Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival, with a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and sponsored by Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, presents a panel discussion on Zoom of the highly acclaimed 1974 film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. as part of its social justice series on September 8 at 7 pm.

The film, and the novel upon which it is based, received immeasurable accolades. It’s sometimes hard to remember that Miss Jane Pittman is a fictional character. Her authenticity is so great that many believed the character and story to be entirely true.

The made-for-television film was groundbreaking in the early 1970s for its humane and respectful treatment of African Americans and their culture before, during and after slavery. It is fascinating in its incredible detailing of life for Blacks in the United States, using Miss Jane Pittman as the lens. It includes struggles and triumphs, including significant events and themes of the Civil War, slavery, reconstruction, sharecropping, unequal education, abuse of power and the civil rights movement.

The film opens in 1962 as Miss Jane Pittman celebrates her 110^th birthday. Quentin Lerner, a white journalist, visits to learn her story. Through flashbacks. she recounts her life from her birth into slavery during the 1850s to living through the civil rights movement.

“This is actually a film (and book) ahead of its time,” says Phyllis Wang, Coordinator of SJCF. “History up to this period was primarily told through men, mainly white men, while this sweeping history of black Americans is told through and by a woman.”

The panel discussion of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman will be offered on Zoom on September 8 at 7 pm. Registration is required at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/sY2viih/MissJanePittman.

The film may be available free or rented to stream from Amazon Prime, AppleTV+, and other services.