Renowned African American historian Manning Marable passed away on Friday at the age of 60, just days before the publication of his life’s work, a monumental biography about Malcolm X. Two decades in the making, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention is described as a reevaluation of Malcolm X’s life. We play excerpts from when… Read more »
News
Richard Leacock, Pioneer Of Cinema Verite, Dead At 89
“Although overshadowed by colleagues like Albert and David Maysles and D. A. Pennebaker, Mr. Leacock was a seminal figure in developing the artistic theories and the small, lightweight camera and sound equipment that led to a new style of reportorial filmmaking.” The New York Times 03/25/11 Click here to read the entire article.
UK Film Study: Audiences Feel Stereotyped, Marginalized
“Its findings suggest most Black African/Caribbean individuals believe they are too often characterised as drug dealers and that a majority of Asian audiences feel Asian religious culture is not reflected authentically. Almost three-quarters of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual audiences believe that film focuses on them as having problems rather than being everyday people, it continues.” BBC 03/27/11 Click… Read more »
Robert Redford Bringing Mini-Sundance to London
“Time will tell how it works,” said the actor-director-producer, “but we’re coming in very small. We’re here four days, we’re not bringing the full complement of Sundance – we’re bringing film and American music.” The festival debuts in April 2012 at the O2 arena. The Guardian (UK) 03/15/11 Click here to read the entire article.
A Black Norse God? Debates Ensue Over Casting
“When Kenneth Branagh cast Idris Elba as Heimdall in the upcoming summer tentpole Thor, a furious debate erupted among fanboys, with some insisting it was wrong for a black man to play a Nordic god. “But the London-born actor has no patience for the debate. “It’s so ridiculous,” he said Feb. 24 at Rutgers University… Read more »
The Burkina Faso Film Festival Fit a President
“It is late afternoon in Ouagadougou, a landlocked city in one of the world’s poorest countries. Forty thousand people are packed tightly into a vast stadium, originally built to celebrate the renaming of Upper Volta as Burkina Faso, “the land of upright people”. A thermometer shows that it is 100˚ in the shade. A posse… Read more »
Wide Angle Diversity Festival Submission Deadline: March 10th
DETAILS The Indiana University Cinema is proud to present its first film festival. The theme of DIVERSITY will offer filmmakers (and non-filmmakers) the chance to create and enter either a short PSA or trailer into competition. Prizes will be awarded including top prize of a MacBook Pro with Final Cut Express. The festival is… Read more »
"42" Women of Sierra Leone: Photography Exhibition at International Slavery Museum
“Sierra Leone in West Africa is ranked by the United Nations as one of the poorest countries in the world and shockingly women’s life expectancy is in the mid 40s. The International Slavery Museum hosts ‘42’ Women of Sierra Leone, a moving and powerful photography exhibition that explores this terrible statistic. “‘42’ Women of Sierra… Read more »
Where Are The Young Black Men Of Hollywood?
“The scarcity of black roles in 2011 is partly a function of fewer movies being made, and certainly fewer serious-minded movies at the studios. When Denzel Washington and Will Smith were coming up, there were routinely chances to make those types of films.Now you need to go indie or wait for lightning to strike at… Read more »
Glenn Ligon: A New Kind of Conceptualism
Glenn Ligon “is someone who has figured out how to give Conceptualism some grit. He’s influenced a younger generation, perhaps because he is a political artist but not a protest artist. He has an unwillingness to be boxed in.” The New York Times 02/27/11 (Carol Vogel); Above photo: Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times Click… Read more »