Owens Funeral Home

African-American Celebratory Funerals In this rousing and revealing documentary, filmmaker Christine Turner follows the legendary Harlem undertaker Isiah Owens as he presides over a number of African-American funeral services and burials -- or 'homegoings,' as they are referred to in the African American funeral business -- at Owens Funeral Home, his family's well-patronized establishment in Harlem, New York. In the tradition of the African-American community, the 'homecoming...Continue reading

If You Missed 'Homegoings' On PBS Last Night, Watch It Here Now! BY TAMBAY A. OBENSON JUNE 25, 2013 2:18 PM... Christine Turner's feature documentary Homegoings, which explores the African American funeral home tradition, told through the eyes of a Harlem funeral director, made it's broadcast TV premiere on PBS' POV series, last night, Monday, June 24, 2013, at 10 pm, kicking off the 26th season of the award-winning POV. The acclaimed film also opened yesterday, for a 1-week theatrical run (June 24-30) at the Maysles Cinema in NYC, in an exclusive U.S. theatrical premiere, with each screening happening nightly at 7:30 pm, Monday through Sunday, except on Thursday, June 27, when it will take place at 4 pm only. Each screening will be preceded by StoryCorps: A Selection of Short Films, a series of oral histories recorded by the award-winning organization and animated by the Rauch Brothers. For more information, go to www.mayslesinstitute.org or email [email protected], or call (212) 537-6843. But if you'd rather watch the film at home, or you don't live in NYC, and you missed its broadcast on PBS last night, you're in luck, because PBS has made the entire film available for viewing online, via its website. It's embedded below, so check it out. I missed last night's PBS premiere, so I'll be watching it online in the next 24 hours. Here ya go: http://blogs.indiewire.com//if-you-missed-homegoings-on-pb

Engaging documentaries offer glimpses of life’s ‘Homegoings’ By Hank Stuever,June 23, 2013 Homegoings, Christine Turner’s exquisitely tender documentary about a Harlem funeral director, is one of those rare opportunities to go toward the thing we fear most death and realize how much joy and comfort there is in it, when handled with grace and care....Continue reading

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African-American Funeral Documentary, 'Homegoings' to screen at the Apollo Posted: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 3:34 pm | Updated: 4:12 pm, Wed Jun 19, 2013. By, Victoria Johnson Special to the AmNews | 0 comments This Friday, June 21st, from 7 p.m. - 10 p.m., the Apollo Theater is scheduled to hold a screening of 'Homegoings', a documentary that follows Harlem funeral director, Isaiah Owens and journeys African-American traditions

Firelight Media, POV and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone In Association with the Apollo Theater Present: Harlem Premiere of 'Homegoings' at the Apollo Theater, Friday, June 21, 2013 In partnership with The Futuro Media Group, ImageNation Cinema Foundation, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Maysles Documentary Center, NBPC, WNET and WNYC Acclaimed Film Honors Harlem Funeral Director Isaiah Owens and Legacy of African-American Funerals...Continue reading

'Homegoings' Documentary Explores African-American Funeral Traditions (VIDEO) Posted: 04/24/2013 6:21PM EDT Updated: 04/24/2013 6:35PM EDT In Harlem, 62-year-old Isaiah Owens is known as "Fix Em," for his ability to repair dead bodies ravaged by disease, mishap or violence; in the forthcoming PBS documentary "Homegoings," he's known as a legendary Harlem undertaker with a penchant for bringing the beauty and grace of African-American funerals to life.... "Everybody knows it’s there, but nobody wants to talk about it," Owens said in an interview with the New York Daily News, referencing his goal for the film -- to bring death out of the closet. Filmed at Owens Funeral Home in New York City, "Homegoings" takes an up-close look at the rarely seen world of undertaking in the black community, as PBS' synopsis of the film explains. And while Owens aims to open a conversation on death in a way that he says captures grief and sadness, alongside the humor and sense of relief that he sometimes observes behind the camera, he does so with a reverence for the occasion that was largely absent from TLC's "Best Funeral Ever," which also promised to offer a look at African-American funeral traditions. According to PBS: Combining cinéma vérité with intimate interviews and archival photographs, the film paints a portrait of the dearly departed, their grieving families and a man who sends loved ones "home." "Homecomings" makes its national broadcast premiere on Monday, June 24, 2013, at 10 p.m.

Preserving Our Places in History African American Funeral and Burial Traditions

http://www.pbs.org//pov-homegoings-factsheet_press_file_2.

Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton, President/CEO Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson, Chairman Tamika Mallory, Executive Director ...Continue reading