2011 Screenings

The following selections were screened during the 2011 Festival. Congratulations to those that were selected.

Thursday, November 10 - Georgia Pacific Theater, 133 Peachtree Street, NE Atlanta 30303

3:00pm	Welcome
3:05pm	Underground 19:21	Country of Production: Tallahassee, FL, USA; Producer/Director: Akil Dupont Synopsis: In a story told through song, Bali plans to escape from slavery after learning that his master is going to sell his young daughter, Emala. With house slave Dembi, they strike out in the dead of night, singing Negro spirituals that they hope will protect them on their perilous journey to freedom.
3:25pm	Music Videos
	It’s Me 6:29 Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer/Director: Carmen Rodgers Synopsis: A woman scorned returns to haunt her lover
	Take Em Up 4:10 Country of Production: Norwalk, CA, USA; Producer/Director Kevin Parkinson Synopsis: Handling everything life throws at you
	Gone Already 3:51 Country of Production: USA; Producer/Director: Dion Watkins Synopsis: Faith Evans elegantly sings of love lost as theatrical mimes help tell her story.
3:55pm	Take Too Long 15:00	Country of Production: Valley Village, CA, USA; Director: Kwesi Davis Synopsis: In the wake of hurricane Katrina, a young couple, Rich and Jessica, attempt to reunite with Rich’s father, Lou Robinson, but an ignorant and under staffed police department (combined with massive flooding and disorganization of a city in peril) conspire to make the reunion almost impossible.
4:10pm	Men In Love 11:45	Country of Production: Brooklyn, NY, USA; Producer/Director: Keith Davis Synopsis: Steamy encounter with stranger following a break-up
4:22pm	Man Up 46:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Marietta, GA, USA Producer: Reach Life; Director: Sho Baraka; Cinematographer: T.K. McKamy; Editor: Tripp Crosby Synopsis: What does it look like to be a man? In our culture, we don’t have any rites of passage, so you don’t really know when you’re a man or not. “Man Up” takes a look at six different areas of manhood that young men very often fail to live up to. By taking a look at the common challenges and responses of young men in urban culture, we hope to reveal the need for clarity on what being a man truly means.
5:35pm	Lesson Before Love 105:00	Year of Completion: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA Producers: Dui Jarrod, Scotty Singleton, James Coles; Director: Dui Jarrod; Writer: Dui Jarrod Cinematographer: Tyler Dixon; Principle Cast: Kenneth Brown Jr., Shamea Morton, Peyton Coles, Reece Odum Synopsis: Eric, Alexis, Cullen and Janae are all single and unsatisfied living their monochromatic lives. The contentious, first time meeting between on-line chat buddies, Eric and Alexis, brings about a torrent of emotions as they and their friends all meet up for a night on the town, after which they begin to experience love lessons that force them to search their own hearts and lost passions for the love that has long eluded them.

Thursday, November 10 - Regal Theatres, Atlantic Station, 261 19th Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30363

8:00pm

We the Party

Country of Production: Los Angeles, CA, USA Producers: Mario Van Peebles, Michael Cohen, Tal Vidgeson, Dwjuan F. Fox; Director: Mario Van Peebles; Writer: Mario Van Peebles; Cinematographer: AJ Rickert-Epstein; Editor: George Artope; Principle Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Michael Jai White, Tiny Lister, and Snoop Dog, along with Patrick Cage II, Ryan Vigil, Moises Arias, Makaylo Van Peebles, Keenan Jackson, Simone Battle, and Mandela Van Peebles; guest appearances By Orlando Brown and Melvin Van Peebles.

Synopsis: “We The Party” is a colorful, authentic, cutting edge dramedy about high school students struggling to come of age during America’s first black presidency.

Friday, November 11 - Georgia Pacific Theater, 133 Peachtree Street, NE Atlanta 30303

