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In the absence of the former head of ActNow Foundation, Aaron Ingram, who passed away last year, a hat-tip to Curtis Caesar John (who also does the This Week In Black TV posts here on S&A) and Marty Majeske, the legal eagle, and man behind the curtain, for keeping this ship moving straight ahead.

And I'm glad to be a part of it all, as the New Voices In Black Cinema Festival, presented by BAMcinématek and ActNow Foundation, in its 3rd year, is quickly becoming a festival that demands your attention.

Running from February 15 – 18, at BAM Rose Cinemas, this should be a good year, with 10 New York premieres include several films that we've highlighted here on S&A in the last 12 months, like: Alain Gomis’ Aujourd’hui (Tey), Russ Parr’s The Undershepherd, Alfons Adetuyi’s High Chicago, Neil Drumming’s Big Words, Chinonye Chukwu’s alaskaLand, Andy Mundy-Castle’s The Fade and others.

As I usually do, I'll be highlighting some of the films in this year's lineup – especially those that we haven't written a lot about – like Andy Mundy-Castle’s The Fade.

Call it Barbershop, unscripted. We've seen the feature documentary, and it's a good one. Fresh, refreshing, and well-made.

Titled, simply, The Fade, the feature-length documentary is as an intimate portrait of four black barbers from different parts of the world (one in Ghana, another in Jamaica, the USA, and the UK), followed over the course of seven days in their professional and personal lives.

Hopefully, that should be enough to make you even slightly curious – the potential to closely observe, compare, contrast, and even unify these African Diaspora lives from 4 different location points of view, spanning 3 continents.

The observational documentary reveals exactly what this profession means to their individual societies in the 21st century, interweaving their own individual stories and examining the differences between of the locations.

The Fade is produced and directed by Brit Andy Mundy-Castle, and will screen at the New Voices In Black Cinema Festival next weekend, making its New York premiere. So if you're in the area, you should check it out. Click HERE for specific times, location and ticket info.

Here's its trailer:

Andy Mundy-Castle

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