BFM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CANCELLED
Words: Menelik Shabazz
This year’s 2010 BFM International Festival has been cancelled and its future is in doubt due to lack of financial resources. The Festival now in its twelfth year is the largest and longest running black world cinema festival in the UK.
As the Founder of the Festival I am naturally disappointed that we are not able to continue as we have worked hard over the years to keep the Festival going with only token support from the UK film industry. Year after year we have relied heavily on tremendous volunteer support, to keep the Festival going, which is ultimately not sustainable. Yet despite these challenges last year’s BFM Festival attracted over 3000 people across 5 days, showing the importance of our Festival and its potential. Overall I am proud of the legacy we have created since 1999. Particularly our recognition of UK talent through our Short Film Awards was an important in exposing this talent to mainstream audiences for over a decade.
Our seminars and workshop provided a bridge and access to industry organisations and professionals that was previously unavailable. Even today this is still an issue as black British talent continues to exist on the margins of a British film industry despite training and diversity initiatives. The BFM International Film Festival was created out with a vision of ‘bringing the unseen to light’ and this is our legacy. I hope that this is not the end and that a way will be found to keep the Festival alive in the future. So if you have any ideas or want to give your support do it and do it now!
Menelik Shabazz
Founder, BFM International Film Festival
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Don't Miss Hollywood star Idris Elba in BBC drama Luther
Don't Miss Hollywood star Idris Elba in BBC drama Luther
Famous for his role as Stringer Bell in The Wire and for his starring roles in films such as American Gangster, RocknRolla and Obsessed, Idris Elba takes the lead in a cast including Ruth Wilson, Indira Varma and Paul McGann in this dark psychological thriller about a near-genius murder detective.
Luther is a crime drama with a twist: in each exciting and fast-moving story, the murderer's identity is known from the start – focusing the drama on the psychological duel between hunter and quarry, who sometimes have more in common than either would like to think.
Creator and writer Neil Cross is an acclaimed suspense novelist and was lead writer for the last two series of Spooks.
Janet Jackson: The “Why Did I Get Married Too” Interview
Words: Kam Williams
Janet in Control
Born in Gary, Indiana on May 16, 1966, Janet Damita Jo Jackson entered show business at the tender age of 7 when she appeared onstage with her already famous elder siblings at the MGM in Las Vegas.
This debut, was followed by appearances at 9 on her family’s variety show “The Jacksons” which, in turn, led to starring and recurring roles on such hit sitcoms as "Good Times," “Diff’rent Strokes," and "Fame."
At 14, Janet signed her first recording deal. Placing acting on the back burner to focus on her first love, music, she went on to enjoy extraordinary success upon the release of her breakthrough album, Control in 1986. Over the course of her ensuing musical career, she has thus far accumulated five Grammys, multiple MTV Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and Soul Train Music Awards, to name a few. As an artist, Janet excites, enlightens, leads, and embraces her fans with insights into life's meaning while touching their deepest feelings.
The film Poetic Justice marked this very versatile talent’s first foray into acting in feature films, and that was soon followed by a co-starring role in Nutty Professor II. Janet later received the NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Supporting Actress category for her work in Why Did I Get Married. Furthermore, like all of her movies, Why Did I Get Married opened up #1 at the box office.
Privately, Janet continues to focus on speaking out and giving back, raising money for charities such as the Cities in Schools and America's Promise. She has also supported the Watts Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club of America, the Starlight Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, A Place Called Home in South Central LA, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, S.O.S. Children's Villages in South Africa, Cartier's Love Bracelet Program benefiting OCNA and she sponsored an Airlift of Food and Medical supplies to famine-stricken Rwanda. In addition, Janet established the Rhythm Nation Scholarship with the UNCF and has assisted numerous students striving to meet their educational goals.
Most recently, Janet honored her brother Michael's legacy and supported the people of Haiti by joining over 80 artists who collaborated to record "We Are the World 25 for Haiti," the classic 1985 charity anthem re-imagined by Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones to support the earthquake relief efforts. Not surprisingly, Janet has been honored with countless humanitarian awards in response to her dedication to helping others.
Later this year, Janet plans to publish her autobiography, providing an intimate look at her life. Here, she talks about reprising the role of Pat in Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too, one of those rare sequels which is actually better than the original. T
Kam Williams: Thanks so much for the time, Janet. I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.
Janet Jackson: It’s my pleasure.
KW: First of all, please allow me to express my condolences on the loss of your brother, Michael.
JJ: Thank you.
KW: Watching Why Did I Get Married Too, the first thing I noticed was that it afforded you an opportunity to display a much greater range of emotions. How did you enjoy that?
JJ: I loved it! I absolutely loved it. I was so thankful that Tyler had written such an amazing piece for me to explore. So, I was really excited about it. When he first gave me the script, he warned me, “When you read this, you’re really going to flip out. I think it’s going to be exciting for you.” And it was.
KW: It’s very rare that an entire ensemble cast comes back for a sequel. How was it being reunited with everybody again?
JJ: I loved being with them again. It truly is a family. There’s closeness and connection. After filming the original, when we went our separate ways, I felt like I had a new group of friends. We stayed in touch and tried to see each other whenever we were in town or in between projects. So, the minute we heard there was going to be a sequel, all of us were immediately on board, knowing we would be able to get back together again. And then, for half of it to be shot in The Bahamas made going to work feel like being on vacation with your friends. The crew members were sweethearts, too.
KW: What a refreshing difference from those nightmare shoots you sometimes hear about that sound like a clash of egos.
JJ: I credit Tyler. It’s Tyler’s vision. He’s created a true family.
KW: What is it about Tyler that makes him special?
JJ: He’s an amazing man. One of the things that I love most about him is that he has this spirituality abut him, and it’s a really big part of who he is. I adore Tyler, and I love that about him.
KW: All your previous films have opened up in the #1 spot at the box office. Do you feel any pressure to keep up the string?
JJ: I don’t feel any pressure at all. You know what? I honestly wouldn’t even have thought about it, if another journalist hadn’t brought it to my attention. Would it be great if it did? Of course. If it doesn’t open at #1, am I going to be bummed out? No, I’ve been so blessed and I’m just thankful to be a part of the project and grateful to Tyler for giving me another opportunity to explore this character.
KW: What do you think the experience will be like for the audience?
JJ: I think more so than anything people are going to enjoy the film and they’ll also walk away learning a lot from it.
KW: By the way, I love “Nothing,” the film’s theme which you sing on the soundtrack. I hope it lands you another Oscar nomination like the song “Again” did for you wit h Poetic Justice.
JJ: Thank you very much. That would be really nice.
KW: I told my readers I’d be interviewing you, and they sent me a lot of questions, so let’s see how many we can get through.
JJ: Okay.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman says, “My favorite album of yours is Control which spoke to me because at the time I was working in Paris and I had such a lack of control over so many things in my life. Have you ever related to a song by someone else which intimately spoke to you at a point in your life?”
JJ: Definitely! There are two things that really move me: music and acting. And I’m not talking about my music or watching myself as an actor, but listening to other people’s music and watching other actors. There are so many different songs that have moved me. It all depends upon the mood that I’m in at that moment. Plus, I was raised with a ton of brothers and sisters where, obviously, the music running in and out of the house was very eclectic. So, I had a lot under my belt by the time I grew up. It all depends upon the mood that I’m in, the space that I’m in and what I’m feeling at that moment. But definitely!
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls asks which do you enjoy doing more, acting or singing?
JJ: I enjoy them both a great deal. I have a passion for both. Maybe acting just a little bit more because it’s more of a challenge for me, while music comes so easily.
KW: Marcia Evans asks, have you ever considered doing an album of duets?
JJ: No, I have not, but that’s a very good idea. Maybe someday that’ll actually happen.
KW: Documentary filmmaker Hisani Dubose asks if you plan to produce movies.
JJ: I would love to. A dream of mine is to produce films, as well as to produce content for television.
KW: Hisani also wants to know what movie you’ll be making next.
JJ: For Colored Girls, an adaptation of the play, which I’m sure she’s familiar with. We’ll start shooting that not to long from now.
KW: Laz Lyles wants to know, what's the biggest way you’ve grown as an actress since Poetic Justice, and whether you find that with each role you discover something new about yourself?
JJ: I always knew that I could go deep. How deep? I don’t know. But it always seems that with each character I take on, I’m challenged to go deeper than the last time, and then again deeper than the last time. This is the deepest I’ve ever been asked to dive. And to see how deep I actually went for this, and that I wasn’t afraid to go there in order to give Tyler exactly what he envisioned for the character, which was pretty deep, that’s what I discovered about myself.
KW: Larry Greenberg says, he loved your video for "Miss You Much" which was directed by Dominic Sena. He’s wondering, if there’s any chance of you doing something new with him?
JJ: I haven’t spoken with Dominic in a while, but I would love to. I actually wanted him to work on another video of mine, but he was shooting a movie at the time. Once in a blue moon, we wind up speaking to one another. I think Dominic is incredibly talented and, hopefully, we will work together again.
KW: Reverend Florine Thompson asks what gives the greatest meaning to your life?
JJ: It would have to be God.
KW: Varise Cooper asks, what are you doing to make a long-lasting, positive impact on the world?
