DATE: Saturday, November 15th
TIME: 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
LOCATION: Plaza Theatre, LeFont Auditorium
PRICE: $15
Once Advanced tickets are sold out. Standby may be available in person at showtime.
The Atlanta Film Society is proud to present the Atlanta premiere of THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR in its glorious 4K restoration. Based on the best-selling novel by Sam Greenlee, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR is certainly among the most radical major-release pictures of the 70s. An overnight success upon its 1973 premiere, the film shortly disappeared from theaters almost entirely, with some even alleging direct government suppression.
This screening will include an after-film panel discussion with participants including Natiki Hope Pressley (daughter of author and co-writer Sam Greenlee) and Nomathandé Dixon (daughter of director Ivan Dixon), who worked with the Library of Congress to restore this nearly-lost classic of Black independent filmmaking.
Restored by The Library of Congress and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
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The first Black CIA agent completes rigorous agency training, then uses that knowledge to plot a Black revolution.
One of the most daring political films of the 1970s, THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR embodies as much social significance today as it did upon its initial release. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name written by Sam Greenlee, the film adaptation explores what director Ivan Dixon considered to be “... a fantasy. But a fantasy that everybody felt, every Black male, particularly.” The hero of the story is Dan Freeman, the fictiona,l mild-mannered first Black CIA agent, who uses his specialized paramilitary training to organize a Black revolution.
Due to its historical and cultural significance, the film was added to the National Film Registry in 2012. Originally an independent film co-produced by Dixon and Greenlee with funds raised within the black community, the filmmaking process encountered a number of fits and starts along the way, including being denied film permits in what was then Mayor Daley’s Chicago. It was the neighboring Gary, Indiana (at the time led by its first African American mayor, Richard G. Hatcher) that provided the backdrop for the film’s explosive riot scenes, while stealthily grabbed hand-held shots on the streets of Chicago established the windy city as the story’s setting.
With the production running out of resources, it was the savvy cutting and packaging of early action footage, intentionally misrepresenting the film as a typical 70s era Blaxploitation flick, which led to the acquisition of completion funds and a distribution deal with United Artists.
After a limited-city initial release, with record-setting audiences at the height of the Black Power movement, the film was quickly pulled from theaters. The content was found to be more than explosive in terms of its thought-provoking messages, examining not only the political injustices in the United States but also the more subtle social layers within the African American experience. Dixon once said, “The Spook said everything I ever wanted to say about race in a film.”
About the Panelists
This screening will include an after-film panel discussion with participants, including Natiki Hope Pressley (daughter of author and co-writer Sam Greenlee) and Nomathandé Dixon (daughter of director Ivan Dixon), who worked with the Library of Congress to restore this classic of Black independent filmmaking.
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Nomathandé Dixon, daughter of director Ivan Dixon, is a recently retired banking executive who originally started her career in the film and television industry. Nomathandé occasionally ventures back into film projects and directed the documentary Lincoln Academy: A Retrospective 1948-1950, an homage to the black boarding school her father attended in North Carolina. Currently, she is honored to have dedicated her efforts to preserving and now sharing the striking restoration of her father’s 1973 film classic The Spook Who Sat by the Door.
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Natiki Hope Pressley is a visionary leader blending education, media, and cultural legacy. Her educational journey started at Howard University and continued at Alliance University for her MBA. She brings over 20 years of experience in education, finance, and public relations to develop transformative initiatives that empower underserved communities. As the founder of SGJ Legacy, she honors her father, Sam Greenlee Jr., and elevates voices through storytelling, innovation, and a strong commitment to faith, purpose, and justice.
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Panel moderator, Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. (she/her) has built a dynamic career in film and television production, scholarship, and entrepreneurship. Most recently, she produced a podcast on Black culture in Atlanta for the BBC’s Arts Hour (2024) and a TV episode for the BBC’s Travel Show (2025), examining travel in Alabama and Georgia 60 years after passage of the Voting Rights Act. A trained journalist, Nsenga is the founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning global news site The Burton Wire. An expert in intersectionality and media, Dr. Burton is a professor of Communication and Film at Tuskegee University. A member of NABJ, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, and the Atlanta Film Critics Circle, Dr. Burton’s work bridges media, social commentary, education, and social justice.