2ND ANNUAL BLACKSTAR FILM FESTIVAL (August 1 – 4)

Sponsor Representatives: Donna Frisby-Greenwood – The Knight Foundation Denise Brown – Leeway Foundation

From “Things Not Said” Producer Omar Alberto, Dorian Missick, Moderator Stephanie Renee (WURD) & Omari Hardwick

Spike Lee at Panel: By Any Means Necessary: Producing Independent film

Festival Director and Founder – Maori Karmael Holmes

TINSEL & TINE’S Youtube Page

TINSEL & TINE’S COVERAGE DURING BLACKSTAR FILM FESTIVAL CAN BE FOUND ON OUR GOOGLE+ / FACEBOOK / TWITTER / PINTEREST

Opening Night Highlight

 QUESTION BRIDGE: BLACK MALES

Dir(s) Chris Johnson, Hank Willis Thomas,
Kamal Sinclair, Bayeté Ross Smith

 

Question Bridge: Black Males is an on-going experiment looking at
the black male from the perspective of the confessional. Almost 200
men of color were interviewed on camera asking a question, for instance: “What
are you afraid of?” Then several black males of varying ages, hues,
economic and educational backgrounds, watched the video of the
question, and answered back to the camera. The resulting sociological
experiment is very interesting, enlightening and personal.

Some questions/answers were socially
relevant –  “Why do so many black men refuse to get medical
check-ups?” Which brought one man to tears when he recounted losing
his brother to prostate cancer, after repeated reminders to his
brother to get a physical.

Some questions/answers were humorous –
“Does anyone else feel self-conscious eating chicken,
watermelon or bananas in the presence of white people?” Which elicited funny anecdotes.

Some questions/answers were deep –  “Do you resent your single mother for having had you with a
man that did not stick around to be a father? Which surprisingly, most men seemed to be taken off guard by the question, as if they never considered their mother’s choice in the matter to be relevant.

The Question Bridge format was made
more engaging by keeping the faces of the men within a rectangular
frame against a backdrop of black screen. Other rectangles of men
would appear beside, above or below the answerer, as if listening,
and then disappear or be replace by another listener or new answerer.
All the questions were relevant to the experience of being a man of color and evoked surprisingly open answers
from the participants; however, eventually, I felt a bit of tedium.
I think the piece would be more effective with maybe 3 – 4 less
question/answer segments. However, it’s understandable that the
co-directing team wanted to include as many participants as possible.

Be sure to visit the website where the experiment continues – http://questionbridge.com .

Hopefully the team is working on a Question Bridge: Black Females version.

Click link to see an excerpt of the Blackstar Film Fest Question Bridge: Black Males Q &A post
screening.

—

Question Bridge was proceeded by a
short documentary called From Man to Man: The Legacy of Air
Smooth. – Reflections on the Life of Dr. Shawn L. White The
filmmaker is Dr. White’s widow Nicole Fisher www.fromman2man.com

Philly welcomes back BlackStar Film Festival running Thursday August 1 – Sun August 4, 2013. Supported by the James S. and John L. Knight
Foundation, the fest will screen 75 feature films,
short films, and music videos representing four continents, along with a
special awards ceremony, panels, concerts, receptions, and a screenplay
competition.

The festival will primarily take place at
International House of Philadelphia (3701 Chestnut Street) with
additional screenings at Drexel University (33rd & Chestnut Streets)
and The Barnes Foundation (2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway).

Dubbed the “black Sundance” by Ebony.com in its inaugural year, the
festival has doubled in size and is already considered a must-attend
gathering for filmmakers, industry insiders, cineastes, and critics. It
is destined to become a launching pad for many of the most talked about
films from the African diaspora.

This year the festival will launch an awards competition and an
audience awards component as well as a special honor for the Howard
University Film Program, which will be presented to renowned director
Haile Gerima on Sunday, August 4.

Highlights include the world premiere of Wangechi Mutu’s THE END OF
EATING EVERYTHING, the Philadelphia premiere of Andrew Dosonmu’s MOTHER
OF GEORGE (Q&A with the director and director of cinematography
Bradford Young) and David Tosh Gitonga’s NAIROBI HALF LIFE, as well as a
special presentation of Victoria Mahoney’s YELLING TO THE SKY (Q&A
with actors Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Yolanda Ross).