Credits: Written and directed by Veronique N. Doumbe.
Synopsis: Unknown to the mainstream, Denis A. Charles became a legend on the Avant-garde Jazz scene when his drumming caught the attention of many innovative musicians like Thelonious Monk, Steve Lacy, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, Sonny Rollins and many others. The film is a story of one man's struggle to follow his dream and the obstacles he encounters in his professional as well as his personal life. Performances shot during the last two years of his life, in venues across New York City interspersed with anecdotes told by Denis A. Charles himself, family members, friends and fellow musicians illustrate Denis's cling to music while waging a battle to simply survive.
Buzz: The film has screeened in over 20 festivals and won audience and best feature awards at Detroit Docs and a CINY award for outstanding documentary.
Synopsis: This feature length music documentary explores, through conversations with various musical artists, poets, and social activists, explores the question of what good music is, and further discusses stepping outside of the industry's definition of what their music should be and how it should be represented. Is it neo-soul? What, exactly, is neo-soul? Is rap "bad" music? Has it misguided our upcoming generations? Do we have control over any of it? Over 30 signed and independent artists including Anthony David, Chamillionaire, Sticman, Van Hunt, Cody ChestnuTT, Common, Saul Williams, Lalah Hathaway, Martin Luther, David Banner, Eric Roberson, Jill Scott, and others, talk freely and openly about the music industry and how their music or image is redefined, stuffed in a box, packaged and sold. Features performances with Jill Scott, KRS-One and Omar.
Buzz: The film has recently screeened in festivals across the world and won the "Audience Choice Award" at the 2006 Atlanta Hip Hop Film Festival.
Credits: Written and directed by Joe Angio. Produced by Michael Solomon.
Synopsis: The film examines the incredible life of Melvin Van Peebles, the maverick filmmaker, musician, novelist, and theater impresario. Most people know Van Peebles as the driving force behind the revolutionary 1971 film Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song. While that revolutionary picture earned Van Peebles the title "godfather of modern black cinema," the film's impact extends far beyond blaxploitation genre conventions - Sweetback has proven to be a landmark in both American and independent cinema. Much like the film's iconoclastic hero (played by Van Peebles himself), a street-smart hustler who single-handedly topples the white Establishment (a.k.a., the Man!), Van Peebles functioned as a virtual one-man studio to make Sweetback. Besides starring in the title role, Van Peebles financed, produced, wrote, directed, scored, and distributed the picture, thich grossed more than $10 million, making it the most successful independent film of its time.
What few realize, however, is that filmmaking is but a small part of Van Peebles' remarkable life. Weaving rare archival clips with cinema verite footage and interviews shot in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris and the French countryside, the documentary traces Van Peebles' years as a budding astronomer in Amsterdam through his surprising sting on Wall Street, where he was the first black options trader on the American Stock Exchange. This film is an incisive, provocative and humorous portrait of an American original.
Buzz: The film makes its mid-Atlantic debut and premiere, along with icon himself, Melvin Van Peebles. This is a rare appearance, especially in the mid-Atlantic. The film has won Lancia Award (top prize) & audience Award - Biografilm Festival and has screened as a feature or in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary, Chicago International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Credits: Directed by Hotep, a/k/a, Hustle Simmons.
Synopsis: Independent, Doin' Major Things is a feature documentary that explores the booming artistic and entrepreneurial movements taking place in Atlanta, the "Motown of the South." The current surge of creative energy is often compared to what took place in Harlem in the early 1900s. While chronicling what history will know as The Atlanta Renaissance, independent Hip-Hop mogul Hotep, a.k.a. Hustle Simmons, exposes long-time unethical practices and industry trade secrets to the masses. 'Independent' provides insight into Atlanta's entertainment industry through the eyes of the city's movers and shakers from the worlds of art and business. Director Hustle Simmons expected to attend.
