Landmark Theatre Hosts Third Annual Black Docs Film Series, America's Top Screening Program
2008 Theme is "Through The Eyes Of" / Program examines Bob Marley, Mexico, American Indian/AfroMexican Heritage, Cuban Music, Jack & Jill of America, Urban and Demographic Change, and the Migration of Free Slaves / Chuck D, Darlise Blount, Danny Glover, Gwen Ifill, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Lauryn Hill, Los Zafiros, Marley Family, Mascogos, Michaela Angela Davis, Pamela Edwards, and Regina King highlighted
Washington, D. C. (PRWEB) May 9, 2008
Today, Next Generation Awareness Foundation, Inc. (501(c)(3)) (NGAF) announced that Landmark Theatre's E Street Cinema (555 11th Street, NW, Washington, D. C.) will host this year's Black Docs Film Series from May through September under the theme: "Through The Eyes Of." "Through The Eyes Of" is a monthly examination of the development and movement of urban life and culture from different ethnic and cultural perspectives. The series kicks-off May 8th with "The Souls of Black Girls" and the premiere of "This Is Our Club." Tickets are $10 general admission and $15 for VIP reserved seating and can be purchased at the theatre box office or www. UrbanFilmSeries. com. The five-month fundraising event will benefit NGAF's upcoming children and health awareness programs.
About Black Docs and NGAF's Urban Film Series Programs
The Urban Film Series is a fund-raising and programmatic arm of Next Generation Awareness Foundation. Its mission and motto is "Connecting Communities with History and Progressive Cinema," and to provide exposure of the arts and the motion picture industry to many communities across the United States. Black Docs is the only program of its kind in that it focuses exclusively on documentaries related to urban lifestyles and issues. Black Docs is also regarded as America's top monthly screening program for independent film. The Urban Film Series also produces the Black History Month Film and Discussion Series, Urban Film Series Tour, and The Urban Film & Discussion Series. To date, well over 800 films from across the world have been received for NGAF's film-related programs.
For more information visit http://www. UrbanFilmSeries. com (http://www. UrbanFilmSeries. com) or http://www. InsiderEnt. com (http://www. InsiderEnt. com), NGAF's official marketing resource.
Who: Next Generation Awareness Foundation, Inc.
What: Black Docs 2008 - "Through The Eyes Of"
Where: Landmark Theatre's E Street Cinema, 555 11th Street, NW, D. C.
When: All times for dates below are 7:00pm - 9:00pm
May 8th - Black Girls and Social Grouping
· The Souls of Black Girls
· This is Our Club: The History of the Montgomery County Maryland Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
June 12th - AfroMexico/Indian Heritage and Free Slave Movements
· La RaÃz Olvidada (The Forgotten Root)
· De Florida a Coahuila (From Florida to Coahuila)
July 17th - African Unity and Bob Marley
· Africa Unite
August 14th - Cuban Legends
· Los Zafiros (The Sapphires): Music from the Edge of Time
September 4th - Urban and Demographic Change
· The Water Front
· Twilight Becomes Night
Tickets: $10 general admission; $15 VIP reserved seating. Tickets are available at the box office or online at http://www. UrbanFilmSeries. com (http://www. UrbanFilmSeries. com).
Press/Media: Contact us at press (at) urbanfilmseries. com or (202) 409-7240 for interviews, articles, pictures, and attendance. Please provide your media credentials.
Black Docs 2008: Through The Eyes Of - Details of Monthly Themes and Films
May 8th - Black Girls and Social Grouping
Guests: Filmmaker Daphne Valerius, XM Radio Host Blanche Williams and the Montgomery County Maryland Chapter of Jack & Jill of America
Films: The Souls of Black Girls (2007), produced by Daphne Valerius, questions whether women of color suffer from a self image disorder as a result of media images, featuring Darlise Blount, Chuck D, Michaela Angela Davis, Pamela Edwards, Gwen Ifill, and actresses Juanita Jennings, Regina King, Amelia Marshall, and Jada Pinkett Smith. Dr. Dorothy Height says "[t]his film was the answer to a prayer." For more, visit www. soulsofblackgirls. com.
This is Our Club: The History of the Montgomery County Maryland Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. (2007), written, directed and produced by Stan West and Yves Hughes, Jr., Patricia Lee, featuring Marcus Johnson, chronicles the suburban history and experience of Blacks and Bi-racials in the U. S., and their efforts to unify in environments that foster the positive development of family and friendships.