11:00am	Inside the Digital Moving Image Salon 30:00	Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer/ Director: Haj Mitchell; Writer: Haj Mitchell; Cinematographer: Haj Mitchell; Editor: Lyndon McCray; Principal Cast: Ayoka Chenzira Synopsis: Inside the Digital Moving Image Machine takes us on the journey of one the first African American women filmmakers and animators of our time, Ayoka Chenzira, as she creates an outlet for a new generation of young women to recognize the importance of documenting their story using new media technologies. The DMIS program is the first of its kind and is located at the prestigious Spelman College, a historically Black college for women.
11:45am	Letters to a Father 19:50 Country of Production: Clarkston, GA, USA; Producer/Director: George Pierre Synopsis: Life for a daughter without a father.
12:15pm	Love That Never Leaves 45:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer: Helen A. Smith and Qulanda R. Moore; Director: Helen A. Smith; Writer: Helen A. Smith; Cinematographer: Qulanda R. Moore; Editor: Qulanda R. Moore; Principle Cast: Kymm Wallace, Sy Sayonara, Brandon George Synopsis: Things Fall Apart… But Love Prevails. Ellen is a young woman who is recently divorced from the one person she ever truly loved, her ex-husband Reggie. She is in her last year of college, a time in her life in which she deals with heartache and redemption. Her best friend, Maria, is there by her side every step of the way. It is this sisterhood that helps Ellen to get back on her feet and begin putting the pieces of her life back together. Both women's power of forgiveness is truly tested by the ones they love the most and the people they did not even see coming. Will they make it?
1:15pm	The Interrogation 19:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer: Brian Green; Director: Brian Green; Writer: Brian Green; Cinematographer: Brian Green, Tony Fields; Editor: Brian Green; Principle Cast: Tony Fields, Alicia Schulz Synopsis: The Interrogation is a short-drama about a lover's spat with deadly consequences.
1:45pm	Checkmate 18:32	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer: Shakethia ‘Queen’ Robertson; Director: Chiken Green; Writer: Angela Jones; Cinematographer: Anthony McHie; Editor: Shakethia ‘Queen’ Robertson; Principle Cast: Sarah E. Spencer, LaShaun Clay, Rachel Brooks Synopsis: A dying woman's plan to find a new wife for her husband leaves him facing the tough choice of whether to live out her dying wish or face life alone.
2:15pm	The Killing Seed 14:28	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer: Rod Dixon; Director: Carl Shackleton; Writer: Rod Dixon; Cinematographer: James Houk; Editor: Carl Shackleton; Principle cast: Brittany-Elle Benson; Amanda Dunn; Dupree Lewis, Jr.; Jerry White; World premiere Synopsis: A supernatural being secretly trains to become a killing machine
2:50pm	Butterfly Rising 94:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: USA; Producer: Wilber Colon; Director: Tanya Wright Writer: Tanya Wright; Cinematographer: Giovanni Di Giacomo; Editor: Katie Dillon; Principle Cast: McGhee Monteith, Tanya Wright, Adam Clark, Terrah Bennet Smith Synopsis: Two women steal a vintage truck and set out on the open road to meet the magical “Lazarus of the Butterflies”.
4:40pm	To Be King 102:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Jamaica, NY, USA; Producers: Steve Rahaman, Nigel Harvey, Frank Merlino; Director: Steve Rahaman; Writers: Steve Rahaman, Frankie Sooknanan; Cinematographers: Steve Rahaman, Julian Conde, Frankie Sooknanan; Editor: Steve Rahaman; Principle Cast: Nigel Harvey, Frank Merlino, Rosie Moss, Tommy Clohessy, Kamel Goffin, Miriam Morales, LoDeon & Daniel Girace; Other Screenings: Long Island Film Festival & Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival; Premiere: Atlanta. Synopsis: The story of down and out son of a professional boxer, Tyrone King, who loses his family and is plagued with setbacks but finds redemption in his life to move on. He crosses paths with the man who trained his father and the man who lead his father to his death in the underground fighting world. King finds faith in himself to stand up, fall in love and against all odds become a champion.
6:40pm	Mumbhai Connection 90:00	Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: USA/India; Producers: Rafiq Batcha, Abbas Moloo, Sathya, Guha L.Nawal; Director Atlanta Nagendra; Writers: Atlanta Nagendra, Rafiq Batcha; Cinematographer: Zach Cowan; Editor Srikanth SH; Principle Cast: Rafiq Batcha, Srinivas, Alieesa, Dick Mays, Carey Martin Synopsis: The first commercial Hindi language film set and shot in Atlanta. A dark comedy in which IT salesman Faisal is forced to sell IT services to the Atlanta mafia. And they are not buying. But his very life is in danger unless he can make a sale – a sale that is going to require all the persuasion and creativity he can muster.

Friday, November 11 - Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street, NE,
Atlanta, GA 30309

8:00pm

Shanghai Hotel 107:00

Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: USA; Producer: Jerry Allen Davis, Ralph Stringer Director: Jerry Allen Davis; Writer: Jerry Allen Davis; Cinematographer: Keith Sherer; Editor: Baco Bryles, Tom Roche; Principle Cast: Hill Harper, Eugenia Yuan, Cheng Pei Pei

Synopsis: The Shanghai Hotel is the story of a young illegal alien who buys her way to the USA from communist China hoping to make a better life for herself and her family. After a long, treacherous journey stowed away in the dark hull of an overcrowded cargo ship she arrives in New York City for what she thinks will be the beginning of a better life.

