The Black Diaspora Film Festival celebrates African American cinema by highlighting established and emerging filmmakers and films while showcasing the contributions and uniqueness of the Black artistic tradition in film. Our film selection embodies the richness of Black culture, recognizing universal themes and the similarities that exist among all cultures- St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc.
Friday, February 15, 2008
7:00 PM
DURHAM: A SELF PORTRAIT
90 mins
Q& A Immediately Following Film Screening
Andrea Harris, Chuck Watts & R. Kelley Bryant
Durham, North Carolina: caught in the headlights of the national media. A city wracked by racial and class divisions?, … or just another victim of stereotyping?
For the past three years, we have been developing a documentary f1lm on the history of one of the South’s most remarkable communities. The Durham story attracted us because it mirrors America’s own amazing journey over the past century, in all its glory and vexation. With over 70 interviews completed, and rarely-seen archival footage, we are set to premiere a whole new look at the “real Durham.” The theme? That Durham in fact has lived the American story of race and class, and just may once again have something to say about where we are going as a nation.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
10:00 AM
ADOPTED BY ALIENS
60 mins
A 12 year old orphan named Whitney Ward dreams of the perfect family. Her wish is answered in the form of a clan of extraterrestrials; now she must cope with both her school-life and the black sheep of her new family, the villainous Uncle Q.
11:00 AM
WORMHEAD
13 mins
Jesse is excited about entering the second grade – she has both a new teacher her old friends Terry and Anne! This year, there is a new girl in class, Nia, and she and Jesse make friends right away. But there is something different about Nia, and Terry and Anne don’t like it. How can Jesse keep her old friends and her new one?
Wormhead is a wonderful, gentle story about accepting people as they are. Fear, suspicion and dislike are transformed by the simple act of talking, a reminder that is as important for adults as it is for children. The tender images work flawlessly & Rich McKeown’s music blends perfectly to enrich this DVD. The soothing cadence of Zoelle Mongomery’s voice truly brings Wormhead to life.
Wormhead recently garnered the 2007 NAPPA Honors Award and won “Best Animation” at the 2007 Texas Black Film Festival. This DVD has also been featured at the 2006 Cannes Shorts Corner as well as fourteen other official film festival screenings. Clients include the United Federation of Teachers in New York, as well as the UFT Teacher Center arm, the largest local union in the United States.
11:15 AM
OBARA & THE MERCHANTS
9 mins
Obara the Hunter hunts for food while his village suffers from famine. Finally, success, Obara gets an animal. But Three hungry merchants approach his compound. What will Obara do? Starring the voice of ‘Last Comic Standing’ Alonzo Bodden. Set in Nigeria ‘Obara and the Merchants’, recounts the traditional Yoruba tale about the Great Hunter’s encounter with a group of travelling merchants. The piece, adapted from the book written by Michelle Bodden, is appropriate for children ages 0-10, or for adults who interested in learning more Yoruba, or sharing these traditional religious stories with their children. ‘This is a great way for parents to give their children a character-building lesson with an African cultural base. For people who know nothing about the religion, this is a reaffirming story about the value of honesty and kindness.
11:30 AM
DEX DAVIS- CHILD OF GOD… THE COVER UP
33 mins
Dex Davis: Child of God! is an anointed animated series that’s not just for entertainment only, but it’s a MINISTRY created to glorify God and to proclaim and teach the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The lessons learned from the experiences of the characters come straight from the Word of God, which is the ultimate Truth (St. John 17:17). Dex Davis: Child of God! is about a real Christian kid who faces real issues in a real world, and how total dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God is the only sure way to face and conquer all of those issues. The main purpose of “Dex Davis: Child of God!” is to be used by God to save souls and build His Kingdom (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Luke 4:18).
12:00 Noon
DOUBLE DUTCH DIVAS
30 mins
*The Double Dutch Divas!* is the short film derived from the award-winning feature-length *I Was Made To Love Her: the Double Dutch Documentary* which follows three different generations of women jumping rope. The Double Dutch Divas are the oldest of these jumpers. Women with names like Spirit, Smooth, Faith, Heart, Spice, Joy, Sassy and Lady Di are the core of the Double Dutch Divas, a team that has mastered the art of jumping and dancing double Dutch during their twenty years together. They are a real life example of sisterhood at its best. Giving show stopping performances in the United States and abroad, they bring fitness and fun to a multitude of people of all ethnicities. Coming from Nicole and her management team….
The game of double Dutch is an urban game where two ropes turn simultaneously in egg-beater fashion and one or more persons jump in the middle. Practiced and performed by both women and men, it is still a game where women shine. Age doesn’t stop a Double Dutch Diva. The oldest jumper is forty-nine. They’re married, they’re single, they’re mothers, they’re stress-ridden career people-they never allow the word “can’t” into their vocabulary. Thus, nothing keeps them from taking back their childhood and inspiring audiences everywhere.