Buzz: Hotep has developed his own national touring circuit and is often requested to share his perspectives on the entertainment industry. If you have any interest in hustling and making your way in the industry, whether fashion, music, writing or film, you have got to see this film. It will humble you and make you re-think whether you have the right focus. Hotep puts it down about industry myths, truths, and making a deal. As he puts it, "where there is a will, there is a way."
Credits: Written and produced by Chris Christopher. Directed by Carvin Eison. Narrated by Roscoe Lee Browne.
Synopsis: JULY ?64 tells the story of a historic three-day race riot that erupted in two African American neighborhoods in the northern, mid-sized city of Rochester, New York. On the night of July 24, 1964, frustration and resentment brought on by institutional racism, overcrowding, lack of job opportunity and police dog attacks exploded in racial violence that brought Rochester to its knees. Directed by Carvin Eison and produced by Chris Christopher, JULY '64 combines historic archival footage, news reports and interviews with witnesses and participants to dig deeply into the causes and effects of the historic disturbance.
Buzz: With narration by Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actor Roscoe Lee Browne, JULY '64 reveals new information about the Rochester Riots and provokes the question of why race, and the entitlement it does or does not carry, remains a potentially destructive issue today.
Credits: Produced, written, directed and edited by Collis Davis.
Synopsis: Known in Jazz and poetry circles simply as Weldon and within the world of Hip Hop as Master Wel, Weldon Irvine's skills as a musician and lyricist throughout his career were well demonstrated in just about every genre of African American music. With over 500 compositions to his credit, he produced, arranged and conducted countless numbers of concerts and staged musicals that focused on Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, Be Bop, Hard Bop, Fusion, Funk, Free Jazz and Hip Hop. He worked with such artists as Miles Davis, Stanley Turrentine, Bill Jacobs, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Louis Reyes Rivera, George Edward Tait, Rich Bartee, KRS-One, Grand Master Flash, Gang Starr, Big Daddy Kane, Ice Cube, Black Star, Tree, Rah Goddess, and Mums the Schemer, to name just a few.
The documentary takes the audience through Weldon's early years from the late-1970s back to his childhood days in Virginia. Weldon talks about growing up in Hampton, Virginia, his mentors (including songstress Nina Simone, for whom he served as musical director and wrote the lyrics of the song, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black"), his personal discipline as an artist and professional gambler, as well as his quest for inner enlightenment. Throughout the film, Weldon is seen in performance at New York's The Village Gate, a studio solo piano performance, and a rousing song and dance number from one of his many musicals, "To Be Young, Gifted and Broke." Sadly, the end credits tell of Irvine's committing suicide in 2002 at the age of 59.
Buzz: This film is a must see. The footage alone tells you the depth of the films submitted to the series and the quality of the lifetime works of many filmmakers. The film closes out a powerful night which sets the groundwork for the entire February 2007 Series.
Credits: Directed by Danny Green. Written by David Diamond and Danny Green.
Synopsis: The time is the early '70s, and Harry Lesser, a Jewish-American writer, (Dylan McDermott) is the last remaining tenant in an abandoned New York apartment building. He is desperately trying to finish his novel. Unknowingly, Lesser is sharing the building with another writer. African American Willie Spearmint (Snoop Dogg) is using the quiet space to come to terms with his violent and socially oppressed past. The two men live in the building and work with and against each other to create their own specific stories. As distrust grows between the men, the uneasy friendship falls to the wayside and is replaced by jealousy, rage and violence.
Buzz: The film places you front and center with the look and feel of old school blackxploitation flicks. For many, it will be a very refreshing look back and a continued exploration into the themes of the February 2007 series. Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, sexual content and drug use.
Credits: Directed and executively produced by Jim McGorman. Produced by Susan DePalma.
Synopsis: A glimpse into the world of Nate Wiley and The Crowd Pleasers, veterans of modern jazz and house band at Bob and Barbara's Lounge in Philadelphia. Go backstage (and seemingly back in time) and meet the band in this savory and stylish short that will leave you hankering for more of this truly old school band.
Buzz: A great look at the mind and vision of jazz from the view of band members that have played for years. Jim's work in television, radio and print has garnered numerous awards in The One Show, CLIOs and ADDY Awards.
