“This World is Not My Own,” a documentary on the prolific folk artist Nellie Mae Brown. 

NEW YORK — Black Public Media’s Peabody Award-winning series “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange” continues its 18th season July 2 with “This World Is Not My Own.”

The award-winning documentary showcases acclaimed self-taught artist Nellie Mae Rowe, whose boundless imagination transformed the world around her and secured her place among the 20th century’s most distinctive American artists. The film premieres ahead of July 4, Rowe’s birthdate in 1900, and as the nation prepares to mark its 250th anniversary.

The film won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Mendocino Film Festival, a Best Documentary Award Special Mention at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Best Cinematography Award at the Atlanta Film Festival. “This World Is Not My Own” traces Rowe’s life across the 20th century, from her birth on July 4, 1900, and childhood as the daughter of a sharecropper and formerly enslaved father to her late-life emergence on the national art scene.

At the heart of the film is the unlikely friendship between Rowe and gallery owner Judith Alexander, two women from vastly different worlds who found connection through art and a shared refusal to be confined by the expectations around them. Alexander came from one of the South’s prominent Jewish families and was the daughter of Henry Alexander, a segregationist attorney. Their families’ connections deepen the film’s exploration of race, class, religion, gender and the long reach of history.

“This World Is Not My Own” combines traditional documentary storytelling with animation, scripted scenes and intricately constructed sets inspired by Rowe’s famed “Playhouse,” the home she filled with drawings, handmade dolls, chewing gum sculptures, found objects and vivid expressions of a spiritual, deeply personal worldview.

“As the nation approaches America 250, ‘This World Is Not My Own’ reminds us that the American story has always been shaped by artists like Nellie Mae Rowe, whose imagination, persistence and creative freedom helped redefine America’s cultural landscape,” said Leslie Fields-Cruz, executive director of Black Public Media and executive producer of AfroPoP. “Her work is a radiant example of the Black creativity that has enriched our nation, and this film captures the beauty, complexity and power of her legacy.”

“This World Is Not My Own” is the first feature-length documentary to premiere exclusively on BPM’s YouTube channel. It also will have a special Juneteenth screening in conjunction with the High Museum of Art June 19 at the Tara Theatre in Atlanta.

Season 18 of AfroPoP opens June 15 with “Listen to Me,” the debut film from maternal health experts Kanika Harris and Stephanie Etienne. The documentary follows three Black women through pregnancy, birth and early motherhood, bringing the Black maternal health crisis into sharp focus while calling for accountability, healing and change. The film premieres on the PBS App and PBS.org, with viewers encouraged to check local listings for broadcast times.

Comments