This season presents films that reflect the work of directors and writers who managed to continue their filmmaking in the most difficult of situations, their names seen as a liability to anyone in Hollywood (and beyond) who dared employ them, but who found opportunities in Europe.
Many of those blacklisted during the anti-communist witch hunt in Hollywood could not find work in America and ended up exiled in Europe. This fact did not stop their creativity, with many working on films that continued their engagement with issues of inequality and social justice. Often this was without credit or under pseudonyms, and it would be decades before they were able to put their names to the distinctive contributions they made to film production in Europe and across the world.
Curated by Andy Willis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and HOME’s Senior Visiting Curator: Film.
To help you navigate the season, we’ve got a timeline of the Hollywood Blacklist, including some of the main events that took place, as well as the filmmakers and films that were impacted.