Synopsis: DIRECTOR Charlie Ahearn collaborated with two different voices in hiphop; that of the old school, represented by the legendary Grandmaster Caz, one of hiphop's founders, and that of a contemporary rapper from Tanzania who raps in Swahili. Ahearn's vision is to create a live mini-musical: a fictionalized performance video showing a hiphop performer making a pilgrimage from Africa to New York, to discover the birthplace of hiphop. Ahearn sees hiphop culture as "radical abstract form, in terms of its percussion and style", and his challenge as an artist to "represent these profound, complicated and advanced elements" visually, through his piece.
Buzz: The film will also be shown at the 5th Annual Hip-Hop Odyssey ("H2O") International Film Festival. In 1982 Charlie Ahearn directed the hip hop classic movie Wild Style. Ahearn co-authored, Yes Yes Y'all, an oral history of the first decade of hip hop with many photos. Ahearn is currently teaching a class called "Hip Hop, Art and Design" at Pace University and recently directed Busy At The Beach 4 minutes 2006 with The Chief Rocker Busy Bee.
Credits: Written by Quantae Love and directed by Chandan Gupta. Produced by Auther Tutt, William Antony, and Jhon Trujillo.
Synopsis: Environment, circumstance and unjust treatment come face to face in this thrilling dramatic short. Marcus Styles, family man and community leader, goes to the store at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and he is provided no room for explanation. Marcuse's untimely death shows that innocent citizens also need protection from unjust treatment.
Buzz: Budding actress, Janora McDuffy, plays the wife of Styles in this thought-provoking short, which challenges you to consider whether situations can happen in your ordinarily life, that are beyond your control.
Credits: Written, produced and directed by celebrity actress and dancer Yvonne Farrow.
Synopsis: While throwing out her memories, a paralyzed dance diva (now wife and mother), is confronted by her ex-lover and dance partner, who shows her that the spirit of a dancer doesn?t die with the use of her legs, forcing her to choose between her family and an artistically fulfilling life from her wheelchair.
Buzz: Winner of ABC Entertainment's Talent Development Scholarship/Grant 2003-2004, Nominated "Best Short" Pan African Film & Arts Festival 2005, Nominated Special Prize "Special Interest" Short Drama FESPACO 2005, Winner "Best Actress" Yvonne Farrow For role of Monta Cummings American Theater of Harlem Film Festival 2005.
Synopsis: Wilson Bros. Records in conjunction with Kindred Rhythm is pleased to announce the release of "MANDRILL LIVE AT MONTREUX 2002". Witness the raw magic for which MANDRILL is known. Based upon the feature length music documentary, which is a 90-minute concert recorded at the prestigious Stravinsky Hall in Switzerland, it is the very first "live" presentation of the legendary Funk/R&B/Latin/Jazz/Rock band and features a compendium of MANDRILL'S greatest hits in a one-time-only performance.
Buzz: MANDRILL'S musical repertoire of more than 16 recordings spans over 25 years of non-stop hits. The music of MANDRILL has universal appeal and transcends all musical genres. MANDRILL's signature sound can be heard on Grammy-Award-winning and nominated albums by Brandy and Kanye West. Brandy's "Talk About Our Love," produced by and featuring Kanye West from her "Afrodisiac" CD and Kanye West's "Two Words" with Mos Def from Kanye's "College Dropout" CD. The recent and ongoing sampling of MANDRILL'S tracks by the Black Eyed Peas "Weekends", Nas "Lost Tapes", Tweet and Missy Elliot "We Don't Need No Water", Floetry "Have Faith" , Kindred "If I", etc. is a testament to MANDRILL'S musical brilliance and staying power.
Credits: Written and directed by Diallo Javonne French.
Synopsis: An outstanding and powerful poetic and jazzy drama short that tells the story of a day in the life of the spiritual togetherness between a young couple.
Buzz: This short is HOTTTT! The film makes its REGIONAL PREMIERE screening.