JJ: I work with a lot of different charities, and by that I don’t mean merely by giving money, but by really getting involved hands-on. I’ve always said that one of the reasons why I was put on this Earth was to help people. That’s something I’ve always enjoyed both here in America and if I have the opportunity when I’m traveling out of the country. For example, I like to visit orphanages to spend time with the children. That’s very important to me.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
JJ: That’s the question right there! [Laughs] That’s a good question.
KW: Well, on that note, let me thank you again for the interview, Janet.
Interview with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, Cop Ou
Interview with Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, Cop Out
Words: Cassam Looch
What drew you to make a comedy as your next film?
BRUCE WILLIS: If I had a choice, I would do comedy all the time. It’s just the most challenging thing. To make someone laugh is the most challenging thing, and the most rewarding thing, in entertainment.
Why do you think it’s more challenging than drama?
BRUCE WILLIS: That’s a harder question because to be funny, I think you have to commit to the truth of whatever story you’re telling, whether it’s the craziest story you’ve ever heard, whatever that is you have to commit to it, like it really happened, which leads you into doing drama. All you’ve got to do is tell the truth of what’s on the page—yes, my dog left me, and my girlfriend took the dog and I’m just so lonely now. It’s just hard. But it’s much harder to do comedy. It’s the hardest thing in the world.
Can you guys talk about the scenes that did not make it into the car scene?
BRUCE WILLIS: I think most of the car stuff got used. We had a lot of seagulls flying over the car that day and a lot of kids riding next to the car, but the really good stuff stayed in that scene.
Tracy, what did you like about working with Bruce and Bruce what did you like about working with Tracy?
TRACY MORGAN: Well, working with Bruce, first, he’s a real cool dude. He’s a real cool dude, man, down to earth. And just going to work every day and telling my friends and my family that I’m working with Bruce Willis was the coolest thing. They didn’t believe it, but now there are billboards all over the place with me and Bruce like this. That’s self-explanatory, dude. I don’t really have the words to express how; it’s Bruce Willis. I didn’t get a chance to work with Bruce Lee. Bruce Willis, right next to Bruce Lee, baby, you know what I’m saying’? [Laughs]
BRUCE WILLIS: I went to work every day knowing that I was working with a consummate professional, a truly funny guy that I could count on, that I could throw the ball to and know that he would hit it out of the park. And when you have that kind of confidence in your partner and the guy that you’re working with, you can take risks that you might not normally take.
TRACY MORGAN: I feel like when I started working with Bruce it just solidified. I’m not saying I won an Academy Award, but it makes you authentic, you know. It makes your career authentic. My career’s authentic now. I worked with Bruce Willis. I can have that conversation.
Bruce, for you, a movie like this, is it more or less fun when your stunts are intentionally falling down stairs instead of the hero jumps and saves that you do in an action film?
BRUCE WILLIS: Those were my ideas. I just thought, “Wouldn’t it be kind of goofy if I just fell down the stairs here?” [TRACY laughs.] And he said, “Yeah, are you going to do that? You want to do that?” And I said, “Yeah, all right. We’ll try it. But just goofy falls and things like that.” Because, look, no stone was left unturned. We looked for every stupid thing that we could possibly do. Everybody was looking for stuff to do. Everybody was looking for it. Once we got going, everybody saw what kind of film we were making. It was really just about entertaining the audience.
How many times did you shoot the scene where one of you steps on the other’s head to put him through the window?
BRUCE WILLIS: That’s an old Three Stooges gag. We stole that from the Stooges. Yeah, we stole from everybody. We stole from Abbott and Costello, from Art Carney and Jackie Gleason. We stole from everyone. We really just dropped the reins. There were very few rules, except a scene can’t go on too long. And there were always, always surprises in there. Tracy comes in the house and we’re trying to run this thing on this guy to get the car, this Russian lawyer.
TRACY MORGAN: Fred Armisen.
BRUCE WILLIS: And Tracy comes in and starts doing the Robocop voice, and it’s hysterical. It’s really funny. It just made me laugh. I was laughing off camera.
TRACY MORGAN: We’re arguing through like serious moments and we’re arguing…
BRUCE WILLIS: “What are you doing, Robocop?”
TRACY MORGAN: Yeah, I’m doing Robocop. [Laughs] That was just me and Bruce going on with it. And they go, “Oh, cut, cut, cut!”
Kevin Smith said you were all trying to make each other laugh, especially making Bruce laugh. How was that for you?
BRUCE WILLIS: There are scenes, you can see me in the film where I’m just coming back from looking out the window and coming back to the scene, and trying not to laugh. There were a lot of times that we broke up; it wasn’t just me. There were a lot of times you could hear the whole crew laughing because they were all watching the monitors and listening on headphones.
What did both of you see in the script that made you want to do this film? And was Tracy’s character written to be an African American?
BRUCE WILLIS: Cop Out really is a 2010 version of a genre of films that has been around since the ‘40s, really, or the ‘30s gangster films, cop films, all kinds of cop films. I’ve seen a lot of things lately talking about comparing our film to films like Beverly Hills Cop or good cop/bad cop and they always choose to mention that there were racial overtones in those films. And we never gave a thought, not one time, not one day, about if this should have some kind of racial content.
We were having so much fun and getting along so well that there was never any time to ever think about it. On the other hand, I’m really proud of the fact that we’d never felt the need to mention it. We never felt the need to make it about some kind of racial struggle or the fact that we get along so well. And you know, we loved each other so much and we were such good friends that it just wasn’t necessary.
TRACY MORGAN: And it’s not what I saw in the script; it’s what I didn’t see. I didn’t see that I’d have to drive nobody around, to call nobody “Miss Daisy.” And I didn’t have to lift any heavy boxes. So I was down. I had to work at Fed Ex. I was good.
How did you both like working with Kevin Smith?
BRUCE WILLIS: Loved it. Loved it.
TRACY MORGAN: Yeah, he’s a cool bro. The first time that I met him, I only got to meet him for a few hours the first time, but I got to work with him for 60 days on this one and he’s just like the coolest, down like four flat tires.
Bruce, you’ve been embraced by the New York Police Department. So I’m wondering now that this is a comedy, what do you think they’ll think of this?
BRUCE WILLIS: I think cops need to laugh more than anybody else in the world. I can’t think of another group of people who work at really hard jobs and who get shot at every night for their jobs, who couldn’t use an opportunity to go out and have a good laugh. I like cops. I like EMT guys. I like emergency room guys, firefighters.
TRACY MORGAN: And strippers. [Laughs] Strippers need to laugh more too, walking around in them heels all night.
BRUCE WILLIS: Strippers need to laugh.
Bruce, Tracy and Kevin Smith have said they tried to make you laugh. Did you take the challenge of trying to make professional comedians laugh?
BRUCE WILLIS: I don’t know. It was a tough crowd. I don’t know if I ever made them laugh. I would try, but it didn’t quite go over.
TRACY MORGAN: Yeah, you would have to go really demented.
BRUCE WILLIS: You had to go cuckoo.
TRACY MORGAN: You had to go demented. You have to come on the set and have a wardrobe malfunction or something to make me laugh.
You seem like you really have a nice chemistry.
BRUCE WILLIS: We’re going to do another movie.
TRACY MORGAN: I love that dude.
BRUCE WILLIS: Yeah, we’re gonna do another movie.
TRACY MORGAN: Speed dog.
BRUCE WILLIS: If it’s not the sequel to this, then it’ll be something else.
Tracy, you are such a great improviser, what did the writers think of you? Were they intimidated writing for you because you’re so funny?
TRACY MORGAN: It was all collaboration, for all of us. We all had one goal in mind. That was to get people to walk out. I mean, I guess my ego’s involved in what I do, but not to the point where a writer can’t write anything for me that’s funny. No, I mean if you write something and it’s on the paper, we did it. We made it our business to do it the way it was written and then we would all get together with Kevin and the writers; the writers were there every day. And if I did something funny, they came up with something even more funny, and then it just evolved into what it is. So, it was all a collaboration. I love that. I think that’s a gift. Not only competition, but a collaboration, and we forget that sometimes, that that’s a gift that God has given us, the ability to collaborate with people. And I love that. I love collaborations.
Bruce, do you, at this point, have things you’re still striving for in life and your career?
BRUCE WILLIS: No, I don’t think there’s anything. I mean, what I really love about Hollywood is that I don’t know where somebody that you’ve never heard of, some young kid, writes a script that is brand new stuff and is a brand new thought and a brand new concept and I think, wow, just when I thought I’ve seen the last action film that I would ever do, here’s one that has something I’ve never seen in it. Or a suspense story or something like that.
Wesley Snipes
The “Brooklyn’s Finest” Interview
Words: Kam Williams
Wesley’s Finest!
Born in Orlando on July 31, 1962 to Marian, a teacher’s aide, and Wesley, Sr., and an aircraft engineer, Wesley Trent Snipes was raised in the South Bronx, although the family moved back to Florida before he was able to graduate from NYC’s famed, Fiorello La Guardia High School of Music and Art. Still, Wesley went on to study drama in college at SUNY Purchase’s prestigious acting conservatory.
However, he dropped out during his junior year to pursue his passion professionally. In Hollywood, the versatile thespian’s stage and Shotokan karate training came in handy in helping him land a variety of roles. The accomplished actor/black belt’s long list of credits on his enviable resume’ include the Blade Trilogy, Jungle Fever, White Men Can’t Jump, U.S. Marshals, Waiting to Exhale, Mo’ Better Blues, New Jack City, Murder at 1600, The Fan, Demolition Man, Passenger 57, To Wong Foo and The Art of War.
