On December 12 the Library of Congress announced the annual selection of 25 of America’s most influential motion pictures to be inducted into the National Film Registry because of their cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage. We’re proud to report that Ayoka Chenzira’s insightful and funny animated short HAIR PIECE: A FILM FOR NAPPYHEADED PEOPLE (1984) was one of the chosen titles this year, alongside classics such as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain and Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou. Selection to the registry will help ensure that these films will be preserved for all time.
Filmmaker Ayoka Chenzira, is generally considered one of the first black female animators. She was a key figure in the development of African-American filmmakers in the 1980s through her own films and work to expand opportunities for others. “For my independently produced animated experimental film to be included in the National Film Registry is quite an honor,” said Chenzira. “I never imagined that ‘Hair Piece’ would be considered to have cultural significance outside of its original intent, which was a conversation and a love letter to Black women (and some men) about identity, beauty and self-acceptance in the face of tremendous odds.”
Read more about this year’s inductees here:
