Popular Film Festival New Voices in Black Cinema
Expands To Offer Brand-New
‘Best Of New Voices in Black Cinema’
Special Two-Day Series at MIST Harlem
Nov. 30th and Dec. 1
Filmmakers and Cast at select screenings
ActNow Foundation is proud to present our expansion of New Voices in Black Cinema, our ongoing film festival based at Brooklyn’s BAMcinèmatek that reflects the wide spectrum within the African diaspora community by presenting new and compelling voices in Black independent cinema, with the announcement of our new ongoing series with The Best of New Voices in Black Cinema, a choice collection of films from previous years that will travel throughout New York City and the nation. The first edition of this new traveling film series will take place in Manhattan at Harlem’s new state of the art performance space, My Image Studios (MIST) from Friday November 30th to Saturday December 1st, which opens that very week.
Choosing films from the past four years of the series proved difficult given the excellence of movies that have been a part of New Voices in Black Cinema. The curators decided to focus on films that provide the perfect mix in story, aesthetics, and community relevance but haven’t received the broad attention that they deserve. The inaugural ‘Best Of…’ lineup features narrative and documentary films that challenge viewers’ notion of identity, relationships, and world-view with four distinct films directed by Joshua Bee Alafia, Wilkie Cornelius Jr., Joshua Atesh Litle, and Michael "Boogie" Pinckney whose film is Executive Produced by Spike Lee.
The schedule and descriptions of films are below. For more information about the Best of New Voices in Black Cinema, please contact Curtis Caesar John at [email protected] and [email protected] or (347) 274-0563 and go to www.ActNowproduction.org.
My Image Studios (MIST) is located at 40 West 116th Street New York, NY 10016 (btw. Lenox Avenue & 5th Avenue). Take 2,3 trains to 116th Street. Stay tuned for special 'Best Of' related events within the next few weeks.
Best of New Voices in Black Cinema schedule
Q&As with filmmakers and cast at select screenings
Friday November 30th at 6:30pm
THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES
Directed by Joshua Atesh Litle. With Les Nubians, Dead Prez, Dyverse, Busy Bee and Grandmaster Caz
A globe-spanning documentary exploring how hip-hop music has moved from the ghettos of NYC to the homes of oppressed West Africans in France, East German skinheads, Israeli Jews, and others as tools of expression and liberation.
Friday November 30th at 8:30pm
LET’S STAY TOGETHER
Directed by Joshua Bee Alafia. Produced by Yaya DaCosta. With Albert Lamont, Ashley Ramsey, Jill Jose, Jonan Everett, and Joshua Bee Alafia
In this ‘magical narrative’, based on the premonition that a new Al Green album could save families, a young man embarks on a mission to better understand and unite African-American families struggling with relationships, identity, culture and parenthood.
Saturday December 1st at 6:30pm
SINGLE HILLS
Directed by Wilkie Cornelius Jr. With J. Kyle Manzay, Krystal Hill and Victor Williams
Fearful of serious commitment, a young Brooklyn writer distances himself from his longtime companion. When she becomes drawn to a more appreciative man, he realizes his loss and fanatically pursues her until his life spirals out of control.
Saturday December 1st at 8:30pm
YOU'RE NOBODY TIL SOMEBODY KILLS YOU
Directed by Michael ‘Boogie’ Pinckney. Starring James McDaniel, Michael Mosley, Nashawn Kearse, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, and Michael K. Williams.
An action packed and gritty story of two New York City homicide detectives that are forced into the high-stakes world of the hip hop industry. A complex web of murder, sex, money and music unfolds as the homicide detectives track a serial killer with an appetite for some of hip hop's biggest stars.
ActNow Foundation is a non-profit film & theater theater organization, based in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, which focuses its productions on the full range of African-American & Latino experiences in New York City, throughout the United States and around the globe.
Website: http://www.actnowproduction.org
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