| ..... |
| ..... |
The International
"To capture the imagination |
 |
 |
| ..... | Home |
|
Films |
|
About Film Festival |
|
Sponsors |
|
Distributors |
|
Top 10 Book List |
| ..... |
2003 International Black Panther Film Festival Films "41 Shots" A documentary-style music video of the song '41 shots' performed by Alliance Afrique. The video offers a haunting tribute to Amadou Diallo, the young Guinean immigrant who was killed by four New York City policemen who fired 41 shots at him as he stood unarmed in front of his home in the Bronx. "American Exile" Shot on location in Tanzania, this documentary focuses on Pete O'Neal, now 62, and his wife Charlotte, two Black Panthers who fled the United States in 1969. After starting the Kansas City chapter of the Black Panther Party, O'Neal quickly became the center of intense controversy. Followng a conviction on charges of transporting a weapon across state lines, charges he says were not true, O'Neal chose to leave the country instead of spending four years in federal prison. The couple disguised themselves, flew to Sweden, then Algiers to the International Section of the Black Panther Party before settling in Tanzania, where they have lived since 1972. For the past twelve years they have directed the United African American Community Center, which provides classes in art, computers, and English, conducts HIV/AIDS prevention work, and offers a program for at-risk Kansas City youth to visit Africa, among numerous other activities. Efforts are underway at present to overturn Pete O'Neal's conviction, which if successful would allow him to visit his home again. Interviews with members of O'Neal's family and archival footage from Kansas City complement the story of the film, which is narrated by Alfre Woodard. "Baadassss Cinema" Filled with clips from the 'blaxploitation' films of the '70s, this colorful documentary reviews the controversy these films through interviews with actors and film historians. They criticize the Civil Rights organizations who denounced the content of these '70s films which gave black actors work, they acknowledge how the mainstream movie industry ignored black audiences until Melvin van Peebles' breakthrough film "Sweet Sweetback's Baad Assss Song" made money, then discuss how the films Hollywood made became more notable for cartoonish characters, flamboyant styles and violence than for dramas that brought attention to the social issues raised by the ongoing protest movements. Comments by Afeni Shakur link the blaxploitation style to the black radical upheavals, and the value and limitations of the short-lived black film explosion are illuminated by extended interviews with Gloria Hendry, Quentin Tarrantino, Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson and Fred Williamson. An engaging look at the film images of blacks which retains relevance today. "Black Panther" An early documentary about the leadership of the Black Panther Party during 1967-68. It features a prison interview with co-founder Huey P. Newton, scenes within the Oakland headquarters of the organization, shots from the aftermath of the police assault on the Los Angeles chapter's office, and a recitation by Chairman Bobby Seale of the Ten Point Platform of the party. (This documentary was originally titled "Off the Pig.") "Black Wax" Gil Scott-Heron,s long standing political commitment and protean influence on rap are given their due in this outstanding documentary. Throughout the film, the music of the Midnight Band gives a supple, seductive fusion of jazz, funk, pop and soul.. Scott-Heron - a captivating performer and visionary writer - glows with passion, sincerity and humor. "Eyes of the Rainbow" Made in Havana by the independent video group Images de Caribe, this documentary deals with the life of the African American freedom fighter Assata Shakur who has lived in Cuba as a political exile for the past 20 years. Known in the Black Panther Party as Joanne Chesimard, Assata escaped from a New Jersey prison where she was sentenced to spend her life after being convicted of murdering a New Jersey State trooper during a shoot-out on the turnpike that left one Panther and one trooper dead. A graceful, spiritual theme permeates this visual effort that intersperses music, Afro-Cuban dance, and a 1970s prison interview with a revealing discussion with Assata today in Havana. "The Eyes of the Rainbow," a Yoruba concept that identifies warrior women, is dedicated to the women around the world who have shown integrity, firmness of principle, and compassion in their struggle to bring about a better world. "Estillo Hip Hop" A work-in-progress documentary that visits Caribbean and South American youth movements where hip hop has become a creative tool for their self-determination and survival. The film brings to the screen the uncompromising and relentless voices of Cuban, Argentinian, Chilean, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Brazilian youth engaged in an artistic political uprising. "John Hendrik Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk" Both a biography of the scholar John Hendrik Clarke (1915 -1998) and an overview of 5,000 years of African history, this compelling documentary views the past through the eyes of a leading Afrocentric historian. Clarke's narrative moves through his youth and arrival in New York, his search for the African past through the Egyptian and Roman empires, the Atlantic slave trade, and into major events in contemporary African American history, including the Million Man March. The film won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Urban World Film Festival. "Lumumba" When European kingdoms divided up Africa at the Berlin Conference in 1885, the Congo became the personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium. On June 30,1960, the young self taught African nationalist, Patrice Lumumba, became the newly independent Congošs first head of state.He lasted for two months. Lumumba is a gripping feature film, starring Eriq Ebouaney, that recreates the legendary story of Patrice Lumumba, a brilliant, charismatic leader who rose to Prime Minister after Belgium conceded that the Congo must obtain its independence. Director Raoul Peck, who sees the line between drama and documentary as arbitrary, has said his film is not an "adaptation, it aims to be a true story. I want to extract the...narrative from the reality by remaining as true to the facts as possible." The film dramatizes the intrigue behind Lumumba's brutal assassination in 1961, and realistically portrays the powerful enemies ranged against the extraordinary African leader who had inspired freedom fighters around the globe. They include the C.I.A. in the United States, the Belgian authorities, who envisioned a paternalistic relationship with their former colony, and Lumumba's former friend Joseph Mobutu, expertly played by Alex Descas. Lumumba delivers an absorbing, revealing and powerful portrait of an unforgettable figure. 
|
This site created by: Red Ibis Hosting |