Wesley’s many accolades include a couple of NAACP Image Awards and making People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World List. And he and his second wife, artist Nikki Park, are raising their four children both in the U.S. and South Korea. Here, he talks about his latest film, Brooklyn’s Finest, a gritty, NYC crime saga, directed by Antoine Fuqua, which co-stars Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Ellen Barkin, Lela Rochon, Will Patton and Vincent D’Onofrio.
Kam Williams: Hey, Wesley, thanks for the time. We met last year in New York when you were receiving an award at the Jacob Javits Center.
Wesley Snipes: Oh yes, wonderful.
KW: Laz Lyles asks, what drew you to Brooklyn’s Finest’s script, especially with the screenwriter [Michael C. Martin] being a first-timer?
WS: Well, it wasn’t as much the script, as it was working with this cast and with Antoine Fuqua. So, I’d have to say that the idea of working with them motivated me more so than the script.
KW: Why so?
WS: I wanted to work with the ensemble of great actors that Antoine Fuqua had assembled. He and I had talked about doing a film together maybe about three or for years prior to actually working on this one. We were trying to find the right project. He was working on other things. I was working on other things, and was out of the country. Then there was a window if opportunity, and he said, “Wes, I want you to play this.” I had some reservations, because of that Nino Brown reference [the character he played in New Jack City]. But he basically explained to me, “that’s part of the reason I want you to do this. The characters have some overtones of that old Nino’s type of lifestyle.” When he told me that Don [Cheadle] would be playing the other character, and who else would be in the cast, I was like, “Well, let’s do this!” [Chuckles]
KW: Richard Gere… Ethan Hawke… Ellen Barkin...
WS: It’s always great when you can work with an ensemble of very, very talented people. And Ellen and I had worked on The Fan together.
KW: Don’t you sometimes have a clash of egos, when you have so many stars on the same set?
WS: I didn’t experience that. I actually love the ensemble environment. That’s what I come from, the so called “bus and truck” repertory theater. So, you put me in with a group of artists, and it’s like a breakdance battle. “Let’s go!”
KW: I know that your family moved back to Florida while you were attending a prestigious acting academy in NYC. How did you prevent that disruption from spoiling your dreams?
WS: After I finished high school, the first chance I got, I caught a Greyhound bus back to New York where I ended up being accepted to a program in drama at the State University at Purchase.
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls says that from The Waterdance to Blade you have handled many different roles. She wants to know which one is your all-time favorite?
WS: That is.
KW: Jimmy Bayan asks where in L.A. do you live?
WS: [LOL] What, does he want to come over for dinner? I’m a universal man, but tell Jimmy I’m back and forth between the East and West Coasts a lot.
KW: Documentary director Hisani Dubose is interested in knowing how you positioned yourself to play Blade, the first high-impact, black superhero. She said she knows that your company, Amen-Ra, co-produced it, but it still must have been a major task.
WS: It was challenging. It was one of our firsts, and it was early on in the game. I had an inkling that it was something that hadn’t been done before, and some of my management at the time didn’t approve of the idea. They actually told me I shouldn’t do it. But I reflected on the fact that we had never seen a film like that before, not just a black superhero, but a black, vampire superhero who fights martial arts. I thought, “We gotta try this, even if just for the fellas around the way.”
KW: Larry Greenberg, says, after I receive my black belt in Kempo, I am considering looking at another martial art form. Which one would you recommend?
WS: Shu-to Kwon Do. [Laughs] No, that’s a joke. I would recommend, Yoga.
KW: Yale Grad Tommy Russell asks: "Do you think Obama will be able to resuscitate the healthcare reform bill?”
WS: Resuscitate it? Doesn’t something have to be alive first to resuscitate it?
KW: Tony Noel asks, as a martial artist, who do you see as the next generation of martial arts actors coming into prominence?
WS: That’s a difficult question. It’s hard to tell because a lot of martial artists aren’t strong actors, and a lot of actors aren’t strong martial artists. But we hope to be able to produce some of them through our company in the near future.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
WS: Nothing that comes to mind.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
WS: Yeah!
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
WS: I am full and well.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
WS: [LOL] Yesterday.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What are you listening to on your iPod?
WS: The Larry Levan Story, the whole series.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
WS: A beautiful expression of God having a wonderful human experience.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
WS: Grits and eggs. [Chuckles]
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
WS: [Whistles] Oh man… Playing with my babysitter’s toes.
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
WS: Long-lasting health.
KW: Thanks again, Wesley, and best of luck with Brooklyn’s Finest and all off your endeavors.
WS: Thank you
Interview with Mo'Nique, Precious
bfm rollin': Mo’Nique - The Precious Interview
The “Precious” Interview
Words: Kam Williams
Just Give Mo’Nique the Oscar!
Mo’Nique Imes was born on December 11, 1967 in Baltimore which is where she started her showbiz career as a stand-up comedienne on a dare a couple of decades ago. From there, she gained visibility and immense popularity with performances on “Showtime at the Apollo,” HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam,” “Apollo Comedy Hour” HBO’s “Snaps,” BET’s “Comic View,” The Montreal Comedy Festival and Uptown Comedy Club.
Her big break arrived in 1999 when she landed a starring role on the television series, “The Parkers.” During the show’s five-year run, Mo’Nique earned numerous awards, including four NCAAP Image Awards as the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. Her film credits include Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Two Can Play That Game, Hair Show, Three Strikes, Baby Boy, Beerfest, Phat Girlz, Soul Plane, Irish Jam, Domino and Shadowboxer.
As a voluptuous role model for Rubenesque females Mo-Nique wrote the best-selling book “Skinny Women Are Evil,” as well as an equally-funny follow-up entitled “Skinny Cooks Can’t Be Trusted.” She also created, produced and emceed “Mo’Nique’s F.A.T. Chance,” America’s first, full-figured, reality beauty pageant. Struck by the skyrocketing number of women behind bars, she brought her act to a prison to tape a comedy special called “I Coulda Been Your Cellmate” which aired on TV before later being released on DVD. Then, she delved further into the issue as the host of “Mo’Nique:
Blacktrospective 2009
Blacktrospective 2009
by Kam Williams
Kam’s Annual Assessment of the Best (and Worst) in Black Cinema
The very best African-American film fare from 2009 was released early on, starting with Notorious, Medicine for Melancholy and Not Easily Broken, all of which arrived in theaters last January. That same month, Precious made its big splash at the Sundance Festival, walking away with a trio of awards: best picture, director (Lee Daniels) and actress (Mo’Nique).
While a bounty of other excellent African-American oriented offerings subsequently arrived over the course of the year, none ever matched Lee Daniels’ tour de force in terms of either emotional depth or raw intensity. Plus, Precious featured Oscar-quality work by Gabby Sidibe in the title role and by Mo’Nique as her relentlessly-abusive mother. And Daniels also coaxed career screen performances out of his motley cast, from Paula Patton to Mariah Carey to Lenny Kravitz to Sherri Shepherd.
So, without further fanfare, check out this critic’s humble assessment of the best and the worst in Black Cinema for 2009.
Ten Best Black Feature Films
1. Precious
2. Notorious
3. Not Easily Broken
4. Michael Jackson: This Is It
5. The Soloist
6. Next Day Air
7. Madea Goes to Jail
8. Obsessed
9. Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story
10. I Can Do Bad All by Myself
Best Independent Black Films
1. Medicine for Melancholy
2. American Violet
3. Life’s Passing Me By
4 Rebirth of a Nation
5 Black Dynamite
6. Ballast
7 The Jazz Baroness
8 Bama Girl
9. A Passion for Giving
10. Heart of Stone
Best Black Documentaries
1. Still Bill
2. Tyson
3. Brick City
4. Good Hair
5. This Is the Life
6. Harlem in Montmartre
7. Pressure Cooker
8. The Providence Effect
9. If I Die Tonight
10. Prom Night in Mississippi
Best African Films
1. Endgame
2. Skin
3. Motherland
4. Invictus
5. Soundtrack for a Revolution
Best Short Films
1. Men II Boys
2. Crossing the Line: Multiracial Comedians
3. The Good Fight: James Farmer Remembers the Civil Rights Movement
4. Happily Ever After
5. This Life Ain’t Pretty
Best Actor (Lead Role)
1. Wyatt Cenac (Medicine for Melancholy)
2. Idris Elba (Obsessed)
3. Jamie Foxx (The Soloist)
4. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Endgame)
5. Jamal Woolard (Notorious)
6. Morris Chestnut (Not Easily Broken)
7. Jason Palmer (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench)
8. Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
9. Denzel Washington (The Taking of the Pelham 1 2 3)
10. Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite)
Best Actor (Supporting Role)
1. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker)
2. Donald Faison (Next Day Air)
3. Forest Whitaker (Fragments)
4. Faison Love (Couples Retreat)
5. Djimon Hounsou (Push)
6. Lenny Kravitz (Precious)
7. Tyler Perry (Madea Goes to Jail)
8. Derek Luke (Notorious)
9. Will.i.Am (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
10. Boris Kodjoe (Surrogates)
Best Actress (Lead Role)
1. Gabby Sidibe (Precious)
2. Paula Wilson (Life’s Passing Me By)
3. Tracey Higgins (Medicine for Melancholy)
4. Nicole Beharie (American Violet)
5. Sophie Okonedo (Skin)
6. Zoe Saldana (Avatar)
7. Maya Rudolph (Away We Go)
8. Taraji Henson (I Can Do Bad All by Myself)
9. Naomie Harris (Ninja Assassin)
10. Beyonce’ (Obsessed)
Best Actress (Supporting Role)
1. Mo’Nique (Precious)
2. Naturi Naughton (Notorious)
3. Paula Patton (Precious)
4. Rashida Jones (I Love You, Man)
5. Taraji Henson (Not Easily Broken)
6. Mariah Carey (Precious)
7. Viola Davis (Madea Goes to Jail)
8. Tasha Smith (Couples Retreat)
9. Nicole Ari Parker (Imagine That)
10. Sherri Shepherd (Precious)
Best Director (Studio)
1. Lee Daniels (Precious)
2. Bill Duke (Not Easily Broken)
3. George Tillman (Notorious)
4. Barry Boom (Next Day Air)
5. Tyler Perry (Madea Goes to Jail)
Best Director (Independent)
1. Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy)
2. Steve McQueen (Hunger)
3. Mark Cabaroy (Life’s Passing Me By)
4. Scott Sanders (Black Dynamite)
5. Lindsey Christian (Jazz in the Diamond District)
Best Director (Documentary)
1. Damani Baker and Alex Vlack (Still Bill)
2. Ava DuVernay (This Is the Life)
3. Dante James (Harlem in Montmartre)
4. Seyi (If I Die Tonight)
5. DJ Spooky (Rebirth of a Nation)
Worst Film
1. Dough Boys
2. Da’ Booty Shop
3. Thug Love
4. Keepin' the Faith: My Baby’s Getting Married
5. Steppin’
Worst Actor
1. Craig Robinson (Miss March)
2. Marcello Thedford (Da’ Booty Shop)
3. Arlen Escarpeta (Dough Boys)
4. Melvin Van Peebles (Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha)
5. David Alan Grier (Dance Flick)
1. Nicholas Harvell (Dough Boys)
2. Marcello Thedford (Da’ Booty Shop)
3. Marcello Thedford (Thug Love)
4. Michael Taliferro (Steppin’)
5. Melvin Van Peebles (Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha)
Must See TV - BBC adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island
Must See TV - BBC adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island
This autumn the BBC’s flagship drama – Small Island airs on BBC1 in two 90-minute episodes.
