AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

Over the last decade or so film festivals of all sizes have become quite popular. Cannes has long been the Super Bowl event for film festivals that the general public can name, though Edinburgh International Film Festival is the longest running continuous festival. But others like the Sundance, Tribeca, and Raindance Film Festival are far more recent and followed by the media. Still there is a film festival that goes unmentioned even though 70% of its films go on to receive theatrical or DVD distribution, which I doubt most other festivals can boast.

AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL (ABFF) has been around for 12 years, and the major news media seems incapable, or unwilling, to acknowledge it. This years festival will open Aug. 7th with a special screening of the Harry Belafonte / Dorothy Dandridge movie Carmen Jones introduced by the first Black actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress – Halle Berry.

Ms. Berry is hardly the only notable and talented actress or actor to be at the festival. Other entertainers present at the festival will include:

Evan Ross, Lauren London, Tatiana Ali, Columbus Short, Anthony Mackie, Holly Robinson Peete , Nate Parker, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine. Mos Def, Rockmond Dunbar, Idris Elba, Michael Ealy, John Singleton and Sanaa Lathan. Malik Yoba, Tina Andrews and Salli Richardson. Richard T. Jones, Paula Patton, Niecy Nash, and Dennis Haysbert.

That is quite the list of accomplish celebrities, each deserving of recognition and with fan bases that can fill any sized theater if not small and/or large cities.

But the purpose of the ABFF is not to go star gazing, nor to seek out the next up and coming stars. Its mission is

“To strengthen the Black filmmaking community through resource sharing, education, artistic collaboration and career development.”

And there are more than just a few corporations that recognize the importance and need for Black films. The companies that support the ABFF include:

Allstate, HBO, Lincoln, Target, Blockbuster, Heineken, Nielsen Media Research, One Village Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Codeblack Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Fox Entertainment Group, Grey Goose® Vodka, SAG Indie, Writers Guild of America West, Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Illinois Film Office, FoxxKing Entertainment, Black Enterprise, Uptown, Upscale, Black Noir, Heart&Soul, Precious Times, Automotive Rhythms, Toy Box, Monarch, Hope Today Magazine, NV, Save the Date, KJLH-FM and EUR Web.

Obviously founder and CEO of Film Life, Inc. Jeff Friday has made an impression and is helping to promote the fact that quality filmmaking is something that African Americans can do as well as anyone. The fact that ABFF has been able to connect filmmakers and distribution channels at such high rates further shows that the market for quality Black films has hardly been scratched.

ABFF may not be as old as Sundance, nor have an international movie star as its creator like Tribeca, but that has not lessened its importance or the drive of those involved.

“We have worked very hard to appeal to a cross section of film aficionados and make our festival accessible to everyone. We are looking forward to members of the greater Los Angeles community coming out and experiencing the best new work by and about people of African descent,” said Melanie Sharee, ABFF Director.

If you are in the L.A. area I suggest taking some time this weekend to learn about the quality Black films that are out there and the directors and actors that have made them. The major news media may believe that the world has the diversity of the sitcom Friends, but the reality as presented by the AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL is proof that not only is America more diverse but that such diversity provides a richness that transcends color.

For tickets to ABFF or for more information go to www.abff.com or www.ticketweb.com

Interracial couples, the past is the present - 7.27.2007.1

"There are some things in this world, captain Niobe, that will never change." – Morpheus From the Matrix Reloaded

Back in the early 1970’s I recall meeting a friend of my mother, a woman from the South. I recall her for many reasons, her nickname, her personality, and her husband. At the moment I’ll share a bit about her marriage.

As I mentioned, ‘Kitty’ was a woman from the South that moved to New York City when she got married. Neither she, nor her husband, had family in the City. They didn’t move for a better job or to gain a better education. They left the South because it was the safe thing to do.

Kitty and her husband were an interracial couple (they were married to the day that Kitty died of cancer and a bad hospital – well over 25 years after I first met them). That may not sound like a big deal in 2007, but in 1972 it was. That isn’t very long ago, and since that time things have changed, and then again as Morpheus states some don’t.