June 12th - AfroMexico/American Indian Heritage and Free Slave Movements
Films: De Florida a Coahuila (From Florida to Coahuila) (2002), produced by Rafael Rebollar Corona, examines the history, culture and spiritual traditions of a small population, called El Nacimiento de los Negros, descendants of the ones called black Seminoles in the United States, near the city of Muzquiz, Coahuila. The black Seminoles were of African origin and assimilated with many North American indigenous groups from the Florida region. Together they formed the Seminole confederation. In 1850, running away from the territorial politics of slavery and racial discrimination in the United States, the mascogos (black Seminoles) sought asylum in Mexico, where after serving as border troops in the north of the country, they were given lands and the Mexican nationality. For more, visit http://www. lasamericasfilms. org/films/deflorida. htm (http://www. lasamericasfilms. org/films/deflorida. htm).
La RaÃz Olvidada (The Forgotten Root) (2001), produced by Rafael Rebollar Corona, examines the harbor of Veracruz, and the harbors of Pánuco and Campeche, the main channels through which African slaves were introduced to Mexico. On the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, African descendents developed settlements in this region. In an effort to replace indigenous labor, the Spanish took most of the black population to Costa Chica, one of the regions least known by Mexicans. Those escaping slavery found a fitting place on the coast to keep their freedom. This led to cultural mingling between Western Hemisphere Indians, Africans and Europeans, producing an entire coastal culture on the Pacific Shore. For more, visit http://www. lasamericasfilms. org/films/laraiz. htm (http://www. lasamericasfilms. org/films/laraiz. htm).
July 17th - African Unity & Bob Marley
Guests: Filmmaker Stephanie Black
Film: Africa Unite (2007), produced by Stephanie Black (BRAVO, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network), is a masterfully executed film by a veteran director that is a concert tribute, Marley family travelogue, and a humanitarian documentary that ignites the screen with the spirit of world-renowned reggae icon Bob Marley in its every frame. In commemoration of Bob's 60th birthday, Africa Unite is centered on the Marley's first-time-ever family trip to Ethiopia in 2005, where three generations of Marleys take part in a landmark one week event attended by over 350,000. Danny Glover and Lauryn Hill are also featured. For more, visit http://www. africaunitefilm. com (http://www. africaunitefilm. com).
August 14th - Cuban Legends
Guests: Filmmaker Lorenzo Destefano
Film: Los Zafiros (The Sapphires): Music From The Edge of Time (2007), produced by Lorenzo Destefano, with executive producers Randa Haines and Sandra Levinson, explores the memories of Manuel Galban and Miguel Cancio, the two surviving members of Los Zafiros, as they are reunited in Havana, Cuba. Los Zafiros are a musical phenomenon molded by their time and place that caused a sensation in Havana and beyond throughout the 1960's and into the early '70's. Though they enjoyed international acclaim, touring widely throughout Europe, Los Zafiros have remained in relative obscurity throughout the U. S. as a result of the political climate of the cold war.
The sensuality of their musical and personal style brought them a rabid female following and heavy air play on national radio, making them very much the Beatles. Four decades after their formation, Los Zafiros popularity, sparked by the successful 1998 release of the Spanish-language feature film "Zafiros - Locura Azul," and of the "Bossa Cubana" CD from World Circuit Records ("Buena Vista Social Club"). On a popular battle-of-the-bands style radio program hosted by Adrian Mesa of 92.3 Classica-FM in Miami in December 2001, Los Zafiros receive a majority of the call-in votes compared to their competition. For more, visit http://www. loszafirosfilm. com (http://www. loszafirosfilm. com).
September 4th - Urban and Demographic Change
Guests: Filmmakers Virginie-Alvine Perrette and Lyn Goldfarb
Film: Twilight Becomes Night (2008), produced by Virginie-Alvine Perrette, explores the pivotal role of neighborhood stores in our lives and our communities. Using the streets and shops of New York City as a backdrop, the film moves beyond nostalgic regret to reveal a high-stakes transformation and its potential affect on us all and illustrates how this is a reality we may be facing each time a neighborhood shop closes its door for good due to changing economics in the new era of large and impersonal retail chains. For more, visit http://www. twilightbecomesnight. com (http://www. twilightbecomesnight. com).
The New Los Angeles (2007), produced by Lyn Goldfarb and narrated by Oscar-Winner Linda Hunt, explores the complexities of inclusion in Los Angeles, the nation's largest "majority-minority" city and the city with the nation's largest divide between rich and poor. The film provides a portrait of a transition beginning in 1973 with the election of Mayor Tom Bradley, the first African-American mayor of a major city without a black majority, and concludes with the political empowerment of Latinos and the election of Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles's first Latino mayor in more than 130 years. The film takes on such issues as immigration, globalization, de-industrialization, economic inequality, and a shrinking middle class. For more, visit http://www. californiadreamseries. org/nla. htm (http://www. californiadreamseries. org/nla. htm).
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