“Knucklehead”
Director: Ben Bowman (Starring: Gbenga Akinnagbe, Armari Cheatom and Alfre Woodard)
When his brother is shot, mentally disabled Langston Bellows is left without a protector in Brooklyn’s housing projects. Now under control of his abusive mother, he must take his future into his own hands. He sets out to find the one person he believes can cure him, a magazine columnist doctor who touts questionable prescription drug cocktails. Becoming ‘mentally excellent’ will mean moving into an apartment of his own with his girlfriend. Landing in the unscrupulous world of pharmaceutical marketing, the search for his mysterious doctor and hero leads to unwanted discoveries. Langston strives for independence from his prior life, from his mother, and from his fractured mind.
October 7, 2015 – 7:30 PM Charles Theatre Watch Trailer
ENCORE SCREENING October 11, 2015 – 8:30 PM UB Learning Commons
AN UNEXPECTED HISTROY: THE STORY OF HENNESSY AND AFRICAN AMERICANS is a documentary on the Moet Hennessy company and the history of their connection with the African American community going back 100 years, as part of the celebration of the brand’s 250th anniversary in 2015. The film centers on the lives of three remarkable individuals whose efforts have both inspired and reflected the company’s striving for excellence. Executives at Hennessy supported W.E.B. DuBois to found the NAACP, worked to defend the Scotsboro Boys, and were among the first national advertisers to purchase ad copy in Jet and Ebony magazines. Interviews, archival footage, period dramatizations and an original jazz score by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah will bring these stories to life.
October 7, 2015 – 4:00 PM Charles Theatre Watch Trailer
“Sneak Peak” – First Twenty Films of the BIBFF 2015 are Unveiled:
August Wilson: The Ground On Which I Stand
Emmy-winning director Sam Pollard (When the Levees Broke; Slavery by Another Name) explores the life and legacy of August Wilson, the playwright some call America’s Shakespeare, from his roots as an activist and poet to his indelible mark on Broadway. The first documentary about the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson is a co-production of THIRTEEN’s American Masters series and WQED. Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling each decade of the 20th-century African-American experience, including the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences and Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson.
Director: Sam Pollard Watch Trailer
October 10, 2015 – 10:30 AM UB Learning Commons
Beverley
Beverley follows a mixed race girl’s struggle to carve out a sense of identity in a confusing, shifting cultural landscape – 1980 Leicester. A move from the decaying, poverty-stricken, urban environment to the relative comfort and theoretical safety of white suburbia does not provide the hope and opportunities Bev may have wished for. A familiar enemy is ever present – a threat that extends beyond her own safety, as she must also protect her brother and sister. By asserting her will and using her guile Bev tries to shape her new environment into something palatable, but the result is the opposite of what she is trying to achieve.
Director: Alexander Thomas Watch Trailer
October 9, 2015 – 2:15 PM UB Learning Commons (Shorts: Pain)
Christmas Wedding Baby
Romantically ready Andrea is days from marrying picture perfect Brent, when her first love, Gabriel, walks in to her pre-wedding photo shoot, turning her libido up and her world upside down. Andrea reaches out to successful oldest sister, Lori who is having her own problems as she is suffering, alone, through premature labor. Middle sister Charlotte is overwhelmed by her career, kids and commitment-phobic boyfriend, Isaac and wonders if now is the time to break free of their relationship. Surprisingly, these three intelligent, charismatic, independent women are all manipulated by their overbearing Mother, Miranda, and her archaic archetypes of womanhood.
Director: Kiara C Jones
October 9, 2015 – 6:45 PM UB Learning Commons
Cowboy’s Girl
A successful woman travels to the seedy fringes of Las Vegas to confront her estranged, eccentric father, known simply as ‘Cowboy’. Because of his failing health, this is her last chance to solve the mystery surrounding her identity that has haunted her for years. With a DNA test stored secretly in her purse, she knows she’s heading into the home of an unpredictable and manipulative man, who is unlikely to give up the answer.
Director: Andrew Piccone Watch Trailer
October 8, 2015 – 8:45 PM UB Learning Commons
Deadline for Justice
After a hard-nosed detective gets setup by his wife and the city’s most notorious kingpin, he goes on the run and connects with a savvy hacker and a revenge-seeking ex-soldier to help clear his name before he’s caught.
Director: Joseph Givens
October 9, 2015 – 2:15 PM UB Learning Commons (Shorts: Pain)
Divided Time
“Divided Time” captures the lives of nine fathers who share their experiences in parenthood and their pursuit of success in the music industry while being accountable to their families. It is an inspiring behind-the-scenes look that counters the negative imagery often associated with hip-hop in mainstream media.
Director: W. Feagins, Jr. Watch Trailer
October 9, 2015 – 9:00 AM UB Learning Commons
ELISE
ELISE is a documentary that follows a young, transgender, and homeless woman who, because of multi-layered discrimination and economic oppression, has been forced to engage in survival sex along the streets of Washington, DC.
