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Once Again... (Statues Never Die)

Panorama 2025
© Isaac Julien
“Nothing is more galvanizing than the sense of a cultural past.” So said the noted philosopher and cultural critic Alain Locke, the “Father of the Harlem Renaissance”. This film examines his contribution to the arts and invites a critical conversation about material culture from Africa and its influence on the Black cultural movement and European Modernism. For Locke, the value of African cultural artefacts lay in their importance to the African diaspora.
Isaac Julien shot this film in sumptuous black and white at key locations: the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University, where Locke was the first Black Rhodes Scholar; the Barnes Collection; and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He revisits themes addressed in his groundbreaking film Looking for Langston (1989) and continues his exploration of the queer subculture of the Harlem Renaissance. Once Again… (Statues Never Die) envisions the poetic restitution of a neglected artistic legacy in which the past is ever present and the future is still up for debate.
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by Isaac Julien (Director)
with André Holland, Danny Huston, Sharlene Whyte, Devon Terrell, Alex Part, Leah Harvey, Alice Smith United Kingdom 2025 English 32' Black/White World premiere

With

  • André Holland (Alain Locke)
  • Danny Huston (Dr. Albert C. Barnes)
  • Sharlene Whyte (Curator)
  • Devon Terrell (Richmond Barthé)
  • Alex Part (Beauty)
  • Leah Harvey (Museum Visitor)
  • Alice Smith (herself)

Crew

Director Isaac Julien
Cinematography Nina Kellgren, Bradford Young
Editing Adam Finch, Paul Smith
Music Dennis Hamm, Matthew Lee
Sound Design Andy Cowton
Production Design Derek Brown
Casting Gary Davy
Producers Andrew Fierberg, Angie Daniell
Executive Producer Mark Nash

Produced by

JN Films

Photos

Isaac Julien

The artist and filmmaker was born in London, UK in 1960. His debut film Looking for Langston screened in the 1989 Panorama and won the Teddy Award for Best Short Film. His feature Young Soul Rebels won the 1991 Semaine de la Critique prize at Cannes. In 2008, he received the Special Teddy for Derek, his documentary about Derek Jarman. His films and installations have featured in numerous renowned international museums. His recent solo exhibition at Tate Britain in London also toured Germany and the Netherlands. He is a Distinguished Professor of the Arts at the University of California Santa Cruz where he co-leads the Moving Image Lab with Mark Nash. He is a recipient of The Royal Academy of Arts Charles Wollaston Award and a Kaiserring Goslar Award. He was granted a knighthood as part of the Queen’s Honours List in 2022.

Filmography (selection)

1983 Who Killed Colin Roach?; short film 1984 Teritories; short film 1986 The Passion of Remembrance (Die Leidenschaft der Erinnerung); co-director 1987 This Is Not an AIDS Advertisement; short film 1989 Looking for Langston; short film 1991 Young Soul Rebels 1993 The Attendant; short film 1994 The Darker Side of Black; documentary 1996 Frantz Fanon, Black Skin White Mask; documentary 2002 BaadAsssss Cinema; documentary 2008 Derek; documentary 2010 Better Life 2014 Playtime 2019 Lessons of the Hour 2025 Once Again... (Statues Never Die); short film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025