Harlem, New York, February 28, 2013 – Creatively Speaking™ ,
the curated film series with a seventeen year record of presenting the best in
films by and about people of color, celebrates
Women’s History Month with a two-part series.
“The Feminine Mystique: Women Filmmakers Speak” begins with a Premiere
presentation of “School of my Dreams” by
Deborah Santana and Barbara Rick on Sunday, March 10th at 4pm. The
series in its regular monthly launch begins at the new MIST Harlem Cinemas, March
15th through 17th. The internationally renowned series,
created and curated by Michelle Materre, has made its new quarters at MIST Harlem,
46 West 116th Street (between Lenox and Fifth Avenues), New York
City — the new home for independent cinema from the African, Caribbean and
Latino Diasporas.
Over
the past 17 years, Creatively Speaking has become known as the leading film series
presenting independently produced media that conveys a realistic, universal
portrayal of people of color to a broad spectrum of audiences within local communities
and beyond. The film series prides itself on its dedication to diversity and
social responsibility as the core mission of its efforts.
With
this, Creatively Speaking brings together a handpicked selection of
high quality, entertaining and informative films and videos representing the diverse
breadth and depth of people of the African, Caribbean and Latino Diasporas. Kicking
off the February programming, the series celebrates
both contemporary and historical documentaries from across the Diaspora, as
well as love stories about black and brown people.
Curator Michelle Materre states, “We are thrilled to launch our
series on a monthly basis at the place that will quickly become known as the
“home” for independent cinema for people of color in New York City — MIST Harlem. As is the Creatively Speaking tradition, the
stories presented are those that everyone can relate to on some level, yet are
unique in ways to communities of color that people do not often think about.
Join us in February for the first of our new monthly programs!”
The
March program will feature 2 premieres — the World Premiere of School of My Dreams by Barbara Rick and Deborah Santana, a
portrait of the teenage students of Daraja Academy, a free Kenyan boarding
school for exceptional girls demonstrating how education is expanding their
vision and unlocking their dreams; and the New York Premiers of The Silent
Treatment by Martine Jean, a unique period piece, where a young woman is giving
her cheating man “the silent treatment”. Also highlighted is an appearance by the Diva of Calypso, Calypso
Rose: A Lionness in the Jungle . Courtesy of Women Make Movies, we are
screening a
creative documentary film not only about memory and the exchange and discovery
of world cultures, but also about the journey of a remarkable woman, an
Afro-Caribbean soul and an exemplary artist. Rose will be present for the Q&A for the
film, followed by an abbreviated performance. As
always, each screening is followed by a highly interactive and engaging Q&A
with filmmakers, actors, scholars and the audience.
Join us on Facebook for the complete film descriptions and schedule. See links
below to video clips for the March 2013
Creatively Speaking Series Program:
· Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter by Sabrina Gordon http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi3182167065/
·
Mosquita y Mari by Aurora Guerrero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INOiiC7lIDU
· Calypso Rose by Pasquale Obolo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzCPDBA3So
· Little Brother by Nicole Franklin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq9YX3saKjI&list=PLDC2006F5E1D67F3B&index=2
· I am Sean Bell: Stacey Muhammad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwZOjj-u2P0
· For Colored Boys: Stacey Muhammad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFaNHrJM5Rs&list=UU_AMsm-o0pTA4hEJFz7cZiA&index=2 (episode 1)
· Present and Unaccounted for: Black Women in Medicine
By Crystal Emery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbwvncxRVYE
· Say Grace before Drowning by Nikyatu Jusu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTv3jiYPH2k
· The Silent Treatment
by Martine Jean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thahtF7hQ9c
· Busted on Brigham Lane by Talibah Newman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_NyAMW9AhA
Join us for what is always a moving,
thought-provoking weekend of sights and sounds from across the Diaspora–some
works you may have heard of, never seen, or excited to see again — all with an exciting and interactive conversation to follow.
Creatively Speaking
Program Schedule
March 10th and March 15th -17th
2013 –
“The Feminine Mystique: Women Filmmakers Speak”
Sunday, March 10th
4pm – World Premiere – “School of My
Dreams”
By Executive Producer Deborah Santana and
filmmaker Barbara Rick – (2012) 14 mins.