Director: Evan Sterrett
October 8, 2015 – 6:45 PM UB Learning Commons (Shorts: #LoveIsLove)
Gideon’s Cross
As Gideon Ward (the resident vampire Slayer of Cedar Heights) prepares to battle an ancient evil, he learns of an even greater darkness that lies at his doorstep. In the battle-den of iniquity, we’ve all got a cross to bear. This is Gideon’s.
Directors: Damone Williams and Jenise Whitehead
October 11, 2015 – 9:00 AM UB Learning Commons (Shorts: Rain)
The Invented People. Echoes from Cape Verde
In 1984 a group of young Cape Verdeans influenced by the spirit of the Woodstock festival decided to create the “Baia das Gatas” festival on the island of San Vicente, Cape Verde. What they could not imagine was that 30 years later this festival would be a reference to the island and one of the most important events in the country. Its music brings echoes of an invented people.
Director: Juan Meseguer Watch Trailer
October 8, 2015 – 4:30 PM Charles Theatre
LUV Don’t Live Here Anymore
This is the story of Reggie Hamilton, also affectionately known as Reggie Luv, a gay black man whose life takes a 180-degree turn when once he becomes severely ill. Not so easily willing to part with the way life was before, Reggie finds himself not only fighting for his health, but unearthing harsh truths about who he is and the relationships he holds dear.
Director: Mikal K. Odom Watch Trailer
October 10, 2015 – 6:45 PM UB Learning Commons
Meeting Supermann
When Neo wakes up one morning, she has no clue this is the day she will be meeting Superman.
Director: Hannah Stockmann
October 10, 2015 – 6:45 PM UB Learning Commons (precedes: Dante & Minnie)
N’kisi Concorde
N’kisi Concorde, a documentary feature, investigates the lives and work of two Detroit-area outsider artists and visual storytellers, Olayami Dabls and Dmytro Szylak, whose extraordinary installations reflect the power of the imagination unbound by artistic conventions or popular tastes. Though unrelated by work or acquaintance, these artists are united by the power of their singular visions to stimulate lively public engagement and to color the cultural landscapes of their communities.
Director: Nikki Sass Watch Trailer
October 8, 2015 – 12:30 PM UB Learning Commons
Nola Circus
NOLA CIRCUS chronicles the lives of the inhabitants of a black neihborhood in Algiers Point (New-Orleans) whose lives intercross around two barber shops facing each other on a main street. On one side there is Will, a black hairdresser who preaches against racial prejudices while having a secret affair with Nola, a young white woman who is dreaming of Broadway.
On the other side, there is Marvin, a well known sex addict who’s having a passionate affair with Karen, a small time pot dealer. The tensions sharpen on the day when Denzel, Nola’s super protective brother starts sinking into compulsive jealousy on the same day when three Ku Klux Klan members show up at Will’s place to kidnap him.
Director: Luc Annest Watch Trailer
October 11, 2015 – 4:15 PM UB Learning Commons
Rise Up
A Young African American male travels back in time to 1964 to address social issues effecting Black America to Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Director: Marcellus Cox
October 10, 2015 – 4:15 PM UB Learning Commons
(Shorts: #BlackLivesMatter)
Roubado
“Roubado” tells the story of Alain Castelo, an introverted Afro-Portuguese teen growing up in the south of France. As he suffers his parents’ recent breakup, the only solace he can muster is his penchant for photography.
Director: Erica A. Watson
October 9, 2015 – 2:15 PM UB Learning Commons (Shorts: Pain)
Shield and Spear
In the changing political climate of South Africa a revolution is taking place as artists, musicians and designers tackle issues of politics, race and history. Artist Brett Murray’s painted caricature of South African president Jacob Zuma results in a lawsuit and death threats. Photographer and activist Zanele Muholi’s work exposes hate crimes in the LGBT community. Shield and Spear presents intimate stories about the artists, art, music, identity, race and freedom of expression in South Africa 20 years into democracy.
Director: Petter Ringbom Watch Trailer
October 10, 2015 – 2:00 PM UB Learning Commons
Sixteen
A film about a former child soldier from the Congo who is brought to the UK by an aid worker who he now lives with to escape his violent past.
Director: Rob Brown
October 8, 2015 – 2:15 PM Charles Theatre
The Untitled Bob Marley Project
After Bob Marley’s passing, a couple editors at the BBC find some lost interviews in the vaults and put together a retrospective of the life of the reggae icon.
Director: Shawn Carter Peterson
October 9, 2015 – 4:30 PM UB Learning Commons
(precedes: Steps of Faith)
Vow Of Silence
A heart-broken composer takes a vow of silence to win back the heart of her true love.
Director: Be Steadwell
October 11, 2015 – 4:15 PM UB Learning Commons
(precedes: Nola Circus)
Zoo (Volkerschau)
Two girls prepare for a fun day at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium, with the same expectations, but very different outcomes.
Director: Monda Raquel Webb
October 10, 2015 – 2:00 PM UB Learning Commons
(precedes: Shield & Spear)