A few of this year's highlights include: The Brooklyn premiere of Byron Hurt's Soul Food Junkies; a master editing workshop for emerging filmmakers with long-time editor of Spike Lee joints, Sam Pollard; a tribute to Blackside Inc., producers of acclaimed documentaries like Eyes on the Prize and Malcolm X: Make It Plain; honors for Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid; and there's more.
The festival, celebrating its 15th year, will run from October 13 to 14, at the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, LIU Brooklyn campus, at Flatbush and Dekalb Aves.
For schedule, descriptions and workshop registration, visit reelsisters.org
The full press release follows below with all the details. We'll return with highlights of specific films, especially those that we haven't previously profiled.
September, 6, 2012 (BROOKLYN, NY) – The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival celebrates 15 years on October 13th and 14th with films by women of color from across the world. The best film bargain in NYC offers an awards ceremony, a professional workshop, a panel and the Brooklyn premiere of Soul Food Junkies. This year’s honorees are pioneering actor/producer couple Tim Reid and Daphne Maxwell Reid, founders of New Millennium Studios and veteran casting director Winsome Sinclair, founder of Winsome Sinclair and Associates and co-founder of Legacy Media Group. The venue is the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, LIU Brooklyn campus, at Flatbush and Dekalb Aves. For schedule, descriptions and workshop registration, visit reelsisters.org
To cite just a few of the films screening this year, narratives include: Salay, in which a young woman desperate for an education may have to leave her father and village in Sierra Leone; White Sugar in a Black Pot, about a mother forced to make a difficult decision and The Future Wags of Great Britain, about two sisters who form a plan to get money from insider football tips. Among the docs are: The First Lady of Little Rock: Daisy Bates, about the controversial Black Civil Rights activist and feminist; Hubble Diverse Universe, profiling six Black and three Hispanic American astronomers and astrophysicists; The Cut, following a teen about to endure a rite of female circumcision in Kenya and a young woman raising her voice in protest, and Why Do You Have Black Dolls?, which introduces a community of little-known Black-doll enthusiasts and the significance of these cultural artifacts.
Reel Sisters proudly presents a tribute to Blackside Inc., producers of Eyes on the Prize, Malcolm X: Make It Plain, I'll Make Me a World and other powerhouse documentaries. A panel discussion featuring company veterans will be moderated by Emmy Award-winning producer and Columbia University professor June Cross.
This year’s Festival also offers two incredible professional opportunities: One is a master editing workshop for emerging filmmakers with Peabody Award-winning editor and Blackside producer Sam Pollard, (When the Levees Broke, Four Little Girls, Slavery By Any Other Name, Jungle Fever and Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads). It’s on Sunday, Oct 14th, 1-3pm, with registration at an affordable $35. Film industry folk have the rare opportunity to chat with Tim Reid and his wife, Daphne Maxwell Reid, known for many film and TV roles. He starred in and co-produced the beloved series Frank’s Place and directed Once Upon a Time…When We Were Colored. She was the mom on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and appeared in Protocol with Goldie Hawn. In 1997 they became two of the co-founders of New Millennium Studios, Virginia’s only full-service studio complex. Mr. Reid also founded Legacy Media Institute, devoted to mentoring, diversity, authoritative research and socially responsible media.
Every once in a while, Reel Sisters welcomes an important film not made by a woman of color. This year the Festival proudly presents Byron Hurt's award-winning PBS documentary, Soul Food Junkies. In this film Hurt, baffled by his dad's unwillingness to change his traditional soul-food diet in the face of a health crisis, sets out to learn more about this rich culinary tradition and its relevance to Black culturalidentity. He discovers that the love affair his dad and his community have with soul food is deep-rooted, complex, and in some tragic cases, deadly. There’s something for everyone at this year’s Reel Sisters Film Festival and the price can’t be beat: A two-day pass is only $25, a one day pass, $15 and a section pass is $7. These rock-bottom rates are reducedeven further for seniors, students and groups. Purchase tickets at the website(s) or by phone at one of the numbers above. Reel Sisters looks forward to celebrating 15 years with film lovers from across the tri-state area.
A Brooklyn-based film festival founded by African Voices magazine and LIU Brooklyn, Reel Sisters is dedicated to supporting women-of-color filmmakers. The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival is supported, in part, by Council Member Inez E. Dickens, 9th C.D., the New York City Council, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs, and Brooklyn Arts Council.
