Smokescreen | Coffy (1973)

This year’s Smokescreen series ‘Scene Stealing Style’ looks at how art direction, the look and feel of a film can help to tell the story. You may not have heard of the films on the list but each is iconic, and in its own way set standards and shaped later generations of film making.

In investigating films with style, it is impossible not to include a film from the subgenre known as ‘Blaxploitation’. Blaxploitation films emerged in the 1970s focusing on stories and protagonists from America’s Black community. There is no doubt that these films are in many ways exploitive, perpetrating negative racial stereotypes. However, Blaxploitation can also be a surprisingly rich genre exploring black fashions, music and counterculture politics of the 1970s.

Coffy released in 1973 starring Pam Grier is one of the best films of the era, described as ‘a snappy revenge action movie with a feminist slant, a killer soundtrack, a sense of the absurd, [and] a little social outrage.’ There is no one classier than Pam Grier who holds film together with a performance that moves from sultry honeypot, to vengeful vigilante, all the while waving the flag for female empowerment.

Director: Jack Hill

Starring: Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Allan Arbus, Sid Haig

Run Time: 91mins

Rating: R18

Due to the Classification only patrons over the age of 18 will be admited.

In partnership with The Establishment Bar Dubbo. Tickets include a 'Buy one, get one free offer' at the Establishment following the film.

Don’t miss out on this year’s Smokescreen Series get your season pass for $75: https://www.123tix.com.au/.../smokescreen-season-pass-2024.

Smokescreen runs from February to November on the First Saturday of the month at WPCC.