Adapted from Andrea Levy's award-winning and best-selling novel, Small Island is an epic love story about the determined pursuit of dreams in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers.
Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, at a time when landlords put up signs declaring: "No Irish, no coloureds, no dogs", Small Island follows the interlocking lives of Londoner Queenie (Ruth Wilson) and her husband Bernard (Benedict Cumberbatch); Gilbert and Hortense (David Oyelowo and Naomie Harris), the young Jamaican couple who become their lodgers; and the handsome but mysterious Michael (Ashley Walters).
From the heat and hustle of life in Forties Jamaica to the devastation of London in The Blitz, Small Island is an ambitious yet personal tale that deftly touches on the weighty themes of empire, prejudice and war with a warm, uplifting generosity of spirit.
Brum gangster film 1 Day accused of glamorising gun crime
Brum gangster film 1 Day accused of 'glamorising gun crime'
Aug 4 2009 by Paul Bradley, Birmingham Post
A gangster movie shot in Birmingham’s most notorious gun-crime neighbourhoods was accused of glamorising the lives of real life killers.
Hip-hop gangster film 1 Day, which was shot on the streets on Handsworth using teenagers from the area, has been criticised for encouraging impressionable youngsters to join violent criminal gangs.
It is believed former members of the Johnson Crew and Burger Bar Boys advised film makers in a bid to make the plot as realistic as possible.
The controversial movie, which is set to be shown in cinemas in November before being aired on Channel 4, has been described as “Gang life for the MTV generation”.
It tells the story of a gangster who is pursued by a rival gang after being released from prison.
The plot echoes last summer’s city shootouts which ended in the murder of Dimitri Foskin and Dominique Grant.
Police later revealed the killings were triggered by the release of a real life Birmingham gangster, resulting in a gangland battle for territory.
Coun Keith Barton, chairman of Birmingham’s reducing gang violence scrutiny committee, said: “There is no doubt this film is glamorising gun crime on the streets of Birmingham.
“Groups of young people are shown enjoying themselves, surrounded by cash, fast cars, gold jewellery and most worryingly – guns.
“It shows the underworld of gun crime to be like some kind of gang life for the MTV generation. The fact of the matter is people die from gun and gang crime and most people want to get out.
“Their life is a misery and completely the opposite of what the trailer shows.”
Opening with a shot of Spaghetti Junction and the iconic Birmingham landscape the film trailer shows huge groups of masked black men threatening each other before unloading a hail of bullets as the stand-off escalates into violence.
With a gangster rap soundtrack playing in the background, one of the gangs opens fire on their rivals in a drive by shooting.
And in one scene a boy who looks no older than ten-years-old handles a gun like a professional, winning the respect of one of the senior gangsters.
The entire cast was recruited from the streets in and around Handsworth and West Midlands Police liaised with film makers during the shoot.
The film is the creation of controversial director Penny Woolcock, who has previously filmed an adaption of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on an estate in Ladywood where the characters were street criminals and drug dealers.
Cash for the film came from government-funded regional agency Screen WM, who also funded The Road To Guantanemo Bay – a film about the Tipton Three being held at the infamous prison for two years.
Coun Barton added: “We are spending thousands of pounds to try and stop kids get into gangs while the Government is effectively funding films with the opposite message.”
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “Representatives from production companies regularly approach the force for assistance, advice or simply to advise us that filming is taking place. Although we may not always agree or support the premise of a film or programme we have no powers to stop filming.”
A spokeswoman for Screen WM said: “Penny Woolcock’s 1 Day does not set out to glamorise or simplify a very complex situation but aims to offer an insight into the challenges faced by young people growing up in tough conditions.
“The film was produced with the full co-operation of the local communities in inner-city Birmingham, many of whom took roles in the production both in front of and behind the camera.
“The film carries a strong progressive message without shying away from the realities of daily life.”
The Invisible Art of Film Distribution
The Invisible Art of Film Distribution
By Jo Adetunji
The “invisible art” of film distribution wields significant power when it comes to who and what we see in cinemas. And some believe that distributors are still reluctant when it comes to promoting black stars in leading roles in an industry lagging far behind television and theatre — with black women faring worst.
“We were turned down by every British distributor there is apart from the ICA,” says Tony Fabian, the outspoken director of Skin, a film based on the true story of a black child born to white parents in apartheid South Africa, starring Sophie Okonedo. Despite positive reception on the international festival circuit and a number of audience awards, the film nearly missed showing in the UK until the ICA decided to release it this month. Fabian believes that industry bias means that films with black leads face a harder time getting backers.
“It’s the distributors’ perception that there’s no audience, that it’s the audience’s racism,” he says. “It’s still a pervasive attitude. Distributors say that’s what the stats say. I was shocked. We’ve won awards and we’re still sitting here trying to persuade people.” One former film producer says that demand for “authenticity” in films was leading to roles being stereotyped, especially in genres such as gritty urban drama. Fabian blames a “lack of vision and confidence” for failing to create roles that didn’t “fit comfortable stereotypes of black culture”.
It isn’t easy being a distributor. Profits from cinema showings alone can be elusive — the average cinemagoer visits only 2.7 times a year — and predicting how a film will perform is risky. According to the Film Distributors Association (FDA), a quarter of all British cinema tickets are sold in London, a multicultural city where ethnic minority groups make up more than 30 per cent (compared with 13 per cent in England as a whole), according to 2006 projections from the National Office of Statistics. In an increasingly mixed society keen to break down barriers, shouldn’t there be more enthusiasm for diversity in film?
“You’ve got to look at the actor, what they’ve done and their bankability,” says a spokesman for Icon, a mainstream distributor. “It’s not about colour but quality of film for UK audiences. It’s just a shame there are not enough black stars; it would be great to see more. We don’t shy away from that. But we don’t make the films. The exhibitors simply want a product that’s going to sell. US imports like Will Smith and Denzel Washington — we don’t really have an equivalent. The closest we have is Noel Clarke with Kidulthood and Adulthood, which have done extremely well. But perhaps they are the exception.”
Marcia Williams, a former barrister-turned-head of diversity for the UK Film Council, says that all groups in the industry are guilty of what she terms “the cut-throat defence”: recognising that there is a problem but passing the blame elsewhere. “The script writers say ‘we write the characters and then we hope the casting director will engage’. Then the casting director says ‘it’s up to the director’,” she says. She adds that casting directors for Dirty Pretty Things, Stephen Frears’s 2002 film about the seedy underworld of illegal immigrants, were approached to change the main character (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, now one of the most bankable black actors in the UK) from Nigerian to Eastern European.
“All along the line we’re still having these tussles with the financiers,” Williams says. “There’s a climate that black characters and black talent won’t sell and ‘as financiers we’re constrained’. Distributors aren’t completely undiverse; there are still problems in the wider marketplace, people feeling like it’s harder to sell black talent.”
While black actors such as Ejiofor, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Paterson Joseph, Idris Elba and Adrian Lester continue to gain prominence and critical acclaim in television and theatre, some, such as Elba, have complained publicly about having to move to the US to find more diverse and leading roles. The industry is also accused of failing to publicise black actors, creating a vicious circle in which, less well-known to audiences, they become viewed as a harder sell.
