A small reception was held at the Black Cultural Archives on Sunday 21st June to launch the four films which were screened at the Ritzy Cinema on two consecutive Sundays as part of the Windrush Commemoration and the bfm's Film Revival Night..

The event which was co-ordinated by Mia Morris, was attended by filmmakers, actors, musicians and writers among others, including Pearl Connor and her husband Joe Mogots and Earl Cameron star of two of the films, Flame in the Streets and Sapphire. Both of these films were made over 30 years ago and were ground-breaking in their time and are as relevant today as when they were first shown. Pressure and Burning An Ilusion were also screened as part of the Commemoration.   Menelik Shabazz, Editor of Black Filmmaker introduced those involved in the making of the films and paid tribute, in particular to Earl Cameron and Corrine Skinner - Carter for longevity in British films, praise was also given to veteran Director Roy Baker Flame In the Street. Filmmaker and Lecturer Imruh Bakari opened the showing of the films on the 28th with a brief talk about the films screened that evening. Those who attended were rewarded by seeing some of the most relevant films made in the last four decades.
 

"PREMIERE NIGHT". (Golda N'seka )

The 19th of July saw AB FILMS first film night showcase, at "Afro Hollywood" in Brixton. "Premiere Night", showcased films that have never been screened before to the public, these films included Thelma's Drink Up (Adrian Browne) Urban Romance (Wayne Campbell) and Rooted (Victor Opeyokun) The event, oganised by Adrian Browne, was designed to create a space for new filmmakers to screen their work to regular audiences. I personally enjoyed the night and make lots of contacts.

The next AB film night will be on the 20th September at the same venue. If you too want to showcase your film contact:(before 6th September)

Film Exhibitions,
P.O. Box 14779
London E5 8UQ
 

Erotic City is a forum that was formed to ask the questions - 'Is there such a thing as Black erotica?' What are its defining elements? Where does it come from and where is it going? Also is there a difference between erotica and porn? The screening took place on the 28th June and consisted of seven short films ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes in length. Several of the filmmakers were available to take questions from the audience and discuss their work. The event, which was the first of its kind, was a tremendous success and also featured erotic poetry from African Caribbean poets. Real Love productions is now putting together Erotic City Part 2 so if you have a short film or would like to get involved, please contact the address below.

Edozie Ameke
Real Love Productions
21 Louvaine Road,
SW11 2AG
0171 924 4939

Positive Negatives (SHEFFIELD)

Positive Negatives , organised by Black Media Training Trust (BMTT), was held in Sheffield on the 8th of August. This annual event brings together filmmakers and other film industry figures to discuss developments as well as share experiences. This years guest speakers and panelists included Isaac Julien, Carey Sawney (BFI) David Martin (Director of FT2) Bea Freeman (Producer) Menelik Shabazz (Director/Editor of bfm) and Julia Toppin (Film Daze) A number of shorts were screened included Tommorrow Never Came (Brian Gayle) and Fallen Seed (Stephen Rudder).

The festival concluded with the Northern Premier showing of "Babymother", followed by a question and answer session with the film's director Julian Henriques.
 

ACCULPULCO GOLD:Black Hollywood shines ( by Comfort Alemoru )

 The 2nd Acapulco Black Film Festival took place between the 12-17 July 1998. Over 900 attended this year's festival, with big names from the acting world such as Denzil Washington, Isaac Hayes, and Morgan Freeman. The jury appointed to judge the HBO Short Film Award included Bill Duke (Hoodlum), Kasi Lemmons, and Vondie Curtis Hall (Gridlock'd).

The joint winners were Jeffrey Byrd (Breakdown) and Christine Swanson (Two Seasons) received a development deal with HBO NYC Productions with runners up Eugene Williams (The Bus Stop), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Secrets) and Sandye Wilson (So Many Things To Consider) receiving HBO internships. Mixing Nia won the feature film award directed by Alison Swan, a romantic comedy set in New York about a young mixed race women searching for a balance between her background and her individuality.

The British made The Girl With Brains In Her Feet, was also screened and was well received.

Amongst the panel discussions, "Looking back to Look Forward" with the singer song writer Issac Hayes and actress Sheila Frazier discussed the impact of the Blaxploitation movies and the evolution of Black cinema in the 90's.

In the final panel discussion of the week, "The Year in Review" looked at the black films of 1997. Panellists were Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou), Vondie Curtis Hall (Gridlock'd), Theodore Witcher (Love Jones), George Tillman Jnr (Soul Food), Elise Neal (Scream 2), and Mekhi Phifer (Soul Food).

