bfm :: filmguide :: documentary

BLACK CHICKS TALKING
Dir: Leah Purcell
50 mins, Australia, 2002.

Five indigenous women explore what it means to be Black in Australia today.  Often joyful sometimes harrowing, it is a passionate and challenging exploration of Black identity and a celebration of five very different lives.

BLACK INDIANS: AN AMERICAN STORY
Dir: Chip Richie, Nar: James Earl Jones
60 mins, USA, 2003

Black Indians explores the issue of racial identity among Native and African Americans and the coalescence of these two groups in American history. Family memories and historical accounts reveal this unique ancestry.

ICA CINEMA 2: SATURDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM 

MOTHERLAND
Dir: Archie Baron
90 mins, UK, 2003

Previously screened on BBC Two, Motherland documents the first three people armed by science to go back to their roots for real.  Their ancestors were enslaved in Africa. Now thanks to DNA, the first homecomings are possible ñ a soul-searching journey that raises fundamental questions about who we are.
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ICA CINEMA 1: MONDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM  (including Q&A)

BIG PUN: STILL NOT A PLAYER
Dir: Marcos Antonio Miranda
110 mins, USA, 2002.

His name was Christopher Rios, but the world knows him as BIG PUNISHER. His home was in the ghetto streets of the Bronx.  His goal was to attain personal greatness.  Big Pun began his ascension to the top of the hip-hop world by dropping rhymes on street corners. Bad health cut short his life.

ICA CINEMA 2: MONDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM (EUROPEAN PREMIERE)
ICA CINEMA 2: WEDNESDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER, 6.30PM 

BROTHER OUTSIDER: THE LIFE OF BAYARD RUSTIN
Dir’s: Nancy Kates & Bennett Singer.
84 mins, USA, 2002

Long in the shadow of Martin Luther King, Jr., partly by his own design, Bayard Rustin was one of the chief strategists and organisers of the Civil Rights Movement. A tireless and intrepid warrior for justice, Bayard’s life is explored from his collegiate days as a music student enthralled by the ideals of Communism to his imprisonment for conscientious objection to World War II, to his crucial role advising Dr. King on the tactics of non-violent resistance. Proud, black and gay, Rustin’s life is also a study in determination, discipline and self-denial.

ICA CINEMA 2: MONDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER, 6.30PM (EUROPEAN PREMIERE)

THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET
Dir: Kim Longinotto
92 mins, UK, 2003

This film takes you into different Kenyan communities and explores the tradition of circumcision and also love, marriage, families, rebellion and change. We discover girls struggling with their culture and their loyalty to their parents.  Will they be strong enough to break with tradition? They make decisions that have historic implications for their whole culture. 

ICA CINEMA 2: TUESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM (including Q&A) 

TAKING SIDES
Dir: Niyi Oyenekan
50 mins, UK, 2003.

The beautiful game that is, football, tries almost in vain to bring people and nations together in an ever-changing  world. See the evidence for yourself as Taking Sides takes a look at what the notions of identity and patriotism mean to the ordinary man and woman in a sporting context.

ICA CINEMA 1: WEDNESDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM (PREVIEW SCREENING) Including Q&A

BRINGIN’ IN DA SPIRIT
Dir: Rhonda L. Haynes, Nar: Phylicia Rashad
60 mins, USA, 2003.

Inspired by her meeting with a dynamic contemporary midwife, Director Rhonda Haynes is moved to share the history of African American lay midwifery in the United States. Bringin’ in Da Spirit is a one-hour documentary that tells of African American midwives and their efforts to preserve not merely a profession, but a traditional way of life. Amidst powerful misconceptions and virulent opposition from practioners of Western medicine they continue to offer women a holistic alternative. 

THE DRUMS KEEP SOUNDING
Dir: Cynthia Wilmot
70 mins, Jamaica, 1996

She is Jamaica’s foremost folklorist, actress and poet ñ the Honorable Louise Bennett-Coverley, O.J. This film takes a personal look at the extraordinary woman who has become a symbol of national identity and pride, tracing the life of Miss Lou from girlhood to marriage, through political and social upheavals, to the present. Leading Jamaican actors feature in the roles of the young Louise, her husband Eric Coverley, her long time stage partner Ranny Williams, with Miss Lou herself recalling memories of an illustrious career.