Synopsis: Cheryl, a victim of early on set Alzheimer disease has become a burden and a source of frustration for her loving husband Jerry. Desperately needing a break from his care giving duties, Jerry escapes out of the house. Cheryl, alone, loses her tenuous grasp on reality and floats in and out of her past memories. Jerry returns to find her reliving the happiest day of her life and his - their wedding.
Buzz: Freeman continues her long lines of continued endearing works, touching the hearts and minds of others. In Remember, Freeman presents a rather endearing tale that surpasses any notion of race and class.
Synopsis: VIDEO ARTIST Meredith Danluck uses subtle editing and sound altering to reinvent choreographed movement in this rhythm-based film.
Buzz: First shown at The Margaret Mead Film Festival. The film is a hottt experimental video featuring some of the most demanded talent in the music industry, Questlove and Black Thought, of the Roots.
Credits: Written and directed by Darius Clark Monroe.
Synopsis: In TESTIFY, we discover the truth behind a broken relationship between a father, prominent Southern Baptist Pastor Cyrus Biggs, and his son Gene. After Sunday?s service, Pastor Biggs is informed by a familiar, yet unannounced visitor, that it is imperative that he goes to visit his son. The Pastor and son meet and a new revelation is revealed. Testify is outstanding and makes you reconsider your own misplaced judgments and attitudes about those close to you.
Buzz: Testify has been screened and will screen at the Texad Black Film Festival, San Diego Black Film Festival, Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Festival Du Cinema De Paris, London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Planetout Short Movie Awards Finalist, Harlem Stage on Screen, Spaghetti Junction Urban Film Festival, New Filmmakers, Redemptive Film Festival, Indie Memphis, Urban Mediamakers Film Festival, Chicago Reeling, and Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival.
Credits: Directed by Jeremiah Jahi and Produced by Jacques Durand.
Synopsis: A successful young professional meets his father for the first time, with the hope of building a relationship. He finds, instead, that invisible barriers prevail.
Buzz: The Meeting has won awards at the Black Man Film Festival and Cine Noir. It has also screened at ACT NOW Foundation Monthly Film Night, Arkansas Black Independent Film Festival, Atlanta Independent Black Film Festival, Best of African Diaspora Film Festival, BETJ: THE BEST SHORTS 2007, Hearts and Mind Film Festival, Imagenation Film Festival, Jersey City Museum Film Series, Reeling: Chicago Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival, San Diego Black Film Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival, Texas Black Film Festival, The New York African Diaspora Film Festival, Unity Film Festival, Urban Literature Film Festival, and Urban Media Makers Film Festival.
Credits: Produced and directed by Matthew LoGuercio.
Synopsis: This short film examines politically incorrect conversations in today's corporate culture and how these conversations affect others that are not African-American. It challenges you to consider whether political correctness anything but window dressing and who will stand up and affect change.
Buzz: Wins 2005 Insight Award for Human Rights Video, Wins Honorable Mention for Best in Fest,Putnam Valley Film Festival.
Credits: Written by Chantel Woolridge (15 years old) from Brooklyn, New York, directed by David Koepp, shot by Mark Benjamin and produced by Ezra Swerdlow.
Synopsis: Three best girlfriends meet a group of boys on their daily commute. Relationships form, decisions are made and each person is challenged to figure out who they are and what they want from a relationship.
Buzz: 2004 New York City contest winner, aired on Showtime, screened as part of 2005 IFP Market, Westport Youth Film Festival, Independent's Film Festival, Miami Short Film Festival, and used in school districts across the nation.
Synopsis: A gripping, unsettling and powerful film. Unable to dress, eat, move or breath on his own Antonio?s father depends on him for everything. Fourteen floors up and desperate to escape, Antonio just wont let himself leave, even while facing the challenges of adolescence and peer pressure.