A
portrait of the teenage students of Daraja Academy, a free Kenyan boarding
school for exceptional girls living in poverty. In their own words and
art, Daraja’s first graduating class demonstrates how education is expanding
their vision and unlocking their dreams. The young women who graduate
from this school emerge committed to transforming their communities and
the world.
Screening with
“Girls of Dajara” by Deborah
Santana and Barbara Rick – (2010) 14 mins.
Daraja Academy is a revolutionary idea – a secondary
school where remarkable Kenyan girls, otherwise forgotten due to the lack
of school fees, are given the one thing they desire most… a chance to succeed. Daraja Academy and its supporters believe
educated girls can transcend poverty and as a result…change the world.
Q&A with
filmmakers, school members and followed by a reception
Friday, March 15th
4pm – Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter –Sabrina
Gordon, co-producer/editor – (2009) 60 mins.
Mrs. Goundo is fighting to remain in the United States. But it’s
not just because of the ethnic conflict and drought that has plagued her native
Mali. Threatened with deportation, her two-year-old daughter could be forced to
undergo female genital mutilation (FGM), like 85 percent of women and girls in
Mali. Using rarely cited grounds for political asylum, Goundo must convince an
immigration judge that her daughter is in danger. Sensitive and moving,
this important film reveals how women are profoundly affected by the legal
struggles surrounding immigration. As issues of asylum, international law and
human rights collide with FGM and its devastating health consequences; Mrs.
Goundo challenges beliefs and battles the American legal system for her child’s
future. (Available from Women Make Movies, www.wmm.com)
6:30pm – Mosquita y Mari by Aurora Guerrero
– (2012) 71 mins.
Mosquita y
Mari is a coming of age story that focuses on a blossoming friendship between
two young Chicanas, Yolanda and Mari. Growing up in immigrant households in Los
Angeles, both girls are expected to prioritize the well-being of their
families. When they move across the street from one another, their friendship
grows into a routine until an incident at school thrusts them into unknown
territory. Mounting pressures at home collide with their new-found connection,
forcing them to choose between their obligations to others and staying true to
themselves.
8:15pm – Girls Night
Out – short narratives – Part 1
Little Brother by Nicole Franklin and
Jasmin Tiggett – episodes 1 and 2 – 34
mins
Described as a
“conversation that will save a generation,” Little Brother: Things Fall Apart”
is the first chapter in a series of short documentary films dedicated to giving
Black boys a unique voice. Set in Camden, New Jersey, known as one of the
nation’s most dangerous cities, the film takes a look at Black boys as young as
nine years old for a one-on-one conversation demystifying what society tends to
rob them of: LOVE. The
film takes a look at boys, aged nine to thirteen years old, growing up amongst
extreme violence, poverty and crime, and explores their feelings on love and
relationships set against impossible odds. (available from Third World
Newsreel, www.TWN.org)
For Colored Boys by Stacey Muhammad – (2012)
17 mins
For Colored
Boys
is a dramatic web series of short stories that follow the lives of seven
African American men from various walks of life as they
navigate and overcome challenges,
face their fears, find their truth, mend broken
relationships, find love, build families and inspire
the lives of many. We will screen episode 1.
I Am Sean Bell by Stacey Muhammad – (2009) 10
mins
“This short
documentary, I Am Sean Bell: Black Boys Speak by Stacey Muhammad is exactly what it sounds
like. Black boys (between the ages of 11 and 13), along with their
parents, speak about the brutal murder of Sean Bell by police officers,
the effect it has had on their communities, and their heartbreaking fear,
spurned by growing up as young black men in our racist society, of Sean Bell’s
fate someday being theirs.” From Feministe
blog, January ‘09
Present and Unaccounted for: Black Women in
Medicine by Crystal Emery –work-in-progress – 9 mins.
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Dr.
