A Community Collaborations Event

Presented in partnership with the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program

Connect with the local writing and moviegoing community for a night of documentary, writing, and discussion. In partnership with FilmScene and the Bijou Film Board, as well as local MFA writer in Nonfiction Grace Morse, join us for a screening of Difficult Love, an intimate documentary highlighting the internationally celebrated Black lesbian photographer Zanele Muholi. The screening will include a writing activity inspired by the work of UI graduate and midwestern Black lesbian author Dr. Cherry Muhanji, as well as an opportunity to communally reflect afterwards.

Difficult Love is an intimate, thought-provoking portrait of internationally celebrated South African lesbian photographer, Zanele Muholi, and her highly personal take on the challenges facing black lesbians in South Africa today. The film features interviews with Muholi as well as with her friends, colleagues and peers, and provides a compelling overview of the artist, her life and her work. This poignant documentary takes us behind the façade of art making and shares with us the highly political environment Muholi must navigate in order to bring her lush photographs to light.