Friday November 11 - American Cancer Society Theater, 250 Williams Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

BronzeLens World Films

1:00pm	Welcome
1:10pm	*Classical Steel, Trinidad and Tobago* 42:00**	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Trinidad and Tobago; Producer: John E. H. Barry; Director: John E. H. Barry; Cinematographer: Sean Edghill; Editor: Nigel Thompson Synopsis: "Classical Steel" features the steel band in the role of symphony orchestra, very faithfully reproducing the works of the classical masters
2:00pm	*The Furious Force of Rhymes 6 countries, 4 continents* 87:00**	Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: USA/France; Producers: Steven Lawrence, Serge Lalou, Joshua Atesh Litle; Director: Joshua Atesh Litle; Writer: Joshua Atesh Litle; Cinematographer: Joshua Atesh Litle; Editor: Jerome Lefoup, Gloria Bremer, Martha Skolnik; Principle Cast: Grandmaster Caz, Busy Bee, Les Nubians, La Fouime, Joe Rilla, Brothers Keepers, Shadia Mansour, Dam; Premiere: Atlanta. Synopsis: 6 countries, 4 continents: Hip Hop around the World - Whatever your preconceptions about Hip-Hop may be, throw them out the window. THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES explodes the stereotypes of swagger and bravado to reveal an irresistible unifying force of global significance. Lushly photographed, bursting with music and dance, this powerful documentary carries you away on a trans-national Hip-Hop Road Movie
3:30pm	Sarabah, Senegal 60:00 *	Running Time: 60 minutes; Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: US/Senegal; Producer: Steven Lawrence, Maria Luisa Gambale; Director: Maria Luisa Gambale, Gloria Bremer; Cinematographer: Maria Luisa Gambale, Lukas May; Editor: Gloria Bremer; Principle Cast: Sister Fa; Other Screenings: Citizen Jane Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival; Premiere: Atlanta. Synopsis: In this stirring documentary, hip-hop artist Sister Fa fights to stop the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in her home country of Senegal. From her early days as an unpolished music phenom through a career-reinvention in Berlin, Sister Fa has continually smashed barriers in the male-dominated hip-hop world. But as this intimate film reveals, her strength of character was forged in a journey of hardship and transformation. Now, with the support of her husband and child, Sister Fa is ready to speak out about her own experience as a survivor of FGC. Sister Fa and her band travel to rural Senegal, where she launches a music-packed education campaign that culminates in an emotional visit to her home village.
4:40pm	Grey Matter, Rwanda 100:00 *	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Rwanda; Producer: Kivu Ruhorahoza, Dominic Allen; Director: Kivu Ruhorahoza; Writer: Kivu Ruhorahoza; Cinematographer: Ari Wegner; Editor: Antonio Rui Ribeiro; Principle Cast: Ruth Shanel Niere, Shami Bizimana, Hervé Kimenyi; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: Set in modern-day Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, this radiant, unapologetically self-referential film-within-a-film describes the process and vision of an astute, determined filmmaker named Balthazar hustling for funds for his first feature, The Cycle of the Cockroach. But the themes of his haunted and trenchant drama, about the aftermath of genocide on a brother and sister, find no support from agencies interested in funding upbeat policy-related films detailing HIV prevention or gender-based violence. "Grey Matter" is co-presented by the Global Film Initiative and is part of the Global Lens 2012 film series. For more information, visit www.globalfilm.org

Saturday, November 12 - Georgia Pacific Theater, 133 Peachtree Street, NE Atlanta 30303

