Honolulu Museum Of Art Celebrates African American History Month With New Film Fest

Community website by MBC/Ernest Abrams. Call 808-739-9797 for advertising/sponsorship. Community website by MBC/Ernest Abrams. Call 808-739-9797 for advertising/sponsorship.

First Friday Hawaii
News Item
Powered by MBC NewsMaker
Honolulu Museum Of Art CelebratesAfrican American History Month With New Film Fest
Tweet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
January 27, 2012

 Media contacts: Lesa Griffith 808-532-8712

Gina Caruso

808-532-3033

HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART CELEBRATES AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH WITH NEW FILM FEST

Honolulu African American Film Festival features new releases, blaxploitation classics, and an all-star jazz concert

WHAT: Honolulu African American Film Festival
 WHEN: Feb. 25-March 3 2012 
WHERE: Honolulu Museum of Art Doris Duke Theatre 
TICKETS: Regular screenings: $10, $8 museum members. Opening night reception Jan. 25: $40, $35 museum members 
INFO: 532-8700, www.honolulumuseum.org/events/films (publishable) High-res images available on request.

HONOLULU, HAWAII—The Honolulu Museum of Art launches the Honolulu African American Film Festival on Feb. 25, during African American History Month. The weeklong event also includes a jazz concert featuring the Chuck James Quartet.

“We created this festival to showcase the artistically advanced and innovative work of independent African-American filmmakers, and to stimulate intercultural communication within and between all of our communities in Honolulu,” says film curator and theater director Gina Caruso.

She points to the festival’s committee members as examples of the many contributions of African Americans to the Hawai‘i community—Daphne Barbee-Wooten, attorney, civil rights activist, writer and videographer, member and former President of African American Lawyers Association of Hawaii; Bettye Jo Harris, former co-chair of the Hawaii Rainbow Coalition, the African-American Leadership Conference, and member of the Episcopal Church's National Board of Directors; Faye Kennedy, co-chair of Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights, retired social worker and author, president of the Hawai'i Women's Political Caucus, and member of the Honolulu County Committee on the Status of Women; Marsha McFadden, City Editor of the Star Advertiser, immediate past president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; John Henry Nichols, “the artist” and president of Art N Jazz; Tadia Rice, international media consultant; and Sandra Simms, a retired judge and Honolulu Museum of Art docent.

“It has been an honor to work with these dedicated and accomplished individuals,” says Caruso.

The festival will screen 12 films—features, documentaries and shorts—that celebrate the contributions of African-Americans to every aspect of contemporary culture and range from a soulful tribute to a community of internationally acclaimed African-American artists in Brooklyn Boheme to vintage blaxploitation classics Superfly and Shaft.

One film that may especially resonate with Hawai‘i audiences is White Wash, a documentary that explores African-American surf culture. And the museum is excited to share a film that is making its way through the awards and festival circuit—Being Elmo, which won the Black Film Critics Circle Award for best documentary, Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2011, and the Women in Cinema Lena Sharpe Award at the Seattle international Film Festival.

Opening reception and special jazz concert Nationally recognized entrepreneur Wally Amos will be master of ceremonies for the opening night reception on Feb. 25, 6-7:30 p.m., which will feature elegant pūpū and live jazz followed by the screening of Brooklyn Boheme at 7:30pm.The festival runs Feb. 25 to March 4.

The festival also highlights African Americans' musical heritage with a jazz concert on March 2. Chuck James has had an influence on Hawai‘i’s music as a teacher of generations of drummers at his studio. Special guests join his Chuck James Quartet for an unforgettable evening celebrating the music of such jazz greats as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis,

 THE FULL LINEUP Every screening comprises a short film followed by a feature film.

Opening night reception and screening: Feb. 25, 6-7:30 p.m. Ticket price includes elegant pūpū, a glass of wine and film screening of Brooklyn Boheme at 7:30 p.m. Nationally recognized entrepreneur Wally Amos will be the master of ceremonies. $40, $35 museum members. Tickets for this event must be purchased online by noon on Feb 21.

Feb. 25 at 1 + 7:30 p.m.

The Barber of Birmingham, Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement Directors: Gail Dolgin, Robin Fryday USA, 2011, 25 minsm Hawai‘i premiere This short documentary is a portrait of Mr. James Armstrong, whose barbershop in Birmingham, Alabama, has been a hub for haircuts and civil rights since 1955. Mr. Armstrong recounts his experiences as part of the movement, and on the eve of the election of the first African-American president, we see him see his unimaginable dream come true. See the trailer.

Brooklyn Boheme Directors: Nelson George, Diane Paragas USA, 2011, 74 mins., Hawaii premiere Nelson George explores the fertile ground of the Brooklyn neighborhood Fort Greene, which gave rise to an African-American arts movement in the late 20th century as vibrant as the Harlem Renaissance. Himself a scene insider—as a distinguished writer (Hip Hop America) and filmmaker (Good Hair)—George teams with Diane Paragas to interview such luminaries as Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, Saul Williams, and Lorna Simpson for a lively celebration of Brooklyn pride. See the trailer.

