Artist | Writer | Filmmaker
Title: My Grandma Was an Exotic Dancer?! Presented by: Leslie Cunningham Class Description: A look at early Black Burlesque through a glimpse into the lives of the Bates Sisters, three brown-skin showgirls who helped innovate exotic dance from the American carnival stage. Created for the Harlem in Havana Project: Burlesque Education Series. Learn more and …
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=motN1O8--Sg From Theta Chapter of Gamma Xi Phi - Theta Chapter of Gamma Xi Phi, the fraternity for artists, presents a virtual panel discussion featuring three North Carolina-based filmmakers. The event highlights panelists Leslie Cunningham, Rukiya Shanteel, and Kimberly Knight, who discussed both the art and the craft of their work. The artists’ projects involved …
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JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana - A documentary film by Leslie Cunningham Brown skin showgirls, whites-only audiences, and the brave African American showman who left an extraordinary entertainment legacy despite the insurmountable odds against him and his dreams. Step right up, folks! The last remaining great troupers are finally telling their stories about …
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In celebration of the Hayti Black Filmmakers Collective (HBFC), the Hayti Film Next Level series brings you two HBFC member films in October. These offerings will be presented the 2nd weekend in October featuring two drive-ins and online virtual screenings.First we’ll screen the award-winning The Passing On (directed by Nathan Clarke and produced by HBFC member Lana Garland) …
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Sunday, August 29 at 3pm the SLIPPAGE @ Duke University 2021 Fall Series presents the first two parts from Durham-based creator, Leslie Cunningham’s new documentary film series “JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana”. Slippage@Duke is directed by Thomas F. DeFrantz at the Rubenstein Arts Center. All events will be in the SLIPPAGE lab, …
From making film to writing songs to painting on canvas to publishing TRIBES magazine, I am at peace in the world when I am creating. An artist and documentary filmmaker, I come from a family of talented artists and musicians from Los Angeles, CA. As a kid, all I ever wanted to do was go …
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New documentary film series shines a spotlight on a little-known African American subculture and the unknown pioneers who helped shape Black and Cuban entertainment during Jim Crow. Watch Part One in Celebration of Black History Month! DURHAM, N.C. - Feb. 22, 2021 - PRLog -- Step right up, folks! The last remaining great Black troupers are finally telling …
August 5, 6 pm-730 pm EST on Zoom/Facebook Live. Join the New York School of Burlesque Book club show for an hour of books and burlesque! Burlesque Historian Bebe Bardot will guest host, interviewing author/filmmaker Leslie Cunningham about her book Brown Skin Showgirls. Learn more now.
By Leslie Cunningham, filmmaker and TRIBES Team If you haven’t noticed, Durham’s Hayti Heritage Film Festival (HHFF) is bringing something fresh and new this year and Bull city film lovers are taking notice! I’m a longtime fan of the annual festival which is one of the longest-running Black film festivals in the country. I’m damn sure proud of …
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Friday, September 22nd @ 7 pm, Full Frame Theater, American Tobacco Campus, Blackwell St., Durham, North Carolina 27701 The Center for Documentary Studies and the Southern Documentary Fund are pleased to present a free screening of JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana, a feature documentary film by Leslie Cunningham who takes viewers on a tour of her grandfather’s Black and Cuban traveling show that …
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LESLIE CUNNINGHAM 
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