12:30 PM
HYPERMAN
30 mins
Special Guest Producer, Russell Robinson
Q & A Immediately Following Screening
1:30 PM
GATEKEEPERS
10 mins.
Special Guest Director, Larry Eure & Jimmy Wilder
Q & A Immediately Following Screening
2:15 PM
GLOOMY GIRLS
12 mins
*Director/Writer: *Teri Burnette, Joseph Williams (poem)
*Producer: *Teri Burnette, Beverly Burnette *Synopsis: *Gloomy Gyrl is a stop-animated short film about a young woman who is trying to leave her mentally and physically abusive boyfriend. We have this film from this local filmmaker in my collection as well…
2:30 PM
THROUGH MARTHA’S EYES
42 mins
This film, based in part on historical events, tells the story of Martha, a young African American woman sold into slavery in 1856 to work and live at the Shawnee Mission Indian School in Territorial Kansas. Thinking there were no enslaved people in Kansas, and that she would soon be set free, Martha travels from Missouri to her new home at the school. She soon finds out things are much different than she thought. Martha is confronted with the culturalization of Native American children and is witness to early skirmishes in Kansas which ultimately lead to Civil War. Romance, friendship, and defiance all come together for a dramatic conclusion to this powerful story from the American frontier. Written by Chuck Cranston
3:15 PM
LIFTED
75 mins
Randall Dottin’s new film about a young mother dancer who meets her spiritual guardian on a subway station platform after she abandons her child.
4:40 PM
A- ALIKE
29 mins
By Randall Dottin – A businessman and his ex-con brother reveal their feelings about each other. Very revealing film about stereotypes and how people are perceived in my opinion….
5:15 PM
DOLLS
20 mins
Special Guest Director, Dante James
Q & A Immediately Following Screening
In the spring of 2007, he produced and directed a dramatic short film, an adaptation of a short story by the great African-American writer, Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932). The film and a curriculum guide explore issues of revenge; violence and responsibility to family and community and will be available to middle and high school classes across the nation. Danté James is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. He was recognized, as distinguished alumnus in 1994 and in December 2007 the university will award him an honorary PhD. He also has a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies Degree from Duke University. His courses in this interdisciplinary program included studying creative writing at Oxford University in England.
6:30 PM
MR. BONES
90 mins
Special Guest Director, Nathan Ross Freeman
Q & A Immediately Following Screening
When three children survive a bus crash that kills their parents, their childhood dies as well until they find an unlikely partner in grief at the shallow grave of a long lost child in the woods of a desolate park.
MR. BONES marks the feature film directorial debut of author and educator Nathan Ross Freeman, and features an ensemble cast of young actors from his landmark performing arts program, The Winston-Salem Youth Arts Institute. Filmed over three years on a shoestring budget, MR. BONES presents a stirring tableau of the modern African American experience.
We witness our three heroes’ passage into adulthood and join them in the turbulent present: Devin is an architect, torn between his hard-scrabble roots and his wife’s middle-class yearnings. Dionne has buried herself in the accounting ledgers of her church and somehow forgotten to find love. And Dominique is a superstar comedienne whose acts hew closer to reality than her fans can realize. They share a secret – MR. BONES – whose final resting place they’ve enshrined with their own memories and kept closely guarded for nearly 30 years.
But their secret can’t stay hidden forever, and when the authorities finally stumble across it, Devin, Dionne and Dominique will finally have to put their traumatic past in its proper place. Hounded by the press, police, pastors and relations, “The Three Ds” begin spiraling toward a showdown at the altar of their dreams, regrets, lost loves and ultimate salvation.
8:45 PM
TORN
90 mins
Special Guest, April Mials, Producer, Angela Ray, Actress
Q & A Immediately Following Screening
Juanita Baxter is a mother of two, living with her mother and making ends meet as best she can. Bernard Bexter, her estranged husband was sentenced to prison years ago. Russell, Juanita’s wealthy boyfriend, knocks her ff her feet with a sweeping marriage proposal. Just as the two prepare to tie the knot, Bernard is paroled and shows up on Juanita’s doorstep. Now Juanita is Torn between two men and tow new lives-one of comfort, financial security and stability, or one in which she must rebuild and rekindle trust and faith. She must make the right decision for both herself and her tow children, while setting an example for her son Tyrell.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
A TRIBUTE TO ST. CLAIR BOURNE
Acclaimed filmmaker St. Clair Bourne passed away at the age of 64. The documentarian, who died from complications following surgery, had been working on a film about civil rights photographer Ernest Withers, in addition to a film about the Black Panthers. Bourne’s many films included “Making ‘Do the Right Thing’,” “Paul Robeson: Here I Stand!,” Let the Church Say Amen,” “In Motion: Amiri Baraka,” “The Black and the Green,” “Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper,” “New Orleans Brass,” and “John Henrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk,” among numerous others. A biography on his own website indicates that St. Clair Bourne was born in Harlem on February 16, 1943. After a time in the Peace Corps, Bourne studied filmmaking at Columbia University, but was subsequently expelled for demonstrating on campus. Shortly thereafter, he produced public television’s first Black public affairs program, “Black Journal,” later forming the film collective, Chamba. He served as a guest lecturer at the UCLA film department in the mid-70s, created documentaries for L.A.’s KCET and was on the selection committee of the Los Angeles film festival, FILMEX.
