A couple of weeks ago, Stuart and I went to see one of his favourite films, Imitation of Life, at the Barbican. The screening was followed by a thoughtful discussion with Ellen E Jones and Rhianna Dhillon.
Douglas Sirk’s 1959 masterpiece follows two single mothers, Lora (Lana Turner) and Annie (Juanita Moore), whose lives become deeply intertwined after a chance encounter on a beach. The film contrasts their experiences: Turner’s Lora is a white aspiring actress raising her daughter (Sandra Dee), while Moore’s Annie is a Black woman whose light-skinned daughter (Susan Kohner) tries to pass as white.
Through these intersecting lives, Sirk explores race, class, and gender within the glossy framework of 1950s melodrama, revealing powerful truths beneath the surface of suburban America.
And if Mahalia Jackson singing Trouble of World doesn’t bring you to tears, you have no heart. Or soul!
The event was held to celebrate the 2025 Kraszna-Krausz Moving Image Book Award winner, Screen Deep: How Film and TV Can Solve Racism and Save the World by Ellen E Jones.
A remarkable film and a fascinating discussion that lingered long after the credits rolled.
#ImitationOfLife #DouglasSirk #BarbicanCinema #FilmDiscussion #ClassicCinema
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