“How is it,” Williams asks, “that you have this well- trained, well-regarded talent and yet we struggle to know what they’re doing next? We want to encourage people into roles that develop. [Noel Clarke] gets his Bafta, voted for by the British public. That tells us something.” A 2005 Skillset/Equity performers survey found that although the pool of ethnic-minority film performers was in line with the UK population, they were less successful at securing film work.
There have been moves to develop and encourage cultural diversity in British film. Since 2007 films applying for tax relief have to pass four criteria, including whether a film “reflects British culture in relation to diversity, heritage and creativity”. The UK Film Council’s equality charter, a voluntary manifesto to promote social and cultural diversity, has 21 signatories, including the FDA and the Casting Directors’ Guild of Great Britain.
Williams says she is optimistic that more encouragement and support of black talent across the film-making spectrum, from writers to actors, will bear fruit. The industry, though playing catch-up, is enthusiastic for change, she says. Perhaps audiences are ready, too.
Skin is showing at the ICA in London.
bfm Interview: Ishmahil Blagrove
bfm Rollin: Ishmahil Blagrove founder of Rice n Peas Productions released
We are pleased to inform you that Ishmahil Blagrove and fellow British citizens have arrived safely in the UK.
Ishmahil Blagrove (Film/Documentary Producer who has worked for the BBC and Channel 4 and Founder of Rice n Peas Productions) had been kidnapped along with 20 other humanitarian activists, aid workers, an ex-US congresswoman, and a Noble Prize winner from Ireland (all from 11 countries) by the Israeli Authorities on 30 June, 2009 whilst trying to deliver medical supplies, school equipment, cement etc to the people of Gaza. The Israelis attacked their ship and forcibly arrested everyone on board, even though they had not entered Israeli waters or broken any laws. Ishmahil was intending to make a film about the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.
bfm interview: Jada Pinkett Smith, The HawthoRNE
Interview by Kam Williams
Jada on the Radar
Maryland Native Jada Pinkett Smith studied dance and acting at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the North Carolina School of the Arts before getting her big break when she landed a role on the long-running NBC-series, A Different World. The multi-talented actress, producer, director and philanthropist continually challenges herself in a variety of ways.
Now, not only is she playing her first lead role in a TV-series on HawthoRNe, but she is also the show’s executive producer. Ms. Pinkett Smith’s recent work includes lending her voice to the role of Gloria in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. She previously co-starred in the remake of The Women, and is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Niobe in the The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions.
Choosing her roles carefully, Jada appeared opposite Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle in Reign Over Me for Columbia Pictures, as well as playing a pivotal role opposite Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx in Collateral. Some of her other credits include Menace II Society, Jason’s Lyric, A Low Down Dirty Shame, The Nutty Professor, Set It Off and Scream 2, as well as voice work for Princess Mononoke.
Just as she does in front of the camera, Jada continually challenges herself offscreen with new and exciting projects. For example, her eye for excellence helped her, as executive producer, to turn the best-selling novel The Secret Life of Bees into a hit movie that earned itself the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture earlier this year. Here, she shares her thoughts about her new show, HawthoRNe, where she’ll be playing the title character, a recently-widowed, single-mom who works as the compassionate chief nurse at mythical Richmond Trinity Hospital. This new dramatic series premieres on TNT on Tuesday, June 16 at 9:00 PM (ET/PT).
KW: Hi, Jada. Thanks for the time. JPS: Thank you.
KW: Before we start, I hope you could answer this trivia question. I recently interviewed Rashida Jones and I was asking her about the opening sequence of every episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Towards the end of the theme song, when Will gets out of the taxi, I always assumed that the cabdriver was Quincy Jones. Looks just like him. When I asked Rashida, she said had never heard that rumor before, and that she didn’t know for sure, but she didn’t think it was her father. Can you settle the mystery once and for all and tell us whether that’s Quincy behind the wheel?
JPS: Yes I can. That cabdriver was not Quincy Jones. If I remember correctly, Will said he was actually somebody from Philly. And it's a cabdriver for sure. I just can't remember what the story is. But it absolutely is not Quincy Jones.
KW: Thanks for clearing that up. My favorite film of yours is Bamboozled. Which is your favorite?
JPS: Oh, man, I don't think I've made it yet, to be honest with you. I don't think I've made my favorite film yet. But I loved Bamboozled. Bamboozled to me is off the chain. It's definitely in the ranking. I loved Bamboozled.
KW: What interested you in returning to TV to do HawthoRNe?
JPS: I was not looking to do television at all. I got a phone call from my manager, Miguel Melendez, and he says, "Listen, I really – I want you to read this script. I would never send this to you if I didn't think it was fantastic.” I read it and then I let my husband read it. I was really interested in the project, and after a bit of back-and-forth I decided, you know what, I'm just going to go for it. I had vowed I’d never television again. But I decided to take it because I needed something different.
KW: Was the fact that you’d be going to TNT important?
JPS: Well, I would say going to TNT was what closed the deal for me. Once I met everybody there, I really loved the group at TNT, and I liked what their expectations were for the show. So, I just felt this really could be a beautiful marriage.
KW: Since you started playing a nurse, has your family started expecting you to cure their ailments?
JPS: Well, my mother is a nurse. So she is pretty much the nurse of the family. She has gotten that kind of locked down. So no, I'd have to say my family pretty much knows that in real life any type of physical traumas like cuts and bruises and anything like that, you've got to call – that you've got to call gammy for that.
KW: Does it mean anything to you that other than Jill Scott, you’re now the only black female lead on a drama on television right now?
JPS: I hadn't really thought about that. I'm really grateful for the opportunity– but I just want to make a great show. I'm hoping that people can just see a great show, whether it's an African-American, an Asian, or a Native American that's standing at the forefront. History-wise, there was probably a point in time when I wouldn't have had this opportunity. So, to have this opportunity is a big deal for me. I'm very grateful for it.
KW: Are there any plans for any of your children to appear on the series? JPS: As of right now, no.
KW: Judging by your mother-in-law on the show, Joanna Cassidy, I assume that your late husband was white or at least half-white. Will your daughter’s character being mixed be explored at all on the show?
JPS: There definitely probably will be some exploring of it later on in the season.
KW: Given Will's success with the Fresh Prince, has he given you any tips on doing a series?
JPS: Sure, my husband has a plethora of information to share. He is here with me, and he has really offered me an extraordinary amount of help on this particular project. I'm grateful for him.
KW: How have you been handling all the blood in the medical scenes?
JPS: There won’t be much gore on the show. There was one scene where somebody had an open gash on their leg and that kind of caught me off-guard. I'm really not one for a lot of physical gore like that, which is why my mother is very surprised about that I'm playing nurse. But on this show, we really are dealing more with how people are being affected by their ailment s versus focusing on the ailments themselves.
KW: Diahann Carroll, as Julia, played the first black nurse in a title role on TV back in the Sixties. Do you feel any type of connection to that history?
JPS: I do, I do feel connection to that history, absolutely – because she’s the only prominent black female nurse that I can think of who’s been on television. I feel both for that character and for Diahann Carroll as an actress, and I appreciate the road that she and paved for me to even have the possibility of being an actress in Hollywood.
KW: I know your mother’s a nurse. What does your dad do for a living? JPS: My father has been in construction for pretty much all his working years.
KW: How old were you when you knew you wanted to be an actress?
JPS: I was about three when I wanted to be an actress. I knew that I would definitely be participating in Hollywood in some way. I didn't know the amount of success I would enjoy, but I knew I would be here at some capacity.
KW: Tell me a little about your friendship with Tupac while in performing arts school.
JPS: Tupac and I were just close friends because we had such an insatiable drive and passion for acting and entertainment. It was inevitable as far as we were both concerned.
KW: Thanks again for the interview, Jada, and best of luck to you with the new show. JPS: Thank you.
bfm Interview: Stacy Spikes, Urban World Film Festival
bfm interview: Stacy Spikes, Urban World Film Festival
Interview by Kam Williams
Festival Founder Issues Annual Appeal for Entries to Aspiring Filmmakers
Stacy Spikes is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Urbanworld Film Festival, the premiere showcase for urban and ethnic films. The festival, which premiered in August of 1997, was born out of an inspired idea that Mr. Spikes jotted down on a napkin while dining in a restaurant.
Stacy Spikes is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Urbanworld Film Festival, the premiere showcase for urban and ethnic films. The festival, which premiered in August of 1997, was born out of an inspired idea that Mr. Spikes jotted down on a napkin while dining in a restaurant.
Over the years, his goal of celebrating filmmakers of color has successfully created a bridge in Hollywood between studio and independent films. Today, Spikes, in association with BET, is announcing his call for entries for the 13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, sponsored by HBO, which will be held September 23- 27, 2009 in New York City. Submissions will be open through June 26, 2009, and must be accompanied by an official Urbanworld Film Festival submission form available at www.urbanworld.org or www.withoutabox.com
In 1985, Stacy Spikes left his native Texas while still in his teens with just $300 in his pocket and a desire to work in the entertainment industry. He landed a job as a production manager at American Video in Los Angeles. Four years later, he accepted a position at Motown Records which, in turn, facilitated his move to New York City and to Columbia Records.
However, Spikes' love of storytelling brought him back to film, and his joining Miramax Films and then October Films, both as Vice-President of Marketing. Movies which he marketed have grossed more than $3 billion to date, worldwide. That impressive career with major studios inexorably led to the entrepreneurial venture known as Urbanworld. Here, Mr. Spikes, who resides in New York City with his wife and young daughter, talks fondly about his vision for the festival he founded.
