If you missed numbers 1 and 2 in this series (Andrew Dosunmu's Ma'George, and Shola Lynch's Free Angela), click HERE and HERE.
Number 3 on that list is Byron Hurt's Soul Food Junkies, also a film we've covered on S&A in the last 12 months or so. Our most recent post on the film (in November) was on a post-production fundraiser. Byron was trying to raise $25,000 to help fund a portion of the costs for editing, motion graphics, sound design and other expenses. And if I recall correctly he surpassed that amount, so good for him.
Many of you will be familiar Byron's classic 2006 documentary, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, which looked at manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hip-hop culture.
He returns here with what I expect will be another eye-opener, that, this time, asks the question, "Is African American culture a culture of soul food junkies?"
Further, it explores "the dark side of the food industry and the growing food justice movement that has been born in its wake."
The subject matter is certainly topical, and Mr Hurt has proven that he can be provocative with his work, not at all ambivalent about tackling challenging material and asking questions that others would rather avoid. It's also a project Byron has been working on for about 3 years now. So I expect another enlightening, stimulating, thought-provoking and even entertaining 120 or so minutes of documentary reporting that explores, amongst other things, the health advantages and disadvantages of what we call Soul Food.
A trailer and extended preview of the doc circulated the web earlier last year, with good results.
Where might it debut? Really not sure. I'd guess on the film festival circuit; Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. Although it could very well be one of those films that bypasses festival play and gets picked up after a few private/preview screenings.
The film has long had an expected release date of some time in 2012.
And if you haven't seen any footage from it yet, watch below (now let me go eat something):
