‘LITTLE HEARTS’ ENDS BLACK FILMFORUM SERIES

Filmforum’s “Principles of Freedom: Contemporary Black Independent Film” concludes tonight at 8 at the Wallenboyd Theater with Billy Woodberry’s “Bless Their Little Hearts” (1984).

The film was written and photographed by Charles Burnett, maker of the remarkable “Killer of Sheep,” which launched this series.

There’s a more raw and direct quality to this film, which like the earlier picture deals with a black family man (Nate Hardman) struggling to make ends meet. In a deeply compassionate yet unrelenting manner, “Bless Their Little Hearts” reveals the growing desperation of Hardman’s amiable Charlie in his search for work. This film is not as sophisticated visually as “Killer of Sheep,” but it cuts deeply. Both deserve far wider release. Playing with “Bless Their Little Hearts” is Iverson White’s 28-minute “Dark Exodus,” a succinct study of the impact of a lynching upon a black family, set against the Northern migration of blacks in the early decades of the century. Information: (213) 276-7452, (714) 628-7331.