This film is currently unavailable
Losing Ground
A philosophy professor (Seret Scott) and an artist (Bill Gunn) reach a crisis point in their marriage, in Kathleen Collins’ groundbreaking and timeless masterpiece.
Director: Kathleen Collins
Overview
Sarah (Seret Scott), a philosophy professor, reluctantly agrees to rent a holiday home in upstate New York with her husband Victor (Bill Gunn, Ganja & Hess), an artist on the verge of success. Over the course of the summer, absorbed in their work and distracted by extra-marital flirtations, they each experience profound emotional reawakenings. Look out for the sublime musical dance sequences during Sarah's film-within-a-film scenes with Duke (Duane Jones).
Denied a theatrical release, the film – one of the very first features directed by an African-American woman – was rarely screened until its restoration and belated release in 2015. A playwright and professor as well as a director, Collins was heavily influenced by the films of Eric Rohmer, but Losing Ground is also a personal reflection of her own academic career and an exploration of issues of race, class and love. It is bittersweet to contemplate the impact she would have had on the cinematic scene had she not died so young, at the age of just 46.
Related
Police Story Police Story
Martial arts 1985 101 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan's mind-blowing, high-octane extravaganza of death-defying stunts and action comedy.
Jesus' Son Jesus' Son
Drama 1999 108 mins Director: Alison Maclean
Billy Crudup stars as a young drifter who gets hooked on heroin in this star-studded story of addiction, recovery and redemption.
The New Boy The New Boy
Drama 2023 96 mins Director: Warwick Thornton
Cate Blanchett is mesmerising as a feverish nun, in Warwick Thornton’s striking tale of spiritual worlds colliding in 1940s Australia.
Point Break Point Break
Action and Adventure 1991 122 mins Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow’s pulse-pounding action thriller and heady bromance, with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
Beasts Clawing at Straws Beasts Clawing at Straws
Crime 2022 109 mins Director: Kim Yong-hoon
The lives of ten strangers collide when a cleaner finds a bag stuffed with money in this slick, jet-black comedy that unspools like a Korean Pulp Fiction. Starring Academy Award winner Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari).
Run Lola Run Run Lola Run
Drama 1998 80 mins Director: Tom Tykwer
Tom Tykwer’s breathtaking time-loop thriller, with a terrific Franka Potente as the titular runner attempting to save her boyfriend.
Daughters of the Dust Daughters of the Dust
Drama 1991 112 mins Director: Julie Dash
Julie Dash’s groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust remains urgent and poetic and continues to resonate, inspiring Beyoncé’s iconic visual album Lemonade.
Burning an Illusion Burning an Illusion
Drama 1982 102 mins Director: Menelik Shabazz
Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London.
I Am Not a Witch I Am Not a Witch
Drama 2017 93 mins Director: Rungano Nyoni
Welsh-raised, Zambian-born Rungano Nyoni delivers a dazzling debut with this darkly satirical fairy tale about a little girl accused of being a witch.
Papicha Papicha
Drama 2019 108 mins Director: Mounia Meddour
As the Algerian Civil War unfolds, a group of determined young women come face to face with a new, dangerous reality.
I Am Samuel I Am Samuel
Documentary 2021 68 mins Director: Pete Murimi
Kenyan couple Samuel and Alex remain committed to each other despite the danger and hardship facing them in Peter Murimi’s moving documentary portrait.
Casablanca Beats Casablanca Beats
Drama 2021 102 mins Director: Nabil Ayouch
Palme d'Or nominated film about a former rapper who takes a teaching job at a cultural centre in a working-class neighbourhood in Casablanca.
Police Story Police Story
Martial arts 1985 101 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan's mind-blowing, high-octane extravaganza of death-defying stunts and action comedy.
Hapkido Hapkido
Action and Adventure 1972 98 mins Director: Huang Feng
Two martial arts schools battle it out in Huang Feng’s action classic (aka Lady Kung Fu), starring long term collaborator and combat master, Angela Mao.
Project A Project A
Action and Adventure 1983 106 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan’s rip-roaring action-adventure about a coastguard hot on the trail of a ruthless band of pirates in late 19th century Hong Kong.
China O'Brien China O'Brien
Action and Adventure 1991 91 mins Director: Robert Clouse
Cynthia Rothrock stars as the tough city cop and martial artist on the trail of a local crime boss, in this action classic from the director of Enter the Dragon.
Jesus' Son Jesus' Son
Drama 1999 108 mins Director: Alison Maclean
Billy Crudup stars as a young drifter who gets hooked on heroin in this star-studded story of addiction, recovery and redemption.
The New Boy The New Boy
Drama 2023 96 mins Director: Warwick Thornton
Cate Blanchett is mesmerising as a feverish nun, in Warwick Thornton’s striking tale of spiritual worlds colliding in 1940s Australia.