2:00 PM
HALF PAST AUTUMN
91 mins
HALF PAST AUTUMN: THE LIFE AND WORKS OF GORDON PARKS is a comprehensive and insightful look at the life and works of one of the 20th century’s most prolific and diverse artists: Gordon Parks. The feature-length film chronicles his entire life, ranging from his early childhood in Fort Scott, Kansas, through his journey to become a preeminent figure in photography, fiction, poetry, music and filmmaking.
This candid portrait also explores America’s social history through the life and work of a man who has witnessed watershed moments in American history, and shows how his work has contributed to a deeper understanding of those moments.
3:45 PM
JOHN HENRIK CLARK: A Great & Mighty Walk
90 mins
This is documentary, narrated by actor Wesley Snipes, consists mostly of John Henrik Clarke, the late Chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter Studies, attempting to rewrite history with an extreme, Afrocentric bent, all the while spewing his hatred and contempt for the white man. The scholarship of Mr. Clarke is dubious at best, often laughable, and downright dishonest much of the time. He takes little grains of truth about ancient history, especially where Egypt is concerned, and embellishes these truths to the point where real history as it happened becomes unrecognizable. If you’re looking for a scholarly history lesson, it should be stated that ‘John Henrik Clark: A Great and Mighty Windbag (er, uh, Walk)’ is NOT a credible source to seek such knowledge and understanding. However, those seeking a good and hearty laugh need look no further. This documentary is guaranteed to provide a laugh a minute, if not more. For mature audience.
5:30 PM
REBOUND, THE LEGEND OF EARL “THE GOAT” MANIGAULT
120 mins
Based on the true story of Harlem street basketball legend Earl “The Goat” Manigault, whose drug addiction destroyed his hopes of a professional basketball career, but who went on to become one of Harlem’s most influential citizens after his recovery from drug abuse. This video is a must for every young student. It is a story of how destructive it is to get involved with the wrong group, and how this can have devastating effects on one’s life. It is also the story of how one man was able to rise above his circumstances and to go on to help children and to be a role model and to exploit the talent that God had given him.
7:30 PM
JOE JACKSONS TRAIL
57 mins
Through the story of Joe Jackson and his family, this film examines the history of African Americans in the South.
Joe Jackson was born in 1886 in Halifax County, Virginia at a time when African Americans were legally free, but still feeling the horrors of slavery. The walls of racism impeded their ability to do the most basic things: attend school, own property, make a living and raise a family.
Born to a former slave, Joe left home at the age of seventeen to work in the coalmines of West Virginia with the intention of saving enough money to buy his own land. At a time when land ownership by African Americans was uncommon, Joe Jackson eventually became one of the largest individual landowners in Southern Virginia. He owned a thriving farm and leased land to sharecroppers, both black and white, and continued to succeed during and after The Depression. Mr. Jackson established a school for African American children on his property, assuring the education of his children and other African Americans at the height of Jim Crow.
Joe Jackson’s Trail is a film about the legacy of one man’s accomplishments that live on long after his passing.
8:30 PM
PROMISE
The story is about an overbearing mother seeking to uncover the truth behind her daughter’s life-threatening nightmares – a truth that could destroy her marriage. Other WIFTA members involved in the project include board members Kathy Mathes as Production Coordinator, and Melissa Randle as Script Supervisor.
DEGREES
60 mins
PREMIUM
97 mins
By Pete Chatmon – Reginald “Cool” Coolidge is a struggling actor, fed up with taking stereotypical African American roles and waiting for his big break in a legitimate production. Until this time comes, he works at his mother’s boyfriend’s gas station to repay him for covering his college tuition. One day at the station, his ex-fiancée – and one true love- reappears at the pumps after 3 years of silence. Cool discovers that it is 36 hours until her wedding to a local lawyer. As Cool embarks on last-ditch attempts to win her back he takes on the biggest “role” of his life while also learning the secret to mastering his craft. Should be coming from Pete, but if not I can access it through a variety of sources locally…….