KW: Hi Stacy, thanks for the time. When did you know you wanted to create a film festival?
SS: We saw at some of the major festivals that there was an obvious void for works by people of color. I was the VP of Marketing at Miramax at the time and just decided to try and do what I could.
KW: What is the main mission of the Urbanworld Film Festival?
SS: To give a platform for exposure for the works of minority filmmakers, actors, writers and directors in contemporary cinema. And to provide a festival that can educate the filmmakers of the future and give studios a robust marketplace to acquire such works and discover new talent.
KW: What Kind of films do you find yourself most drawn to?
SS: Personally, I love any film that transports me to a new world and tells a great story and captures the essence of the human spirit.
KW: How has the festival partnership with BET been beneficial to Urbanworld’s goals?
SS: Our partnership with BET has been amazing in assisting us to give exposure to films and give greater opportunity to filmmakers.
KW: Why should Urbanworld become a destination for serious filmmakers of all backgrounds?
SS: Because it’s one of the preeminent festivals of it's kind and has been the launching pad for some of today's top directors. If you are serious about your career Urbanworld is an event that you don't want to miss for its exposure and networking opportunities alone.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
SS: I am currently reading three books: Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins, The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki and Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century by P.W. Singer.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
SS: Yes, when my three year-old daughter runs too fast at the playground.
KW: Is there any question no one has ever asked you, that you wish someone would? SS: Hmm.... yeah, if you could have dinner with six people alive or dead who would they be?
KW: Okay, if you could have dinner with six people alive or dead who would they be? SS: Christ, Martin Luther King, Einstein, Buddha, Prophet Muhammad and Hitler.
KW: Pretty interesting. The music maven Heather Covington question: What music are you listening to nowadays?
SS: The Isley Brothers, Iron Maiden, Explosions in the Sky.... And I listen to air traffic controllers live at JFK airport all the time. I find it amazing. You can check it out at www.liveatc.net.
KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list?
SS: My mother for teaching me to believing in my dreams, my father for teaching me that black dads will be there no matter what, my wife for teaching me to love the mystery in her, and my daughter for teaching me to never grow up
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps? SS: Dare great things and live every day as if it is your last. For one day you will be right.
KW: How do you want to be remembered? SS: As a person who always took risks and was never afraid to go for it.
KW: What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to over come?
SS: Doubt.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good belly laugh?
SS: A couple of weeks ago, catching up with an old friend.... wondering, when did we become the old guys at 40? And remembering how, at 23, the world was ours.
KW: Thanks again, Stacy, and best of luck with Urbanworld this year. SS: Thank you.
bfm Interview: Jamie Foxx
Headline: Kam Goes Solo with Jamie
Texas native Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop on December 13, 1967. Although he was a star athlete at Terrell High on both the school’s football and basketball teams, he majored in classical music and composition in at the U.S. International University in California.
He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles as well as the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), BAFTA and NAACP Image Awards. Foxx has since appeared in Dreamgirls, Miami Vice, Jarhead and The Kingdom, as well as a thriving career in music
Here, Jamie Foxx talks to Kam Williams about his movie, The Soloist, a true story in which he plays Nathaniel Ayers, a Juilliard-trained child prodigy, who ended up homeless after developing schizophrenia. In the film, Ayers is befriended by Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.), an L.A. Times reporter who hears him playing the violin in the park.
KW: Jamie, I loved The Soloist and I’m so honoured to get this time with you.
JF: Thank you, bro.
KW: My first question is, did you get to meet Nathaniel Ayers on the streets in preparing to portray him?
JF: Yes I did. As a matter of fact, I snuck downtown with a little bit of a disguise and a security cat, and I just hung out right next to Nathaniel. He had no idea that I was watching him. I got a chance to see him speak to the world, and get excited, and be happy, and sad, and play his music. And I saw him preach. Watching that I was able to gather a lot of great information about who this guy was that I was about to play, without hearing anybody’s opinion of him, but just from my firsthand look at him. Later, I was formally introduced to him, and he was on his best behaviour. He smiled because he gets it that they were going to do a movie about his life. And then you see him not get it, and wondering, “What’s going n here?” And then he’d swing back around and get it again. So, it was very interesting. And while all that was happening, I had a video camera on my phone that I used to record him the whole time. So, I came home, watched that footage, the footage I filmed when he wasn’t watching, and the footage I filmed when he was aware.
KW: How did you prepare for the role after that?
JF: It was a matter of putting him together. Losing the weight… getting the hair right… getting the makeup right… and going to that place that I have feared going to for a long time, that is, losing your mind.
KW: What made you afraid of that?
JF: As a child I always feared losing my mind. There was a guy in my neighborhood who always walked up and down the street talking to himself. I won’t say his name, but I would always go, “Ooh, that’s scary.” And then, when I was 18, I had a horrible experience when somebody slipped something into my drink. It was a college prank that really went bad, and I hallucinated for 11 months. The doctors said that sometimes people go and they never come back. I was lucky enough to get back, but the way I recovered was by playing music all the time, because I was in a music school. Isn’t it interesting that Nathaniel Anthony Ayers had a similar situation?
KW: Very.
JF: So, at one point while preparing for this movie I woke my manager at like three in the morning, saying, “I got it, I’m him, I know exactly what’s going on. Nathaniel says this, that and the other, because he feels this way and that way. I used to do the same thing when I was in college. I played music, and the reason we play music is so we can soothe ourselves. I’m him!”
KW: How did your manger respond?
JF: He goes, “Foxx, I’m on way over to your house, because this is a little strange.” And when he gets there, I’m telling him all these different things which to him sounded like I was losing my mind. But to me, it made perfect sense, and that’s who Nathaniel Anthony Ayers is. Everything that he’s doing makes perfect sense to him. That’s why when Steve Lopez says, “You need help,” Nathaniel responds, “No, you don’t get it. This is what it is. This is what makes me feel comfortable. This is not your mind. This is my mind.” So, there were a lot of different parallels going on.
KW: After seeing It struck me as a cross between A Beautiful Mind and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. But I think you did a better job at conveying the feeling of insanity than either of those other pictures, which were both excellent, too. JF: Thanks.
KW: Joe told me that you filmed on location on Skid Row and hired a lot of the homeless as extras. What was that like?
JF: It was interesting. I learned to have a different outlook on Skid Row. I arrived with my bravado, being an urban kid from the country, and thinking that there were people there out to get you. There’s gangbanging going on on Skid Row… people selling drugs… people on the come up… So, I went down there with an attitude like, “Yo, I’m going down here, but I’m watching my back.” But I quickly learned that that wasn’t what it was all about. They were mostly people who were really just trying to survive and to hold onto the little bit of human dignity they had left. I met actors down there, lawyers, and people who had been released too early from mental institutions that had turned their backs on them. People who had been living a couple of pay cheques from being homeless, and then something bad happened, they lost everything, and now they don’t know how to get back. I learned a lot of lessons, so when I look at them now, I don’t think of them in the same way that I used to. I have to thank Joe Wright for that.
KW: It reminds me of how when I was watching the State of the Black Union recently, I saw former TV talk show host Iyanla Vanzant talking about recently becoming homeless. And she had been an attorney and a best-selling author.
JF: Yeah, it blows your mind, man, because you never know where you might be. That was another thing I said to my manager that night, “And this is what’s going to happen: I’m going to lose all my money. I’m going to lose this house, and I’m going to end up homeless.” And to me, it really felt like that could happen. And sometimes, in those situations, it really can.
KW: Is there any question no one has ever asked you, that you wish someone would? JF: Yes, there’s a question. How come they don’t ask me about how great I play ping-pong?
KW: Okay, how great do you play ping-pong? JF: I’m bad! I will challenge anybody. Don’t even think about it. Unless you’re left-handed and from China, you don’t have a chance.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid? JF: All the time.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy? JF: Yes!
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good belly laugh? JF: Every day, man. [Chuckles] If you hang out with me, you’d see. I hang out with all comedians.
KW: Jimmy also wants to know, when did you think that an Oscar was attainable? When you left Texas? When you were on In Living Color? JF: When we attained it.
KW: What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome? JF: Ooh… The biggest obstacle? The mental obstacle of thinking that just because I was African-American that I couldn’t have it all.
KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list? JF: Barack Obama.
KW: The Laz Alonso question: Is there anything your fans can do to help you? JF: By always telling me if it’s good, bad, or all right.
KW: Reverend Florine Thompson asks, if someone produces is a movie about the life of President Obama would you consider playing him?
JF: [Answers doing an impressive Obama impersonation that sounds just like the President] If there’s any indication, that America is not the most incredible country in the world… [Chuckles] Yes I would.
KW: And the good Reverend had a follow-up, who would you like to see cast in the role of Michelle Obama? JF: Hmm, who would it be? Halle Berry.
KW: Reverend Thompson also says grandmothers have played an exceptional role in the black experience, and that in your song, "I Wish You Were Here," you pay tribute to and share about your grandmother. She asks what role did your grandmother play in your life and how did she influence your spirituality?
JF: She gave me everything. She gave me the tools to be who I am, from music to athletics to knowing how to be a gentleman. She did it all.
