Sunday Showcase

Louisville: 30 Years of Change
Directed by Aaron J. Hutchings

Historical advising and producing by Al Shands

Sunday, July 23, 12:30 pm

FREE

Reverend Al Shands, in addition to being an avid and generous art collector, had a successful career as a documentary filmmaker. Louisville: 30 Years of Change is a documentary portrait of Louisville covering the 1940s through the 1960s–the decades that brought change through a powerful mix of war, race, and popular culture. Archival photographs and vintage film clips reveal a lost world that continues to shape and inspire our time. This 2002 KET production is based on restored documentaries shot in the 1970s by Shands.

Highlights of the period covered in the film include the rebuilding of the city after the 1937 flood and the Great Depression, the expansion of the suburbs, WWII’s call for factory work to support the troops, the struggle for racial justice through sit-ins and desegregation, the emergence of local television, and the rise of rock-n-roll and youth culture including an appearance by Elvis Presley at the Jefferson County Armory in 1956 after visiting with his grandparents in South Louisville.  The film captures a sense of Louisville in what Harper’s Magazine referred to as “a museum piece among American cities.” 2002, U.S., video, 108 minutes. Recommended for 12+.

Screened in conjunction with the exhibition Rounding the Circle: The Mary and Al Shands Collection.

Generous programming assistance for this program has been provided by KET.