_______________________________________

Feb. 26 at 1, 4 + 7:30 p.m.

Katrina’s Son (short) Director: Ya’Ke Smith USA, 2010, 15 mins., Hawai‘i premiere When a young boy loses his grandmother during Hurricane Katrina, he travels to San Antonio in search of the mother who abandoned him years earlier.

Superfly Director: Gordon Parks Jr. USA, 1973, 93 mins. Stylish, successful cocaine dealer Priest (Ron O’Neal) drives a fancy car, commands a small army of street salesmen, and lives a life of luxury. He is also smart enough to know that there’s no real future in dealing drugs, and decides to make his biggest deal yet, convert the coke to cash and start over. Unfortunately, Priest finds leaving behind his life of crime harder than he imagined. A massive box-office hit, Superfly was one of the key films of the early ’70s nascent blaxploitation movement and features a legendary soundtrack written and produced by Curtis Mayfield. See the trailer.

_______________________________________

 Feb. 28 at 1 + 7:30 p.m.

Crazy Beats Strong Every Time (short) Directed by Moon Molson USA, 2011, 26 mins, Hawai‘i premiere An African-American twenty-something finds his Nigerian-immigrant stepfather passed out drunk in their apartment building hallway and is manipulated by a friend into murdering him.

Shaft Director: Gordon Parks USA, 1971, 100 mins. Richard Roundtree cuts a startlingly new and powerful heroic figure as John Shaft, “the cat who won’t cop out, when there’s danger all about” in Gordon Parks’ seminal action film Shaft. Shaft is a black private eye in New York. When a crime lord calls on him to locate his kidnapped daughter, he finds himself going head to head with the local Italian mafia. Directed by Hollywood’s first major black director, Shaft set the blaxpolitation movement in motion and received an Academy Award for Isaac Hayes’ unforgettable theme song. See the trailer.

_______________________________________

Feb. 29 at 1 +7:30 p.m.

Albert! Or My Life in the Ocean (short) Director: Matthew C. Anderson USA, 2010, 28 mins., Hawai‘i premiere In 1960s America, a 13-year-old boy dreams about running away to California to surf. A film about love and abandonment, escapism and surrender.

White Wash Director: Ted Woods USA, 2011, 78 mins., Hawai‘i premiere White Wash explores the complexity of race in America through the struggle and triumph of black surfers. Narrated by Grammy Award-winner Ben Harper and Tariq “Blackthought” Trotter of the Roots, the story is told through the eyes of black surfers from Hawai‘i, Jamaica, Florida, and California. From surfing’s “discovery” by Captain James Cook in Hawai‘i in 1778 through the explosion of surf culture during the days of segregated 1960s Jim Crow America, White Wash looks at the myths that black surfers have overcome in their search for waves. See the trailer.

_______________________________________

March 1 at 1 +7:30 p.m.

The Encounter Directed by Angela Matemotja USA, 2011, 20 mins., Hawai‘i premiere A young white woman gets stuck in an elevator with an older African man. Though the residue of apartheid remains, does he hold the key to her finding inner peace?

Elevate Director: Anne Buford USA, 2011, 81 mins., Hawai‘i premiere Filmed over four years, Elevate documents the extraordinary journeys of four particularly tall West African Muslim teenagers from dilapidated cement courts in Senegal to upscale American prep schools. Recruited for their physical and academic skills, they accept basketball scholarships to U.S. schools—and face the challenges of alienation, American-style basketball, and a new languange and culture rife with African stereotypes. But with courage, humor, and remarkable resilience, they pursue their dreams to obtain an education and a shot at the NBA. Official Selection: SXSW Film Festival. See the trailer.

_______________________________________

Friday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m.

African American Jazz Heritage Concert Chuck James Quartet + Very Special Guests $35, $30 Academy members We extend African American History month with a rare gathering of Hawai‘i’s African-American jazz artists. Join Chuck James, Miles Jackson, Reggie Padilla, Jason Gay and Rhea Fox for a tribute to the greats of jazz, featuring music by Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and more.

_______________________________________

March 3 at 1, 4 + 7:30 p.m.

Men or Mice Director: Kiara Jones USA, 2010, 15 mins., Hawai‘i premiere A quiet evening at home turns into a night of terror for Jade. When she reaches out to the men of her life for help, she discovers an unconventional hero...she hopes.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey Directors: Constance Marks, Philip Shane USA, 2011, 80 mins Red, fuzzy Muppet Elmo is an international icon. Yet few people know his creator, Kevin Clash. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, Being Elmo tells the story of how a precocious talent who dreamed of working with master puppeteer Jim Henson found a home on Sesame Street. The documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop. Winner: Special Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival See the trailer.

-end-

Questions? Ready for an appointment?

Like Our Facebook

First Friday Hawaii News Item

Honolulu Museum Of Art CelebratesAfrican American History Month With New Film Fest

First Friday Hawaii
News Item