KW: Well, thanks again for a great interview, Jamie and good luck with the film. JF: Thanks, bro.
bfm Interview: Aml Ameen
Aml Ameen is best known for his role in Kidulthood and the TV drama series The Bill. He has set up his own acting group called Actor student alliance (ASA) alongside his burgeoning career. Amica Anselm caught up with Ameen to discover his achievements and goals.
BFM: What inspired you to become an actor?
Aml Ameen (AA): Well I attended stage school and soon after I worked for a stage school. At the age of eleven I performed with Michael Jackson at the Brit awards in 1996. I got my passion from watching old Hollywood movies; my mum is very interested in James Cagney and Jimmy Stewart. I really got my buzz from Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone I felt like I had to do this, it looked fun.
BFM: What are you working on now?
AA: I’m working on a Hollywood film called Red Tales, a George Lucas movie and it has Method Man, Ne-Yo, Jasmine Sullivan, and lots of the actors from The Wire. I’m very happy about that, it’s one of the steps in the direction to where I want to be. I was just some person, a boy with a dream that’s it. I give this energy out to London, any dreamers out there? Get a plan together, focus on it, visualize it and go for it.
BFM: What other things are you doing at the moment?
AA: I have penned two feature films and a TV project. One of my feature film projects will send the UK film world in another direction which is going to be very controversial. I’m working closely with some good people who have already done their stuff, so it’s going to happen and when it does it going to be very good!
BFM: Do you feel that the previous generation of actors helped up and coming actors and yourself?
AA: I feel like the previous generation didn’t help me although they did in a roundabout way, their struggles and their successes literally helped the foundation and helped me stand on their shoulders, but while I’m hot and I’m about to shoot a Hollywood film I’m still going to come back to ASA and I’m going to be teaching my students. You need to build a real solid foundation so you don’t get knocked off you’ve got to be your own boss, have a team and have your own production company.
BFM: What inspired you to set up ASA?
AA: I don’t like to sit around as an actor and wait around for work. So I thought, let me use my time and my status to integrate the people that I work with, and young actors together. I’ve been acting since I was six-years-old and I think I can mould and create an elite group with the people that I work with, and take some of my group of actors with me.
BFM: Does this mean that you can open doors for your up and coming actors?
AA: The more and more you move into the industry you grow and gain a bit more power, the younger cast members that were cast in The Bill, I had introduced them to get the jobs. Casting directors and so forth respect me as an actor; the industry is not as posh as it looks. People are looking for anybody that’s on point.
bfm Interview with Dwayne Johnson, Race to Witch Mountain
Q: What was it about this film that made you want to remake it?
Andy Fickman: We were huge fans of the original Witch Mountain movies from the 70’s that we didn’t think about it as a remake, more as a continuation to the franchise. We had a whole new set of characters and a new set of adventures, but still keep bits from the original. If you’re such a fan of the original then you want to keep the franchise going some 30 years later. Plus the opportunity to work with great actors like… (Andy smiles and looks at Dwayne) Ciaran Hinds. (Laughs).
Dwayne Johnson: I should just say that’s a wind up!
Ciaran Hinds: I met Andy for lunch when I was doing a play in New York giving my Devil, and he said that he needed something quite dark for this film. I said yes and had a really fantastic time on this film, really fantastic.
Dwayne Johnson: Two weeks before Andy called me, I was watching the original with my daughter as I’m a big fan of it. He said he had a big idea for a re-imagining for Race to Witch Mountain. It was easy for me to say yes. The opportunity to team up with Andy again, and with Disney for a family film, then the cast came on board and it was easy to agree. I saw it when I was like 10 or 11 and the kids had some really cool powers in it. It was empowering literally as they are the ones who help me in this film to become a better man.
Q: Is it more difficult to make a kids movie nowadays as the younger audience is probably more self-aware than they ever have been?
Andy Fickman: You have to make it for more of a general audience. The first one came out in 1965, before Star wars and before ET. If we made it as a pure kid’s movie it would have been dumbed down and the characters would have lost something.
Q: With more and more sports stars coming into acting, do you have any advice for them?
Dwayne Johnson: I don’t know about advice, but what served me was to find the best material and make it better. I was encouraged to bring across the tenacity and drive from the sports arena to acting. I’ve obviously worked with Andy before (on 2008 hit The Game Plan)… he’s a great guy as I’m sure you all know. I can tell you it took time for the transition from The Rock to Dwayne Johnson to take place, but it’s just a name at the end it’s all about the performances. I mean my nickname is still the Rock, so it doesn’t really matter to me about the name.
Q: Dwayne you play a cab driver in this movie, what sort of jobs have you and the rest of the panel had in the past, and what would you do if it all came to an end tomorrow?
Dwayne Johnson: My first job was washing dishes from3 o’clock in the afternoon until 11 at night. I was also a cart collector going around the parking lots collecting the shopping trolleys. If it all ended tomorrow I would concentrate on being a good daddy.
Ciaran Hinds: One of the weirdest jobs I had was when I just left drama school working in Harrods packing department. I was sending really fine chine to Iran and it was saucers that were ₤58 and there I was earning ₤20 a week. The things you wanted to do to that saucer.
Andy Fickman: I was a tour guide at Universal studios and you had to spend four hours telling interesting anecdotes and it would be like “see that pole there, that was in Dirty Harry” and we didn’t even do Dirty Harry! Once I got challenged by some guy I think I managed to get him chucked out of the park.
Race to Witch Mountain is released in the UK by Walt Disney Pictures on April 10, 2009
Kwame Kwei-Armah
Kwame Kwei-Armah
20/20
Born in London in 1967 to West Indian parents, Kwame Kwei-Armah is probably best-known to television audiences for playing paramedic Fin in BBC One’s Casualty for five years. He also enjoys considerable success as an award-winning writer as well as singer and presenter. A BAFTA nomination went to the TV version of his stage play Elmina’s Kitchen, which premiered at the National Theatre in 2003 before transferring to the West End. The play won him an Evening Standard Most Promising
Playwright award and an Olivier nomination for Best New Play. He has been a regular contributor to BBC2’s Culture Show and Newsnight Review, and has appeared as a panellist on Question Time. His most recent TV project, Walter’s War, was a BBC4 drama inspired by the life of Walter Tull, the first black British officer in the First World War, produced as part of the commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the Armistice.
Steve Pratt asked him 20 questions.
How did the new project originate?
With the producer Ruth Caleb who saw a TV programme, Not Forgotten, in which Walter Tull was featured. She was so taken by the story that she wanted to produce a drama about him and approached me to write it.
What was your first reaction?
I was a little bit ashamed that I hadn’t heard of him. I didn’t know much about the whole thing until I looked into it. The best of the research came from an academic named Phil [Vasili]. Without him, Walter’s story wouldn’t have come to light.
How important do you think the story is?
One never really hears about the black contribution to the First World War. And also, when we think about black Britain, we think post-Windrush. But there were black people fighting for Britain and here was this extraordinary character who, when we’re talking about role models, was the first black footballer and first black officer in the First World War.
What was it like writing something that you hadn’t originated?
I found it an interesting process doing a commission as opposed to going in with an idea at the beginning and saying, ‘This is what I feel’. I think you can only do that if you think and believe in the subject matter.
Do you find it easy seeing someone else bring your script to the screen or stage?
There comes a point when you hand the script over to the director and say, ‘It’s now your baby’. I am not very good at that, the handing-over bit. It’s very different working in television than theatre, where I have a little more autonomy.
Have you abandoned acting for writing now?
I act a little bit in Walter’s War. In one of the cuts I saw, I’d been cut out which was funny.
You’re also to be seen as a TV presenter?
I went to places like Ghana and Ethiopia to make a programme for Channel 4 about the history of Christianity in Africa. That took up a little bit of my acting slot this year.
You also had success as a singer in Comic Relief’s 2003 Celebrity Fame Academy on the BBC and released an album, Kwame. Any more strings to your bow?
I do seem to have different titles, depending on what gig I’m doing. They seem to be increasing. Now it’s actor, playwright, singer and broadcaster.
Are you surprised by the number of different things in which you’re involved?
To be honest, as much as I laugh about it, I wouldn’t have been perceived in my youth as someone who could be successful in several different spheres. It’s marvellous. People doing several things sometimes have problems, being called Jack-of-all trades but master of none. Fortunately, the media have allowed me to do everything.
Was the long-running Casualty role a help or a hindrance in your career?
It certainly didn’t hinder. It helped a great deal because, if I was known at all, it was as the black ambulance driver. I was in it for five years and then Celebrity Fame Academy bounced me into the eye of the public. Then I wrote Elmina’s Kitchen for the stage.
So it’s no problem being referred to as “ex-Casualty actor Kwame”?
That doesn’t hurt me or deny me in any way. Popular culture has a huge role to play in accessing what people call the high arts. I remember my years at Casualty fondly.
You were born Ian Roberts in 1967 in South London to West Indian parents, then changed your name after researching your family history. How big a deal was that?
I changed my name 12 years ago, before I became known publicly. It was a huge emotional thing for me finding out about my ancestors. I changed from being a very angry young man to one who is very content.
What made you want to write?
The writing came out of a sense that I was a singer-songwriter before I became an actor properly and that I was going to be hugely successful at that. One day I gave up on that and had to fill that void with something. Writing exorcised the feeling of failure.
Didn’t the acclaimed mini-series Roots have a big effect on you?
That’s what set me on the path for life really and led to me changing my name. I’m probably a writer today because of that, the narrative brought something creative into my psyche.
How do you react to being labelled as a “black writer”?
