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The fourth Annual African American Women in Cinema Film Festival and Conference was a resounding success. Presented by the Media Arts Department, Renee Productions and African Voices magazine, the three day event ran from March 15 to 17, 2001 and featured a two-day film festival followed by a full day of workshops and a keynote panel.

The Department’s newly renovated Spike Lee Screening Room was the site of the first night’s screenings. The diverse program of shorts and a feature length documentary ranged in subject matter from voodoo and infidelity to sexism and "sizism."

The first film presentation was by Kim Mayhorn, a Brooklyn artist and film/video editor who created the mixed media art installation, “A Woman Was Lynched the Other Day” . . . Her film Withering Bark is a multi-layered short which juxtaposes spoken word against literal and metaphorical images exploring the Black experience in the United States.

Other highlights of the evening were Michelle Lewis’ De*fat*ting, Nicole Franklin’s celebrated documentary, Double Dutch Divas, Christa Collins’ She Smokes, (a film about a man and woman in love but also in deep conflict), and young new filmmaker, Boakyewaa Boakye’s self reflective documentary about a father daughter relationship in Communication Gap.

The first of two films screened at the festival written and directed by Carol Mayes was Rituals, which was followed by Tania Cuevas-Martinez’s Voice of the Voiceless, which focuses on the life and words of death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.

The second night of the festival was held at the Grand Ballroom of the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel. Sheryl Ellis of IGH Multimedia sponsored a reception and the evening featured the premiere screening of Carol Mayes’ upcoming release for Black Entertainment Television (BET), Commitment, starring Allen Payne and Virginia Capers.

Other highlights on the program were Blackwater by Diana Solomon-Glover and SanVicki Chapman, Movements by Yvonne Farrow, La Revolution, a short animation about the Haitian revolution of 1801, by Dara Frazier and an excerpt from Black Russian, the feature length documentary that explores the lives of contemporary Afro-Russians by Kara Lynch.

Clairesa Clay, the co-coordinator of the film festival who moderated insightful and informative dialogues between the audience and filmmakers, hosted both evenings.

The theme for Saturday’s program was the "Digital Era of Hollywood, What Does This Mean?" Throughout the day panelists analyzed and contrasted new and traditional forms of filmmaking and its impact on the film industry. The day began with an informal discussion with actress Lisa Gay Hamilton from the Emmy Award winning television show The Practice. She spoke about surviving in the film and television industry from the perspective of a working actress and discussed expanding employment opportunities in the field. The keynote panel was moderated by radio and television personality, Denise Richardson. The panel included representatives from traditional and digital media houses discussing technical practices employed today. There were hands on demonstrations showing the latest technology in film and digital video. Panelists Angela Northington of Urbanmedia Entertainment and producer Warrington Hudlin, spoke informatively about the challenges and opportunities facing current filmmakers.

The final workshop, “Working in the Digital and Traditional Medium,” included producer and current head of the Director’s Guild of America, Roni Wheeler; casting director, Jacki Brown Karman; and Proteus Spann of Jacki Brown Karman Associates. They all spoke passionately about developing good business acumen along with the technical and creative skills needed to succeed in the industry.