ImageNation
Friday, August 22nd, 2003
8:00: Spoken word poetry by Blue [details below]
8:30: Haitian Hip-Hop by Vwala [details below]
9:00: Short films from the African Diaspora
Flicks, Beats & Life II
Founded in 1997, Imagenation Film Festival, a nonprofit organization, began primarily as a venue for independent filmmakers of color and has evolved into a platform for the nation's most promising artists. Imagenation brings independent cinema and music to communities of color through a slate of diverse annual programs including: outdoor screenings, a micro-cinema series, and the Imagenation: Independent Film & Music Festival and Revolution! Awards Ceremony held at The Apollo Theater and other Uptown venues. Artists featured at Imagenation events include: Erykah Badu, Stanley Nelson, Chuck D, India.Arie, Raoul Peck, Dead Prez, Roger Guenveur Smith, Talib Kweli, Charles Stone, Malik Yoba and Dream Hampton to name a few.
FILMS:
Gimme Five: History of the Handshake Michael Britto (9:00)
Gimme Five is a puzzle, a mosaic of sounds and images that flow into one another, like the handshake, a collection of thoughts and energy transferred from one body into another. The inner-cuts of interviews, primarily from New York residence, creating a tapestry of events defining the need for people to create their own handshakes.
Director's Bio: Michael Britto is an experimental film/video maker; his previous works have been shown on Channel Thirteen Season 5 Reel New York and The Art View at The Rush Arts Gallery in NYC.
Urban Soup Nikan Kwantu, Geeta Gandbhir & Sekou Kwantu (4:00)
Urban Soup is a futuristic edgy, hip-hop action-adventure animation with a sci-fi twist. Four young Harlemites led by a clever media pirate take on corrupt Superheroes, the city government and criminal corporations to bring power back to the people...
About the filmmakers: Disenchanted by the limited and inadequate representations of their community in the entertainment industry, their dream was to create groundbreaking animation and film that would give voice to the perspectives of people of color. In 1998, the Kwantu brothers joined by creative producer Geeta Gandbhir founded Kali Ra Productions and began working on their first animated series, "Urban Soup". The mission of the company is to produce extraordinary work by providing a collaborative arena for filmmakers, artists, musicians, writers and poets to showcase their talents.
Kickin' Chicken Joy Phillips (12:00)
Kicken Chicken finds our heroine Sherise in rehab. Her addiction? Fried Chicken. Can she stay clean? Can she keep from cooking up? Will she kick or will she snap?
Barely Audible Katherine Copeland, Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi, Vivian W. Lin (3:00)
It's 3:30 on 18th and Myrtle, the intersecting lives of Darius and Trina spiral out of control in rhythm to the increasing crescendo of Chinaka Hodge's poetry.
Director Bio: Katherine Copeland, Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi and Vivian Wenli Li are graduate students in Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Their combined credits include cinematographer, assoc. producer and assi. editor on various PBS documentaries such as "The Double Life of Ernesto Gomez Gomez" Barely Audible is their first collaboration.
You 2 Pascale Simmons (22:00)
While 20-something Sandra Samson is coming to terms with her sexual identity, her mother Louise, who shares an Amsterdam hairdressing salon with Sandra, is worried about the fact that her daughter is still single.
Director's Bio: Pascale Simmons received graduate degrees in Film and Television Science from the Dutch Film & Television Academy. She has directed for television and numerous commercials. Presently, Simmons is working on twofeature films and is collaborating with screenwriter Jenny Mijnhijmeer on a YOU 2 sequel entitled SAPOTILE.
Looking Hot Kim Jameson (32:00) (World Premier)
Looking Hot explores a growing fashion obsession among urban teenagers that compels many to spend money they don't have and even risk their lives to win respect.
Director's Bio: Kim Jameson, teaches Mass Media and Video Production at a Brooklyn, NY high school. Having spent five years in newsrooms as a reporter and producer at an ABC affiliate, Jameson plans to produce a series of documentaries about issues effecting young people from urban communities.
MUSIC/LIVE PERFORMANCE
8:00: Spoken word artist Blue brings his act out of the underground and gains momentum quicker than the rush hour D-train he promotes his book, "Corner Stores in the Middle
of the Block." Born in Harlem, but raised as a military brat between the United States and
Europe. Blue returned to the states from Germany as a teenager, experienced culture shock and quickly developed a discerning eye, which lends to his writing today. Willie Perdomo, poet and author of "Remember Langston," described Blue's poetry as "clever and addictive, punch drunk with love and humor." Contact Blue at greatpersuader@hotmail.com
8:30: Vwala—a dynamic Hip Hop duo of Haitian origin, Vwala's music genre is a melting pot of different styles and influences -- Hip Hop, R&B, and of course Haitian music. As Vwala prepares to launch its debut album under the label of Universal Record, the pair is touring nationally.