The discussion centered not only on the quality of the films but also on their poor marketing by studios and distributors alike. George Tillman director of Soul Food was surprised to hear that his film was being shown nationwide in the UK, as he had been told by the marketing moguls that Soul Food would only be shown for a week in Europe , as there wasn't a market for it, as not many black Europeans go to the cinema!!

The highly acclaimed independent film Eve's Bayou swept the board at the festival winning 3 of its 4 nominations for Samuel Jackson (Best Actor), Kasi Lemmons (Best Director) and as joint winner of best film alongside Soul Food. Surprise guest Denzel Washington presented the Special Career Achievement awards to Debbie Allen and Morgan Freeman.

The ceremony was hosted co-presenters Warrington Hudlin, President of the Black Filmmakers Foundation and Byron Lewis Chairman of Uniworld Group. Robert Townsend, also joined in the presentation ceremony by satelite link from Toronto. As UK promotional partner of the festival (We Be Trippin!) I can truly say "being involved with the festival has been a fantastic opportunity but meeting Denzel Washington was a dream come true!"
 
 

RACINES NOIRES: Black world cinema in Paris  (by Menelik Shabazz)

Racines Noir (Black Roots) Film Festival(15-31 July) was established to commemorate the 150th abolition of enslavement by France. The festival brought together films and filmmakers from the slave trade and migration routes - Africa, America, Caribbean and Europe, to celebrate shared legacies through fiction, shorts and documentaries

The screenings included important recent films, Eve's Bayou ( Kasi Lemmons) The Keeper ( Joe Brewster) Kini and Adams (Idrissa Ouedruogo). Alma's Rainbow (Ayoka Chenzira) to name a few from over 40 films.  Among the fiction shorts included the UK film On the Edge (Neuton Adauka).

The film programme also included in the retrospective of the work of Melvin Van Peebles. Other programme strands included Etioles Noires ( Black Beauty) featuring films like Carmen, Black Orpheus, Rue Cases-Negres. In addition to the screenings, film directors, producers, writers, actors were invited to attend and to participate in workshops covering production, distribution and new technology. Those invited included Melvin and Mario Van Peebles, Ousemane Sembene, actress Lynn Whitfield, cultural critic Manthia Diawara, Raoul Peck, to name a few.

The festival was also attended by French Television producers, and film distributors. As a result a number of films found distribution and TV sales. Catherine Ruelle, the director of the festival, intends to pick up a number of films to tour France, which would provide revenue for the films. The latter part of the festival was somewhat dampened by the news of the death of the Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambety.

Racines Noires will continue as a bi-annual event for new work and restrospectives, that aims to increase the profile of Black world cinema.

The Zanzibar International Film Festival which took place between July 11-18 brought together a programme of films in competition from the countries of the Indian ocean basin. Known as the "Dhow countries" these include the continent of Africa, Iran, India, Pakistan, the Arabic nations and the islands of the Indian ocean.

Maangamizi- the Ancient One co-directed by Ron Mulvihill (USA) and Martin Mhando (Tanzania) received the the Golden Dhow Award for the best feature film, while Pic Pic- Nomade D'Un by Khal Torabully( Mauritius) took the best short feature film award. There was a non-competition screening programme, the highlight of which was Youssef Chahine's Destiny. The festival also featured a Panorama of Indian films and a one-day workshop on Intellectual Property Rights

A great emphasis was placed on providing special programmes for children. As part of this a group of children produced a video programme which was screened at the end of the festival. This, along with the Village Panorama involving screenings in villages on both Unguja and Pemba islands which make up Zanzibar, helped to indicate the importance of ZIFF and the great potential of the festival which incorporated the birthday of Nelson Mandela and the World Cup final into its programme.
 
 

The Second Annual Urban World Film Festival started cranking the sprockets on Maya Angelou's directorial debut, Down in the Delta on August 5th, 1998 to kick off the five day fest of Black films.

This is an international showcase for Black filmmakers working in all facets of the business. It is the brainchild of Stacy Spikes, a former vice president of maketing for Miramax, who wants his Urban World Film Festival to be as large and broad in appeal as Robert Redford's Sundance.

This second year of the Festival has stepped up its appeal greatly among Black film aficionados and will feature such major releases as How Stella Got her Groove Back and Why Do Fools Fall in Love a story about Fankie Lymon , the talented lead singer of the Teenagers.

Already the Festival has sparked the question: Is another film fest necessary since there is already Toronto, Cannes, Sundance, et al? To which Stacy Spikes replies, "But do any of them show 70 black films at their gathering?"

So after the closing ceremonies and the awards handed out on Sunday at the New York Hilton, the Urban World Film Festival will look towards its third year of showcasing and debuting the talents of Black filmmakers.

For further info, visit the website:
 www.uwff.com
or send inquiries to:
Urban World Film Festival,
375 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013