Documentary Voices

Berkeley Art Center San Francisco · Berkeley

Exhibition on view: Feb 4, 2026 - Apr 22, 2026

BAMPFA's annual Documentary Voices series presents a selection of classic and contemporary nonfiction films from around the world. The series begins with programs highlighting different approaches to documenting labor, including Amy Reid's Long Haulers about truck drivers, Frederick Wiseman's Model about a modeling agency, and films exploring cowboy culture and journalism in conflict zones. The spring continues with films about war and resistance, featuring works by Harun Farocki, Jill Godmilow, Joyce Wieland, and others examining the Vietnam War. Additional programs explore disability, colonialism's impacts, and Black intellectual traditions, with Reid Davenport serving as BAMPFA's 2026 Les Blank Lecturer.

Artist

Arthur Jafa

Arthur Jafa (b. 1960, Tupelo, MS) is a filmmaker and artist whose work explores Black identity, culture, and politics. His artistic practice examines visual culture, history, and the social landscape of the United States. In 2019, Jafa won the top artist prize, the Golden Lion Award, at the 58th Venice Biennale for The White Album. Jafa has worked as a director, cinematographer, and/or producer on several films in the pantheon of Black cinema, including Deshotten 1.0 (2009), Tree (1999), Slowly This (1995), Crooklyn (1994), Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993), and Daughters of the Dust (1991). Jafa has also written essays and delivered lectures on Black aesthetics and visual culture, including texts published in Everything But the Burden: What White People Are Taking from Black Culture (2003) and Black Popular Culture (1992). His work has been shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2024); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2023); Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Germany (2022); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2021); UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, CA (2019); Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC (2017); Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2014); and Whitney Museum of Art, New York (2001), among others. Jafa earned his BA in architecture and film at Howard University.