Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson and Steven Yeun will be honored at the upcoming 23rd annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, taking place as a virtual experience October 24 – October 31. The festival will honor Samuel L. Jackson with the Legend of Cinema Award, Tessa Thompson (Sylvie’s Love) with the Vanguard Award and Steven Yeun (Minari) with the Discovery Award.
Neon will handle theatrical release for Justin Simien’s horror satire Bad Hair, which premiered earlier this year at Sundance Film Festival. The film has since been featured in Essence Festival, CurlFest, UrbanWorld, where Simien (Dear White People) received the 2020 Festival Ambassador Award, Chicago Film Festival, New York Comic Con, Beyond Fest and One Music Festival.
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival revealed the 118 feature-length films, representing 27 countries and 44 first-time feature filmmakers that will be showcased at the upcoming festival. Films range from indie films to star studded cast featuring Meek Mill, Wilmer Valderrama, Elisabeth Moss, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck and more. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 23 to February 2, 2020.
Venezuelan actor Julio Mendez who was featured in the critically acclaimed independent film “Bad Hair” has reportedly been killed in a shootout in Caracas, Venezuela. Julio Mendez was said to be among a group of people killed last Thursday night during a confrontation between officers and a group of alleged car thieves in downtown Caracas.
According to the reports, it was unclear if Mendez was among the suspects or was caught in crossfire.
The filmmakers behind the film”Bad Hair” confirmed his death in a tweet, saying “With infinite rage and pain we must point out that our beloved actor Julio Mendez was killed in Caracas…”
Con infinita rabia y dolor debemos informar que nuestro querido actor JULIO MENDEZ fue asesinado en Caracas la… http://t.co/HL9cuFxNoH
— Pelo Malo (@FilmPeloMalo) May 2, 2015
In Bad Hair (Pelo malo), winner of the Golden Seashell Award and Sebastiane Award at the 2013 San Sebastian Film Festival, writer/director Mariana Rondón chronicles Junior’s life in a housing project in contemporary Caracas, Venezuela, where he lives with his widowed mother and baby brother. While his mother struggles to find cleaning jobs to feed her family, Junior’s obsessions are of a more aesthetic nature. Above all, he longs for straight hair – ‘Good Hair’ – like that of his idol, a Justin Bieber – like pop singer. He wants his curly African hair to be straight for his school picture. His mother fears her son is gay, but his African grandmother is fond of the boy, and teaches him to dance to one of her favorite rock ‘n’ roll tunes.
In ” Bad Hair,” the 21-year-old Mendez played a newspaper vendor, reportedly winning the role after accompanying a friend to auditions held in the Caracas slum where the movie is set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW0o1jz5d9Y