ICA CINEMA 2: WEDNESDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM 

STAYING ALIVE: MEETING MANDELA
Exec prod. Georgia Franklin
44 mins, UK/USA/South Africa, 2003

Produced by MTV, this documentary is in honour of Nelson Mandela’s 85th birthday, celebrating his life and moral leadership. Offering audiences a historical look at Mr Mandela’s life, the documentary also profiles four young people from diverse backgrounds who travelled to Johannesburg to meet Mr Mandela and discuss topical issues, such as HIV/AIDS, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the fight for democracy in Burma. Hosted by Beyonce Knowles of Destiny’s Child, ëMeeting Mandela’ captures not only the impact Nelson Mandela has on our world, it also provides inspiration to the future generation to raise their voices and become actively involved in issues they care about.
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REMEMBER MARVIN GAYE
Dir: Richard Olivier
56 mins, Belgium, 2002

In the 60s he was a one of the most successful workers at the Motown pop factory, maturing into a more confessional and political artist in the 70s. Throughout his life he was torn between the Bible and the bedroom. Director Richard Olivier met Gaye after the musician fled the U.S. due to longstanding personal and financial problems. It was in Belgium that Olivier was able to capture a critical era in Gaye's life. The movie paints an intimate portrait of a visionary R&B artist at a vulnerable moment in his life.

ICA CINEMA 1: THURSDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM

UNPRECEDENTED: THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION +
VOICE OF THE FACELESS (Supporting Short)
Dir: Richard Ray Perez
50 mins, USA, 2002 

Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is the riveting story about the battle for the Presidency in Florida and the undermining of democracy in America’s most controversial political contest leading to the election of George W. Bush.  What emerges is a disturbing picture of an election marred by suspicious irregularities, electoral injustices, and sinister voter purges in a state governed by the winning candidate’s brother.

ICA CINEMA 2: THURSDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER, 4.30PM

NAT TURNER
Dir: Charles Burnett
58 mins, USA, 2003

A hero in the Black community and hated in the White community, Nat Turner has remained an enigma throughout history.  A portrait of Nat Turner from the time of his revolt in 1831 until now is examined through the words of ten Black writers who responded to the controversial 1968 book The Confessions of Nat Turner.

THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL
Dir: Stanley Nelson
52 mins, USA, 2003

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African-American boy from Chicago, visiting relatives in Mississippi during the summer of 1955. A few nights after he supposedly whistled at a white storeowner’s wife, he was kidnapped at gunpoint and his mutilated body was found floating in a nearby river. When Mamie Till decided to put her son’s body on display, thousands of people came to see it.  The world became witness to what had happened, and the story captured the attention of the nation and became one of the catalysts of the civil rights movement.

ICA CINEMA 2: THURSDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER, 6.30PM

50 CENT: THE NEW BREED
Dir: Tony Yayo, (USA, 2003), 19 mins

You've heard the rumours. Now get the truth on 50 Cent the New Breed, a documentary profiling the hottest music act in America. In his own inimitable style, 50 (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) discusses his near-fatal shooting, his music industry rivalries, and his lucrative partnership with Eminem and Dr. Dre.

WELCOME TO DEATH ROW
Dir: Leigh Savidge, (USA, 2001), 104 mins.

Welcome to Death Row tells the unauthorized history of the most notorious rap label ever. And what a story it is - the rise and fall of Death Row and its power-hungry CEO, Marion "Suge" Knight, makes The Godfather look like a bedtime story. The film traces the entire controversial history of the label and the impact it had on not only the music industry but American culture. The film also details the relationship between Death Row and its biggest star, Tupac Shakur, and the effect that Shakur's sudden death in a 1996 drive-by shooting had on the label's fortunes.

PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA: MONDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER, 8.30PM

(EUROPEAN PREMIERE)
CORNER 2 CORNER
Dir: U. Oshin, (UK, 2003), 105 mins

For the first time ever, the UK Hip-Hop experience is represented from a genuine, true-life, compelling perspective. Corner 2 Corner reveals and captures the essence of urban culturalization within the United Kingdom.  With profiles on artists such as Fallacy, Blak Twang, Roots Manuva, and Pheobe One, we meet and hear the real issues from up and coming groups as well as seasoned UK veterans. 

PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA: TUESDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER, 8.30PM (EUROPEAN PREMIERE)