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Black August Film Festival


oh yes! i am seeing/writing love letters to this beautiful woman in the midwest and i am loving it! who knew – on so many levels.

my mom said the leg bruise needs aspirin, elevation and circulation! love having a nurse for a mama 🙂

i found out you can turn off the notifications for this blog in your settings and i won’t be hurt if you do!

now if you’re in ny check this out, looks really good:

P L E A S E     F O R W A R D    W
I D E L Y

The Brecht
Forum

451 West St. (West Side
Hwy betw Bank & Bethune 1-1/2 blocks north of W. 11th)
NY, NY 10014
1,9,2,3 A,C to 14th st.
(212) 242- 4201

www.brechtforum.org____________________________________________________________________
______

In this email:
August 2     All Power to the People! The
Black Panther Party and Beyond
August 3     Quiet Storm
August 6     A Panther in Africa 
(Discussion with Kathleen Cleaver)
August 11   Machetero
August 14   The Black and the Green   (Discussion
with Filmmaker St. Clair Bourne)
August 16   The Spook Who Sat By The Door
August 17   Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice
August 18   Fidel
August 21   Ashes and Embers  (Discussion with
Filmmaker Haile Germia)
August 23   Shorts: Red Eye, Isolated Incidents & The
Adventures of Super Nigger: Episode I, The Final Chapter
August 24   As An Act of Protest
August 30   Two Documentaries on Cuba: Eyes of the Rainbow &
Mission Against Terror
August 31   Sorry Ain’t Enough
__________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, August 2
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

All Power to the People!
The Black Panther Party and Beyond

Discussion to Follow Screening

A Powerful, moving and comprehensive documentary on the
resistance of Black Panther Party members against the relentless
attack upon it thru COINTEPRO FBI-led terror tactics. Opening with a
montage of four hundred years of race injustice in America, this
powerful documentary provides the historical context for the
establishment of the 60s civil rights movement. Rare clips of Martin
Luther King, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton and other activists transport one
back to those turbulent times.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Wednesday, August 3
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Quiet Storm

Discussion to Follow Screening

A full-length action thriller, Quiet Storm is a controversial
drama centered around four men of African descent determined to set
imperialism’s plunder of Africa straight through acts of
"terror"…or Guerrilla tactics. You decide…. The film was
nominated for a Screen Nation Film Award in the category of
Independent Production/Film in England in September of 2004.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Saturday, August 6
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

A Panther in Africa

Discussion with Kathleen Cleaver

On October 30, 1969, Pete O’Neal, a young Black Panther in
Kansas City, Missouri, was arrested for transporting a gun across
state lines. One year later, O’Neal fled the charge, and for over 30
years, he has lived in Tanzania, one of the last American exiles from
an era when activists considered themselves at war with the U.S.
government. Today, this community organizer confronts very different
challenges and finds himself living between two worlds – America and
Africa, his radical past and his uncertain future.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Thursday, August 11
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Machetero

Discussion with Filmmaker Vagabond

A brand new revolutionary drama from a young Nuyorican. How do 21st
Century Urban Guerrillas come into being?

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Sunday, August 14
4:00 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

The Black and the Green

Discussion with Filmmaker St. Clair Bourne

The Black and the Green is a film about human rights, social
change, the role of religion, specifically in the Irish conflict —
from the unique perspective of African-American observers. Set in
1986, the film describes a journey of discovery by five
African-Americans as they travel to Northern Ireland. Arriving at
Dublin and traveling to Belfast, the group attempts to find the truth
behind the headlines and seek out common elements in that situation
and the Black movement in the U.S..

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Tuesday, August 16
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

The Spook Who Sat By The Door

Discussion to Follow Screening

Adapted from Sam Greenlee’s novel, The Spook Who Sat by the Door is
a cult classic that was named one of the most influential black films
of the 70s. Lead actor Larry Cook plays Dan Freeman, the first
CIA-recruit since the start of the agency. After an intense training
and a mind-strong career of five years, Freeman returns to the ghetto
where he grew up to plot a new American Revolution.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Wednesday, August 17
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice

Discussion to Follow Screening

This multi-award-winning film documents the dramatic life and
turbulent times of the pioneering African American journalist,
activist, suffragist and anti-lynching crusader of the
post-Reconstruction period. Ida B. Wells (1863-1931) was considered
the equal of such well-known contemporary African American leaders as
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. Nobel Prize-winning author,
Toni Morrison reads selections from Wells’ memoirs and other
writings.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Thursday, August 18
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Fidel