Muriel Petioni, Dr. Jennifer Ellis, Dr. Claudia Thomas — what do these four
women have in common? They were all once young women without an idea of how to
live out their lives. The choices they made led them to become doctors whose
lives are inspirational stories of groundbreaking accomplishments in the
medical field. Filming for Present
and Unaccounted For: Black Women in Medicine has begun. This documentary does more
than just relate their stories. This documentary will inspire and motivate. It
will appeal to both young people and adults, and gain their belief that they
can achieve the impossible, even in the midst of seemingly insurmountable odds.
The stories of these women will remind us that the greatest power to achieve
and change our world lies within each one of us.
Saturday, March 16th
4pm – Mosquita y Mari
6:30pm – Girls Night Out – short narratives – Part 2
Say Grace Before Drowning by Nikyatu Jusu – (2010)19 mins
After meeting her
African Refugee mother for the first time in six years, 8 year old Hawa is
forced to coexist with a woman teetering on the brink of insanity.
Busted on Brigham Lane by Talibah Newman – (2010)
24 mins
A young teenage girl
takes precariously creative measures to reconcile her relationship with her
estranged father for her 18th birthday and discovers that he is a different man
than she remembers.
Dirty Laundry by Cristina Ibarra –
(2000) 15 mins
Set in the border town of El Paso, TX, 12-year-old Sandra faces
up to her family’s traditional rituals. As preparations are underway for her
cousin’s 15th birthday debutante ball (Quincinera)and Catholic mass, Sandra sneaks away during her
mother’s daily telenovela to embark on her own private soap
opera…dirty laundry. Made from a collection of home movies, telenovelas and the
filmmaker’s own fiction, the story looks at an American girl’s sexual
coming-of-age in a Mexican American family.
The Silent
Treatment by Martine Jean – (2011) 9 mins
In this charming
re-enactment of a 1920’s “silent movie”, a young woman catches her husband
cheating with another woman and decides to give him “the silent treatment”. The
question is, will this indiscretion enhance or destroy their love?
Our Rhineland by Faren Humes – (2009) 17
mins.
This period piece follows two mixed-race sisters during the Third Reich
era. Sofia Massaquoi decides to expose the Nazi regime’s covert operations
after she witnesses her sister undergo a compulsory sterilization. But her
plans are halted when she has a run-in with an officer and together, the
sisters must make the most difficult decision of their lives in order for the
resistance to continue.
8:15pm – Calypso Rose by Pasquale Obolo,
(2011) 85mins; Tanya Meding, producer.
An exuberant and inspiring ambassador for the
Caribbean, Calypso Rose is the uncontested and much decorated diva of Calypso
music. With more than 800 recorded songs, she continues to be a pioneer and
champion of women’s rights, as she travels the world making music.
French-Cameroonian filmmaker Pascale Obolo spends four years with Calypso Rose
on a very personal journey. Traveling to Paris, New York, Trinidad and Tobago
and to her ancestral home in Africa, we learn more about Calypso Rose in each
place, and the many faces and facets of her life. The daughter of an illiterate
Trinidadian fisherman, Calypso Rose was one of ten children, who at the age of
9 was sent to live with relatives in Tobago. At 15 she wrote her first song and
launched a career that took her to the top of the male-dominated calypso world.
This creative film is not only about memory and the exchange and discovery of
world cultures, but also about the journey of a remarkable woman, an
Afro-Caribbean soul and an exemplary artist. (available from Women Make Movies,
www.wmm.com)
Sunday, March 17th
3pm – Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter
5pm – Girls Night Out
– Part 1
7pm – Girls Night Out – Part 2
Shorts Programs:
Girls Night
Out – Part 1 – 70 mins
·
Little Brother – episodes 1 and 2 – 34 mins
·
For Colored Boys – 17 mins
·
I Am Sean Bell – 10 mins
·
Present and Unaccounted for: Black Women in
Medicine – 9 mins.
Girls Night
Out – Part 2 – 74 mins
·
Say Grace Before Drowning – 19 mins
·
Busted in Brigham Lane – 24 mins
·
Dirty Laundry – 15 mins
·
The Silent Treatment – 9 mins
·
Our Rhineland – 17 mins.
