New Voices in Black Cinema

BIG WORDS – 2012, Neil Drumming, USA, 97 min.

A tree grew in the Bronx, which branched out and transcended lines of color, lines of geographic limitation, and language barrier.

It’s branches as a collective spawn a culture;  root word, cult. The assembly of a devoted faithful. Its passionists, its offspring, its advocates, its lovers. The symbolism in Big Words is glaring. Satiable for the abstract thinkers, the descendants of poor righteous teachers, of B-Boys and Girls, Backpackers alike. The essence of hip hop and its impact on the lives of so many including Mr Big Words himself, James, is evident scripturally; figuratively, from something came something. Life, Art, Progress, Finance; unified by the culture stands so many, yet divided on principles. An ode to the hip hop of old. Refute it if you will, embrace if it you must. Hip Hop- the only thing that matters.

To a trio of lifelong friends, who for many years shared a dream, only to see it erased by a moment of indecision. A burden to one by way of the literal consequence from a pivotal act, but shared by the rest through the transition their lives have taken subsequently. Holding on subconsciously, perpetuating the rift matter of factly. What once was golden, is now tainted, according to opion- like Hip Hop.  Trying for years to erase the memories, the good times if you will for it is “easier to forget, then figure out what it is supposed to be today” (Mr Big Words). No matter how tried and true that may be, it remains, in life and on screen.. What will take years of work, is displayed in moments ofThree minutes and 50 seconds, or one hour and 33 ticks; the rhyme, the reason, the audience, the characters. Big Words, DJs, artists, the fans.

Their growth, their wonderment, their hurdles, or secrets. That which is not always in song but must be shared. The closet that hides them. Is Hip Hop all-inclusive? That is a question for you to answer. All of these things and more, are a muse; are a plot. Big Words, wisely spoken.

The opening night film of the 2013 New Voices in Black Cinema festival, Big Words (2012, 97 min. – Friday, February 16) directed by journalist-turned-director Neil Drumming makes its New York premiere fresh off of its run at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival.

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The Fade chronicles the lives of four Afro-American barbers in acutely different situations from Ghana to Jamaica, with London and New Jersey in-between. This documentary from Andy-Mundy Castle reveals an everyday profession as a conversation between identity, community, and commerce, all occurring in the barber’s chair, before a mirror reflecting the individuals involved. While one barber “sorts out the heads” of neighboring villagers in Ghana, supporting himself through skillful diligence, another travels wherever his services are needed in Jamaica, a third works in a local shop in London, gathering stories, gossip and street talk for his visual artwork, and the final, nicknamed ‘Hollywood,’ handles high profile clients such as Jay Sean. The clients of each barber have an individual sense of trust towards the men cutting their hair, a routine they consider even more personal than the way the hair grows.

“The fade” refers to a specific men’s haircut where the hair thins almost imperceptibly as the hairline reaches the neck. Castle’s documentary takes a commonplace profession and similarly blends it into a community of relationships, which reveal the social values of a race. Here, race means more than the constants between different Afro-American societies. Castle concentrates on the individualizations of different communities among Afro-Americans – from Ghana to Jamaica, with London and New Jersey in between. The barber from London expresses the sentiment that when he travels abroad for work, he feels dislocated. Is he English or African-American? Is this his home or someone else’s? Barbering relocates him, and Castle’s documentary uses a particular profession to relocate a race, reflecting many shades of culture in four barbers’ mirrors. 

Fade is playing this weekend at New Voices in Black Cinema, Brooklyn, New York.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_hFC8tl644

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The third annual New Voices in Black Cinema festival runs from Friday, February 15 – Monday, February 18, 2013.  The New Voices in Black Cinema festival reflects the wide spectrum of views and themes within the Black community from Brooklyn to Italy and beyond.  The four day film festival showcases 27 of the best in independent feature films, short films and documentaries from up and coming directors, producers, and talent throughout the Diaspora. All films will be shown at BAM (in the Peter Jay Sharp Building) located at 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, which has been the festival’s home since its inception. 

The opening night film Big Words (2012, 97 min. – Friday, February 16) directed by journalist-turned-director Neil Drumming makes its New York premiere fresh off of its run at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival.  This fresh comedic drama starring Dorian Missick (“Southland”, Two Weeks Notice), Gbenga Akinnagbe (“The Wire”) and Yaya Alafia (The Kids Are All Right) takes place in Brooklyn on the eve of President Barack Obama’s history-making 2008 election as three self-absorbed friends, once members of a promising hip-hop trio, cross paths once again and discover that despite dreams deferred and the extreme changes in their lives that some things never change.  

18 Ius Soli (2011, 50 min. – Friday, February 15), directed by Italian-born Fred Kuwornudiagnoses the Italian law that denies citizenship to young people born in Italy to immigrant parents from Africa, Asia, and South America, this documentary examines the injustice faced by 18 girls and boys born in Italy. 

No Homo (2012, 78 min. – Monday, February 18), directed by Brooklyn filmmaker Goddey Asemota, focuses on two aspiring fashion designers who sell custom shirts on the streets of SoHo. Because of their love of fashion the two are constantly questioned about their sexuality. As a gag they make a shirt with the logo “No Homo” on the front and sell them at their stand, which leads to their unlikely meteoric rise in the fashion world. 

The Undershepherd (2012, 108 min. – Saturday, February 17) directed by Russ Parr, with Isaiah Washington (“Grey’s Anatomy”, Clockers) Lamman Rucker (Why Did I Get Married?), Malinda Williams (“Soul Food”) and Vanessa Bell Calloway (Coming to America) is a controversial tale of two ministers, LC (Washington) and Roland (Rucker), best friends and brothers in Christ.  When the head preacher of their church plans his retirement, mild-mannered character LC becomes overcome by his access to power, money earned through his ministry, and slowly transforms into a ruthless business man.

ActNow New Voices in Black Cinema Full Schedule:

Friday, February 15
1:30PM ● 18 Ius Soli – Talkback with director Fred Kuwornu to follow film   ● Beale St. Blues – Talkback with director Kecia Benson to follow film  
4PM ● The Fade
7PM ●  Big Words – Talkback with director Neil Drumming & producer Matthew Keene Smith to follow film
9:45PM ● The Kill Hole 

Saturday, February 16  
12PM ● The United States of Hoodoo
3PM ● High Chicago – Talkback with director Alfons Adetuyi to follow film
6PM ● Aujourd’hui(Tey) – Talkback with director Alain Gomis & actor Saul Williams to follow film
9:15PM ● FunkJazzKafé: Diary of a Decade – Talkback with director Jason Orr to follow film  

Sunday, February 17 
1PM ● The Central Park Five
4PM ● alaskaLand – Talkback with director Chinonye Chukwu to follow film
7PM● Four – Talkback with director Joshua Sanchez and actors Emory Cohen & Yolanda Ross  to follow film
9:45PM ● The Undershepherd

Monday, February 18 
1PM ● Stones in the Sun 
4PM ● Unbreakable: Shorts Program – Talkback with various directors to follow film  
Barbasol
Record/Play 
Saudade
ort Greene 
Karim
Everything Absolutely
Nigga…Nigga…Nigga!
Make Me A Doorway
7PM ●  Gimme the Loot – Talkback with director Adam Leon to follow film  
9:45PM ● No Homo – Talkback with director Goddey Asemota to follow film

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