Discussion to Follow Screening

Fidel Castro up close, personal and brilliant as ever–a unique
opportunity to view the man through exclusive interviews with Castro
himself. Alice Walker, Harry Belafonte, and Sydney Pollack discuss the
personality of the man. Former and current US government figures
including Arthur Schlesinger, Ramsey Clark, Wayne Smith, Congressman
Charles Rangel and a former CIA agent offer political and historical
perspectives on Castro and the long-standing US embargo against Cuba.
Family members and close friends, including Nobel Prize-winning author
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, offer a window into the personal life of
Fidel. We see him swimming with bodyguards, visiting his childhood
home and school, joking with Nelson Mandela, Ted Turner and Muhammad
Ali, meeting Elian Gonzalez, and celebrating his birthday with members
of the Buena Vista Social Club.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Sunday, August 21
4:00 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Ashes and Embers

Discussion with Filmmaker Haile Germia

This award-winning film is the story of a Vietnam veteran who, nearly
a decade later, begins to come to terms with his role in the war and
his role as a black person in America. His transformation from an
embittered ex-soldier to a strong and confident man is provoked and
encouraged by the love and chastisement of his grandmother and
friends.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________

Tuesday, August 23

7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Selected Shorts:
Red Eye, Isolated Incidents & The Adventures of Super Nigger:
Episode I, The Final Chapter

Discussion to Follow Screening

This evening we will present a selection of strong and creative
short films–some drama, some comedy, some documentary–by young black
filmmakers. Films include:
Red Eye directed by Kevin Gordon. What goes through a person’s mind in
the blink of an eye? Could you let an assumption made in a split
second influence your judgment? Red Eye deals with several different
issues in our culture, including prejudice, xenophobia, in a silent
manner, yet is powerful enough to be felt with or without volume.
Isolated Incidents, directed by retired comedian Kahil Shkymba,
expresses the sentiment of the countless people across the country who
are affected by police abuse of power.
The Adventures of Super Nigger is directed by Alrick Brown. The title
of this film often catches people off guard, but it should be
understood that "Super N" is an allegory about the shooting
death of Amadou Diallo and the title fits into the larger context of
the film and the life of the filmmaker.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Wednesday, August 24
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

As An Act of Protest

Discussion to Follow Screening

This intense and visceral feature film is a clear ‘line in the
sand’ which demands the eradication of racism. The story follows Cairo
Medina, a young black actor and his journey to escape the
psychological torture of colonization by searching for ways to counter
the effects of racism and police brutality before they destroy
him.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Tuesday, August 30
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Cuba Alert: Two Documentaries:

Eyes of the Rainbow & Mission Against Terror

Discussion to Follow Screening

Eyes of the Rainbow (Dir: Gloria Rolando/47 min/color/1997)
documents the case of Assata Shakur, the Black Panther and Black
Liberation Army leader who escaped from prison and was given political
asylum in Cuba, where she has lived for more than 15 years. In it we
visit with Assata in Havana and she tells us about her history and her
life in Cuba. On May 2nd, 2005 the FBI and the New Jersey State
Troopers publicly announced a $1 million bounty for the capture of
Assata Shakur. For information on the Hands Off Assata Campaign, go to
http://www.afrocubaweb.com/hoa. or contact:
hoa@afrocubaweb.com
.
Mission Against Terror (Dirs: Bernie Dwyer and Roberto Ruiz Rebo/48
min./2004) tells the story of the five Cubans who are currently
imprisoned in U.S. jails because they were working to expose
ultra-right terrorist groups in Miami and stop them from carrying out
violent actions against the people of Cuba.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
__________________________________________________________
Wednesday, August 31
7:30 pm
VISUAL LIBERATION FILM SERIES
Black August Festival

Sorry Ain’t Enough

Discussion to Follow Screening

In this independent film by Mental Food Productions, three
lawyers are thrust into the forefront of a legal precedent-setting
case– the case in favor of slavery reparations. Against all odds, and
what many of their colleagues see as sound judgment, this legal team
takes apart the legacy of enslavement and its social ramifications.
With several twists and turns, even a little dissension within their
ranks, they come up with a case that is sure to inspire conversation
and invoke thought.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15