Case in point is the Fiesta Bowl. It was a great game and I wrote a bit about it. I recall that it was the first post for 2007. After the very close win, by the undefeated Boise State Broncos, there was a bit of a surprise for all the nation to see. Ian Johnson, the running back responsible for the overtime win, went over to his girlfriend and proposed with ESPN and other national television cameras catching every second. Chrissy Popadics said yes, without hesitation. They are an interracial couple.

Fast forward to today, and it’s being reported that death threats are part of the negative comments being hurled at the soon-to-be newlyweds. So vicious and troubling are the threats, security is required for the wedding.


This is hardly a unique case. I know of other interracial couples that are also running into difficulty like this today as well. Not to mention that back over a year ago I wrote a post about Ms. Sanaa Lathan in the film Something New. Since that time I have noted the continuous views of that post, though only 1 woman has bothered to comment. I have seen that every month, interracial dating is on of the topics my blog is found under ever month. To be exact, the terms being searched are accusatory and negative towards interracial dating.

Continued in Part 2...

Sanaa Lathan and the other side of interracial dating

I was caught between a couple of items today, the ratings on several network broadcast and cable television programs, when I noticed something a bit more enticing. It wasn’t the fact that Mr. George Clooney has done so well in the Oscars race this year. A far less glamorized movie that will be coming out shortly - Something New.

When I first noticed anything about this movie, it was that it was a love story. Being a fan of sci-fi and action films, and more than occasionally watching what friends call ‘high intellect’ films, love stories don’t usually hit my radar. Not that there is anything wrong with them. And I don’t mean to imply they are ‘chick flicks’ and I’m too manly to see them. It’s just not my thing.

This film does have an interesting twist on the theme though. The couple is an interracial one. Even more interesting is that the woman is a Black African American and the man is White. In its own way I think this film is similar in cultural impact to Guess Who’s Coming Home to Dinner, except this time it’s the Black culture that gets the surprise.

It’s not a new thing, interracial couples have been around a long time. They are socially accepted moreso now than ever before, I think the late 70's and early 80's was the turning point in the nation. The portrayal of a Black African American woman in an interracial couple is different though. Black women have long been the champions of the call to ‘Keep it black’ and ‘Stay true to your people’ in my experience. [I have known many women who believe the above strongly. I have seen some lash out at a white girlfriend of a black male, just because she was with him and he had never dated the woman. I have even had a woman I dated breakup with me due to the fact that I had dated ‘outside the race barrier’. I find both actions incredibly stupid and repulsive.] Much of the return to Africa and re-embracement of traditional African culture, has been lead by black women at least on a community basis as I have seen.

Yet as Ms. Sanaa Lathan states “...about 42.4 percent of black women in America aren't married. Black women are shooting up the corporate ladder way faster than our black male counterparts. And (black men) are either dating outside their race, in jail or dying...” [By the way my poem I rejoice in me may give you an idea of how I feel about my place in American society] The surprise is still there as, in my experience, Black African American women more than any other group including Hispanic women have stated (some shouted) they will stand by their Black African American man. Quite the diametric I think.

It will be very interesting to see how this movie does, especially in cities with high ‘minority’ populations. It is well known that many Black African American actors will not do movies or scenes that have a White female as a love interest or sexual partner. At least its well known in the communities I’ve been in. Mr. Denzel Washington has never done so nor several other prominent Black actors. The fear is alienating the Black female audience. Alienate them and watch movie sales along with star power disappear. Even Mr. Wesley Snipes has felt the backlash, I believe, if not in moviegoers definitely in the black media.

The big question though is why is this such a big deal? Interracial dating, in a movie or in real life, should not be such a question. Or am I mistaken. Does it matter what color your mate is, since the only person it should hold importance to is you and your mate. Obviously to racists it make quite the difference, but what about everyone else? I wouldn’t call Black women racist for having a belief in having a strong black family, just as I wouldn’t say that about a white female. But where is the line, if it exists at all, that crosses to the extreme. [My personal examples above seem well beyond that point but others may disagree.]

So I find that while I still will not go to see this movie, it's still a love story and they have no interest to me, I will probably watch a couple of minutes when it on DVD or regular cable among friends and/or family just to see how everyone reacts. If nothing else I find that the premise is timely, and culturally dynamic.

This is what I think, what do you think?