Next Film/Video | Visiting Filmmakers | Classics

Naked Acts

(Bridgett M. Davis, 1996) 

Bridgett M. Davis in person

New Restoration

Close-up of a woman’s face looking to the right of the frame. She is wearing a dark coat over a red shirt and she has red hair.

Bridgett M. Davis joins us to introduce her lone feature film, Naked Acts, one of an exciting number of recently restored films by African American women filmmakers.

Milestone Films has been instrumental in spotlighting overlooked films by African American women filmmakers with the recent restorations and releases of such films as Kathleen Collins’s Losing Ground (1982), Ayoka Chenzira’s Alma’s Rainbow (1994), and now Naked Acts (1996). Jake-ann Jones stars as Cicely, an aspiring actor whose estranged mother was a Blaxploitation icon. When she finally lands her first big role in an indie film there is a catch: the film requires a nude scene. Cicely desperately wants the part, but the demand resurfaces a great deal of childhood trauma, not the least of which is a childhood sexual assault. Set among a group of Black artists in New York City, the film provocatively explores Cicely’s family dynamics as she tries to reconcile her professional aspirations with her self-image. A Q&A with the director follows the screening. (87 mins., 4K DCP)

Please note: Naked Acts contains a scene of offscreen sexual abuse that may be troubling for some viewers. If you are in need of resources, please contact SARNCO.

IMAGE CAPTION
Naked Acts, courtesy of Milestone Films with Kino Lorber.

Know before you go

  • Where to park: We recommend parking in Ohio Union South Garage to avoid special event parking fees and ensure your validation sticker for $2 parking applies. Learn more about parking validation
"[Naked Acts] exalts the hard-won breakthrough of self-depiction, of controlling the means of production; it opens pathways to a future cinema more radical than itself."
Richard Brody, New Yorker

Read more

Naked Acts has been digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center in collaboration with Milestone Films. This 2023 restoration is from the 16mm a/b rolls preserved at the Indiana University Black Film Center & Archive.

FILM/VIDEO PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY 
National Endowment for the Arts 
Ohio Humanities

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY 
Rohauer Collection Foundation

WEXNER CENTER PROGRAMS MADE POSSIBLE BY 
Greater Columbus Arts Council
 
The Wexner Family 
Institute of Museum and Library Services
 
Mellon Foundation 
Every Page Foundation 
Ohio Arts Council, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts 
CampusParc 
Nationwide Foundation 
Lois S. and H. Roy Chope Fund of The Columbus Foundation
Ohio State’s Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme 
The Columbus Foundation 
Axium Packaging

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY 
Ohio State Energy Partners 
Ohio History Fund/Ohio History Connection 
David Crane and Elizabeth Dang 
Melissa Gilliam and William Grobman 
Rebecca Perry Damsen and Ben Towle

Close

Next Film/Video

Naked Acts