[URPE] Black August Film Festival including talks with Kathleen Cleaver, St. Clair Bourne and MORE!

Wed Jul 27 17:59:58 MDT 2005

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 at 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
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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