Room.

Online Screening Policies

Availability window and registration capacity may vary; always register as early as possible to ensure access. Links are watermarked, nontransferable and may only be used by the Member who completed the registration. Limit one link per Membership, per event.

Members are required to follow all rules and guidelines as laid out by Film Independent and/or its partners. If a guest has been registered for an event by a Member, these policies shall apply to that guest. Violation of policies may result in suspension or termination of Membership.

Event details and guest participation are subject to change or cancellation without prior notice.