BFCA archivists turn history into exhibit, spotlight the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
On Sept. 5, 2025, the Black Film Center & Archive and University Collections at McCalla opened a new exhibit, “By Their Own Hands: The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.” The exhibit recognizes the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, an organization founded in 1974 in Oakland, California, to honor Black creators in the film industry and contains unique artifacts including letters from Maya Angelou and tap shoes from the Nicholas Brothers.
“By Their Own Hands” was co-curated by archivists Sarah Petras and Dan Hassoun.
Petras, who has been working at the BFCA for around two years, said the collection stood out immediately as a good candidate for the exhibit due to the variety of materials and the visual appeal to the collection.
“The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame collection has costume pieces, memorabilia, just countless items from decades of work,” Petras said.
Petras explained that the goal of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in the 70’s was to recognize Black filmmakers and artists who weren’t being recognized by Hollywood at the time. The organization held annual award ceremonies and would induct them into their hall of fame, where they would then make a signed graphite handprint to display.
The exhibit features 42 of those handprints, including those of Richard Pryor, Denise Nicholas, and more.
“It is truly a sight to behold,” Petras said. “An entire wall covered in 42 handprints is something that’s just really exciting to see it in fruition.”
Hassoun explained that as well as the award ceremonies, the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame also hoped to form a museum dedicated to Black filmmaking in California, but ultimately were not able to.
“They were never able to really get this off the ground, but we hope that our exhibit is able to, at least somewhat, approximate what the museum may have looked like,” Hassoun said.
Hassoun said he hopes that viewers of “By Their Own Hands” are able to learn some interesting things about people they did know — and people they didn’t.
“We’re all about uplifting legacies and providing greater access to films and filmmakers that otherwise didn’t receive as much attention. [We’re] hoping that the exhibit inspires some folks to reach out or do some research on their own about some really incredible work out there that they might not otherwise have had a chance to see.”
Petras shared the same sentiment, explaining that a crucial goal at the BFCA is to bring people’s attention to the story of Black filmmaking, especially highlighting a history of filmmaking that has been lost.
“Our goal is to bring that to the forefront because this is a series of extremely talented actors and filmmakers and, you know, doing these wonderful, wonderful things that are not as commonly recognized or that many people don’t know about,” Petras said. “So, bringing this collection to public exhibit means sharing that history of Black filmmaking with students and community members and anybody who wants to access it, but it also means highlighting the key people who were responsible for making the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame happen.”
The exhibit will remain on display at the University Collections at McCalla, located at 525 E. Ninth St., throughout the spring semester.