I know there’s a school of thought that believes being called a black playwright can be containing. I am not part of that school. I can look at the subject matters I’ve covered in my plays – from black think tanks to gun crime, from assisted suicide to the first black army officer – and see there’s a myriad of things I can invest through the lens of being black and not feel contained.
A screenplay for a feature film can’t be far away?
I’m working on several at the moment. A few looked like they were going to go last year but, like things do in film, they fall off and lose the energy.
Do you think you can make a difference as a writer?
Art has the ability to be a great catalyst for debate and that’s what I’m interested in, I want people to talk about things.
What’s next for you?
Now that we’ve completed Walter’s War, I’ve gone back to the play I’m writing for the National Theatre. Then I have a big TV [project] that I’m going off to do.
Film or theatre?
I can’t get any higher than I am at the National. That’s a big blessing and I would like to be able to replicate that in film.
Are there any ambitions left to fulfill?
I have hundreds of ambitions. I’m not at the top, I’m middle management – there’s so much further for me to go. So many other dreams and ambitions, so many other careers.
This article originally appeared in the December 08 issue of the BAFTA members magazine ACADEMY and is reproduced here with permission.
Written by Steve Pratt
bfm to co present Sugar at Birds Eye View Film Festival
bfm to co-present Sugar at Birds Eye View Film Festival Published Wednesday, 11 February, 2009
Sugar, first shown at the London Film Festival in October 2008 will be co-presented by bfm at the fifth London Birds Eye View Film Festival. Nadia Denton, director, bfm International Film Festival, said of the collaboration: "BFM are delighted to be collaborating with the UK's largest film festival dedicated to women." Sugar is about a nimble and insightful study of the American Dream seen through the eyes of a talented young baseball player from the Dominican Republic. The film will be shown on Sunday, 8 March, 7pm at the ICA. Click here for more info.
The event is run over nine days (5-13 March at bfi Southbank and the ICA) and and is am-packed with over 70 events including breathtaking films from all corners of the globe, top US indie faves, UK premieres including Cannes Critics Week winner and the hottest screen seductresses from the beginning of cinema to the present day. Plus an exclusive masterclass and retrospective from world-class director Mary Harron (American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page), one-off live music events from cutting edge female artists, moving image innovation, fashion films, training workshops, parties and much, much more.
Goddesses (2007) Peace Mission (2008) Half Value Life (2008)
This year will also have a special focus on developing countries. You will be able to hear from the Afghan women who risk their lives to make films. Take a trip around Nigerian Nollywood, the world's third largest film industry, led by the inspirational producer Peace Anyiam-Fiberesima. Meet an animator from Trinidad and Tobago, and the talented director of Goddesses - a documentary depicting ordinary women leading extra-ordinary lives in India. It almost makes no sense to group these films together, such is the diversity of these far-flung places. Yet, with the world - and the film industry - in its current set up, it is still a rare treat to see the work of women outside our own geo-political niche, let alone to have the chance to quizz them in person. Don't miss this golden opportunity!
Aaron Woolfolk has been interested in building bridges between cultures ever since he was a teenager. His dream of being a film maker has provided the perfect outlet for
him to do just that. “I’ve always wanted to be an international
film maker,” he says. “Even as a teenager in Oakland I’d
take the bus into Berkley to see all the foreign films. I’ve always
looked at filmmaking as a global thing.”
Woolfolk, 39, attended UC Berkley before
being drawn to Japan, as a teacher in the JET Program. It was
during his stay in Japan that the wheels in his head started turning.
“My film ideas come from my life experiences and things I see,”
he explains, “and being in Japan had a huge influence on me.”So he began writing the screenplays
for two short films, Black Sheep and The Station, which
he would later go on to film in Japan with money from grants during
his tenure at Columbia University film school in New York. His experience
on these two films only reinforced his love for Japanese culture, and
fueled his desire to learn more. “I left Japan 15 years ago
and have been back pretty much every year since. I kind of felt like
my Japan experience wasn’t complete.”
Woolfolk soon set his sights on directing
a major production in Japan. With the attention of Hollywood heavyweight
Danny Glover, he can now claim the distinction of being the first African
American to direct a major film in Japan.
The film, Harimaya Bridge, stars
Danny Glover and Ben Guillory and Japanese actresses Saki Takaoka and
Misa Shimizu. It has just finished filming in Kochi, Japan where
Mr. Woolfolk once taught. The film addresses the cross-cultural
issues Woolfolk has been exploring all his life. “I’ve always been
interested in cross-cultural stories,” he says, “people crossing
bridges between cultures and learning about people they didn’t know
about before and breaking stereotypes.”
The story involves an African American
man who travels to rural Japan to uncover the mystery of his son’s
death there. Along the way he finds a genuine sense of understanding
and empathy with the Japanese that he never expected, and they with
him.
It was the same understanding Woolfolk
embraced during his time living, working, and visiting Japanese shores. “I came to Japan in 1992 and I was the first African American that
most people had seen at that time. I was always mindful of that,”
he says. “So when people would say something offensive -- when kids
would touch my hair or something-- I just remembered it was their first
experience with a black person. In the US we should know better
because of our history. But in rural Japan people had only seen African
Americans in the media -- basketball players, rappers -- so when people
assumed I was the best basketball player ever, you just have to remember
that that’s all they’ve seen. In the US you’d be offended by something
like that, but you have to keep your head about you. “
It was this open-mindedness and mutual
respect which really has allowed Woolfolk to flourish in the Land of
the Rising Sun.He has nothing but positive things
to say about his directorial debut. He describes the Japanese crew as
extremely dedicated and 100% behind the vision of the project. That’s
not to say there weren’t challenges, which he confesses is all part
of his cultural bridge building process.
One particular challenge was the language
barrier, especially for the lead actresses, whose experience on this
film was the first time either of them had done the bulk of their lines
in English. “There were struggles for Saki and Misa, but I was overwhelmed
by their talent and how hard they worked,” he beamed.
In the end, Woolfolk seems to have
at least made strides in his vision to build cultural bridges, and help
people overcome their differences to see each other as ultimately the
same. After this film, he plans to continue making the kind of “global”
films that inspired him. Harimaya Bridge is indeed not the last
one he will construct.
The film Harimaya Bridge is
scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.
Crossing Bridges
A pat on the back goes to Mark Norfolk for his film Crossing Bridges
Filmmaker, Mark Norfolk picked up the Audience award at the first Corinthian International Film Festival for his film, Crossing Bridges. Norfolk attended the film festival, held last month in the ancient Greek city of Corinthia. He said of the achievement: “The buzz around Crossing Bridges was out of this world. We met a great bunch of filmmakers from all over the world and the Greek people and festival staff were amazing.”
BET and The Weinstein Company (TWC) announces film partnership
BET and The Weinstein Company (TWC) announces film partnership
The film package includes the first network-window premiere rights to a multi-picture package of theatrical films - the company's first foray into the network window business with TWC. In addition to acquiring the first position network-window for Soul Men and Hurricane Season, BET Networks will also be a promotional partner on both pictures.
BHM Short Film Challenge winners
BHM Short Film Challenge winners
Congratulations to this year’s BHM Short Film Challenge winners
Now in its third year, the BHM Short Film Challenge is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever. This year’s lucky awardees are Katy Milner and Cheryl Marshall for One English Winter and Lawrence Coke for Silent Heritage.
One English Winter is a tale of a Caribbean immigrant’s arrival in England as he journeys through London, his new home. His thoughts, experiences and observations in a letter home to his wife in Jamaica form the ‘soundtrack’ of the film and there are clear modern day parallels with waves of Eastern European migration and a commonality all ‘New Londoners’ experience.
Lawrence Coke’s “Silent Heritage” is a documentary speaking to one of the still most arguably taboo of interracial relationships in multi-cultural Britain, that of Black and Asian coupling. “This is all the more confusing, as the two communities have a similar history of being excluded in certain areas of society”, says director Lawrence Coke. Their films were screened at The Albany in Deptford on 7 October.
Distribute your film on Amazon.com and other channels
Distribute your film on Amazon.com and other channels
CreateSpace is an on-demand distribution platform, enabling filmmakers to make their products available to potentially millions of customers on Amazon.com and other channels without requiring an upfront investment. You start making money with your first sale, and again with each subsequent sale.
Your films will appear as in-stock DVDs for sale on Amazon.com, as well as be available through other distribution channels. Visit www.createspace.com for more information.
BFM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CANCELLED
Don't Miss Hollywood star Idris Elba in BBC drama Luther
Janet Jackson: The “Why Did I Get Married Too” Interview
Wesley Snipes
bfm rollin': Mo’Nique - The Precious Interview
The very best African-American film fare from 2009 was released early on, starting with Notorious, Medicine for Melancholy and Not Easily Broken, all of which arrived in theaters last January. That same month, Precious made its big splash at the Sundance Festival, walking away with a trio of awards: best picture, director (Lee Daniels) and actress (Mo’Nique).
Must See TV - BBC adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island
bfm interview: Jada Pinkett Smith, The HawthoRNE
bfm interview: Stacy Spikes, Urban World Film Festival
Headline: Kam Goes Solo with Jamie
Q: What was it about this film that made you want to remake it?
Q: Dwayne you play a cab driver in this movie, what sort of jobs have you and the rest of the panel had in the past, and what would you do if it all came to an end tomorrow?
bfm to co-present Sugar at Birds Eye View Film Festival
