Event Film and Video Screenings Lilies of the Field (1963)

Date and Location

Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.

LILIES OF THE FIELD (Rainbow Productions / United Artists, 1963). Directed by Ralph Nelson. Screenplay by James Poe, from the novel of the same name by William E. Barrett. With Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, Pamela Branch. (94 min, black & white, 35mm print from the Copyright Collection)

Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for this role of an itinerant handyman who helps a group of European nuns build a chapel in the Arizona desert. Shot entirely on location without constructed sets, and, barring Poitier, a small cast of unknowns, some of whom were non-professionals, the film applies a light comedic touch which skillfully skirts excess sentimentality and preachiness. With Lilies of the Field, Poitier, at the time the only black man starring in mainstream Hollywood films, affirmed his status as one of America’s top actors. Selected for the National Film Registry in 2020.

Seating is on a first-come first-serve basis.  Doors open at 6:30 pm.