11:00am	The Three Way 86:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: USA: Producers: Julian A. Renner, Walter Tyler; Director: Julian A. Renner; Writer: Julian A. Renner; Cinematographer: Bernard J. Hunt; Editor: Rotimie George; Principle Cast: Karmia Berry, Delance Miwefee; Other Screenings: MVAFF, Manhattan Film Festival, IBFFN; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: A woman confronts her boyfriend after discovering he is cheating.
12:40pm	Grinding Halt 9:00	Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer: Adriel Conde; Director: Charlene Reese; Writer: Charlene Reese; Cinematographer: Crystal Collins; Editor: Tavarius “Torch” Eberhart; Principle Cast: Stefond Johnson, Chris Watson; Other Screenings: Central Florida Film Festival, Action on Film Festival, International Black Film Festival of Nashville; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: Demetrius finds his loyalty and morality at odds when one last night of crime unravels into an unforgettable, life-defining moment.
1:00pm	96 Minutes 94:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producers: Lee Clay, Justin Moore Lewy, Charlie Mason, Paul Gilreath; Director: Aimee Lagos; Writer: Aimee Lagos; Cinematographer: Michael Fimognari; Editor: Aram Nigoghossian; Principle Cast: Brittany Snow, Evan Ross, Christian Serratos, David Oyelowo; Other Screenings: New Hampshire Film Festival, Boston Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, St. Louis Film Festival and Woodstock International; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: The story of 4 lives slammed together in a shocking moment. Intercutting between a carjacking and the separate stories of the 4 kids, we watch as they hurtle toward a life-changing end.
2:40pm	I Didn’t Make Him, God Did 16:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: Atlanta, GA, USA; Producer/ Director: Sheryl Gripper; Writer: Sheryl Gripper; Cinematographers: Steven Boissy, Dee Jones; Editor: Paul Sacco; Premiere: World Synopsis: A cathartic look at how families cope with the murders of their children, all aged 22.
3:15pm	Sonia Sanchez: Shake Loose Memories 67:00	Year completed: 2011; Country of Production: USA; Producer: Jamal Joseph; Director: Jamal Joseph; Cinematographer: Robert “Bobby” Shepard; Editor: Peter Vaughan; Principle Cast: Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Toshi Regan, T.C. Carson, Oscar Brown, Jr.; Other Screenings: Urban World; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: A musical and poetic journey through the life, art and activism of Sonia Sanchez, poetry icon, professor emeritus at Temple University, co-founder of the Black Arts Movement, pioneer of the Black studies program at San Francisco State, and tireless fighter for human rights. Sonia’s poetry, performance and reflections weave together to create a moving “cine poem.”
4:30pm	Pegasus 104:00	Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: Morocco; Producer: Fouad Challa; Director: Mohamed Mouftakir; Writer: Mohamed Mouftakir; Cinematographer: Xavier Castro; Editor: Julien Fourre; Principle Cast: Majdouline Drissi, Sadia Ladia, Driss Roukh, Anas El Baz; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: Zineb is an emotionally exhausted psychiatrist assigned to uncover the mystery behind Rihanna, a pregnant young woman found in the street. Trapped in the delusions of her parents, Rihanna falls in love with an orphan with whom she carves out the beginnings of her own life. Tense, dramatic and visually striking, Mohamed Mouftakir’s psychological thriller took top honors at Africa’s 2011 FESPACO festival. "Pegasus" is co-presented by the Global Film Initiative and is part of the Global Lens 2012 film series. For more information, visit www.globalfilm.org
6:30pm	Round Table / Intro France-Atlanta 2011 sponsorship Roundtable
7:50pm	Voyage of the Movie Chair, France 7:00	Running Time: 7:00 minutes; Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: France; Producer: Des Cinémas pour l'Afrique; Director: Marion Stalens; Writer: Marion Stalens; Cinematographer: Marion Stalens; Editor: Anne Bettenfeld; Principle Cast: Aminata Doumbia, Fily Traoré, Juliette Binoche, Abderrahmane Sissako; Other Screenings: Atlanta Synopsis: Somewhere between a documentary and an African tale, this short tells the story of the arrival of a brand new cinema chair in a theatre in Bamako that has been closed for years, like hundreds of other movie theatres on the African continent.
8:00 pm	Introduction Kinyarwanda
8:10pm	Kinyarwanda 100:00	Year completed: 2010; Country of Production: Rwanda/USA; Producers: Darren Dean, Tommy Oliver, Alrick Brown; Co-producers: Deatra L. Harris; Director: Alrick Brown; Writer: Alrick Brown; Cinematographer: Danny Vecchione; Editor: Tovah Leibowitz; Principle Cast: Edouard Bamporiki, Cassandra Freeman; Premiere: Atlanta Synopsis: During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Mufti of Rwanda, the most respected Muslim leader in the country, issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from participating in the killing of the Tutsi. As the country became a slaughterhouse, mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis came together to protect each other. Kinyarwanda is based on true accounts from survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the Imams who opened their doors to give refuge to the Tutsi and to those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing. The story interweaves six different tales that together form one grand narrative, providing the most complex and real depiction yet presented of life and human resilience during the genocide. With an amalgamation of characters we pay homage to many, using the voices of a few. We follow the young lovers, the child, the couple, the soldiers, Imam, and the priest as they are swept up by the chaos of the world around them.

Saturday, November 12 - American Cancer Society Theater, 250 Williams Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30303