Buzz: Antonio's Breakfast premiered at Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Short Film at the 59th British Academy Film Awards in January 2006. It has also won awards at Aspen, Indianapolis, Kansa, Melbourne and Newport International Film Festivals. It is the third film by director Daniel Mulloy. His first two films also won BAFTA's. It stars the actor George Irving. Awards List:
BAFTA Award Best Short Film (UK)
Aspen Shortsfest Award Best Short Film (US)
Newport IFF Jury Award Best Short Film (US)
Kansas Filmmakers Jubilee Grand Jury Award Best Short Film (US)
Indianapolis IFF Award Best European Short Film (US)
Sapporo SFF Grand Prix Award Best Director (JP)
Indielisboa IFF Onda Curta Award Best Short Film (Port)
IMAGO ISFF Official Competition Clix Young European Director Award (Port)
Clermont-Ferrand SFF Jury Special Mention (Fr)
Melbourne IFF Highly Commended Fiction Award (Aus)
Odense IFF Grand Jury Special Mention (Den)
Shadowline Salerno IFF Jury Special Mention (It)
Palmares d'Aubagne IFF Grand Jury Special Mention (Fr)
Credits: Written by 17 year-old Katrina Garcia from Miami, Florida. Directed by Jamie Babbit, shot by Jules LaBarthe, and produced by Andrea Sperling.
Synnopsis: A smart, beautiful and popular girl rediscovers her true identity and takes the hard steps toward improving her self-respect and tackling her eating disorder.
Buzz: 2004 Miami Contest winner, aired on Showtime and local public cable channels across the country, screened at 2005 Cine Las Americas Film Festival, T Tauri Film Festival, Reel Venus Film Festival, Independent's Film Festival, and Miami Short Film Festival, Used in school districts across the nation.
Credits: Directed and produced by Jonathan Goodman Levitt.
Synopsis: Errol is a youth worker in one of the UK's most troublesome neighborhoods for gang violence. When this violence is brought home to the 'club' where Errol works, he remembers how he escaped the gang life himself. Filmed in just two days with Errol and his family, Gangbreaker is a snapshot of a survivor of some of London's meanest streets.
Buzz: This film is critical to understanding the universal application of many problems with youth that we are faced with in the United States. Jonathan Goodman Levitt studied art, philosophy & psychology at Stanford, where he founded Stanford Film Society in 1995. Raised in New Jersey, he moved to London in 1999 with the support of a Fulbright Scholarship.
Credits: Directed by Kyle Halle-Erby and Lendl Tellington
Synopsis: Baltimore teenagers show integrity and determination as they protest against the budget cuts, teacher shortages, and a multi-billion-dollar deficit that have lowered the quality of education they deserve.
Buzz: An important film to relay how important being active and involved in organizations can be for young adults. Screened in numerous conferences throughout Maryland, educational programs, and several festivals, including, Urban Visionaries Film Festival, Westport Youth Film Festival, Youth Video Summerfest, Atlanta Film Festival, and Chicago International Film Festival.
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Richard, a teenager of Cantonese decent, tries hard to fit into his adoptive Welsh home. Lorna, his little sister, intrigued by Richard's background, loves all things Chinese. One morning on the school bus Lorna's nagging disrupts Richard's routine and he is thrown into the situation he fears the most. His instincts take over.
Buzz: Human relations between people in the closed countryside are depicted through the setting of a school bus that runs through dreamlike mountains. The film is Daniel Mulloy's second work and it received the ARTE Grand Prix at the Hamburg International Film Festival 2005. The director has also won the BAFTA Wales (British Academy of Film and Television Arts Wales) Best Newcomer 2001 and Best Short 2005. Awards List:
BAFTA Cymru Award Best Short Film (UK)
Hamburg IFF ARTE Prix Best Short Film (Ger) Con-Can Global Audience Award (Jp) Con-Can Tamashii Award (Jp) Sapporo SFF Grand Prix Award Best Director (Jp) Concorto IFF Golden Donkey Best Short Film (It)
Pol-8 IFF Grand Prix Best Film (Pol)
Bucharest ISFF Award for Best Cinematography (Rom) Canadian IFF Star Award (Can)
