Film Title: Jewelry Box
Length: 28:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Janice R. Thomas, Joshua Roybal
Producer/Writer: Raynna Celeste Thomas,
Lucille James, Janice R. Thomas

“Jewelry Box” is a short drama depicting a teenager’s inability to cope with a mentally ill father, and her gradual descent into the same realm of mental illness as her father

Film Title: Life Sucks
Length: 17:04 Min
Category: Narrative
Producer/Director/Writer: Faythallegra Colemam

Ayanna, a waitress at a Brooklyn diner, struggles to make a simple ice cream sundae. However, she quickly encounters more pressing problems when a friendly customer named Michael orders a burger and fries then announces his plan to kill himself after his meal. He flaunts the gun and points it at his temple. As Ayanna's boss panics and the diner cook gets furious, Ayanna listens to Michael's problems and even sings to him, gradually getting him to change his mind.

Film Title: The Plus Side
Length: 14:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Sharon Hill
Producer/Writer: Sharon Hill

Excited by her first date in over five years, Carrie prepares for an evening with her friend Lucas, who seems ready to take things to the next level. Definitely eventful, this proves to be a night that redefines the meaning
of love, friendship, and what it means to be happy.

Film Title: Guilty or Innocent of Using the “N” Word
Length: 29:00 Min
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director: Bhavna Malkani

Guilty or Innocent of Using the N Word questions hip hop fans, people
in the hip hop industry as well as the older generation on how the interpretation of the word has changed in the last 40 years. Various music fans around the world have been exposed to the word without knowing
the journey of the word. The documentary explores people's experiences and thoughts on how the word is used in today's American society. Guest appearances in the documentary include M1 (Dead Prez), Grouchy Greg Watkins CEO of Allhiphop.com, Philadelphia rapper The Last Emperor and The 49ers (GoonTrax Records Japan).

Film Title: Safiya
Length: 9:58 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Sylvia Terry
Producer/Writer: Sylvia Terry

A young woman teaches an interested young man that he will have to court her in a traditional manner.

Film Title: Brothers & Sisters in the Struggle,
Songs and Ciphers
Length: 28:00 Min
Category: Documentary
Director: Christine Peng, Eddy Rivera,
Karina Hurtado, Diana Coryat
Producer/Writer: Christine Peng, Eddy Rivera,
Karina Hurtado, Diana Coryat

Since 1998 Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution has evoked mass media controversy on a national and international level. This popular movement has also forged intercontinental alliances and sparked the imagination of many communities around the globe. Filmed through the lens of young people of color, this film follows five New Yorkers as they attempt to learn how the Bolivarian Revolution has impacted people’s lives.

Film Title: Warrior Boyz
Length: 42:30 Min
Category: Documentary
Director: Baljit Sangra
Producer/Writer: Baljit Sangra

Warrior Boyz looks at some of the challenges that South Asian youth are facing today and sets out to understand why they are vulnerable to the allure of gang culture. In the past decade over a hundred Indo-Canadian youth have been killed as a result of gang violence. Most of the victims came from middle class families within a tight knit community.

Film Title: The Souls of Black Girls
Length: 51:00 Min
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director/Writer: Daphne Valerius

The Souls of Black Girls is a provocative news documentary that takes
a critical look at media images—how they are instituted, established and controlled. The documentary also examines the relationship between the historical and existing media images of women of color and raises the question of whether they may be suffering from a self-image disorder as
a result of trying to attain the standards of beauty that are celebrated in media images. Artists, activists and actresses such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Michaela Angela Davis (pictured above), and Regina King discuss the negative portrayal of women of color in the media. Ms. Davis will join other guests for a special

Film Title: Quilombo
Length: 49:18 Min
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director/Writer: Flavio Frederico

Brazilian historians estimate that in Minas Gerais State alone there existed more than 100 “quilombos” (settlements of runaway African slaves brought to Brazil) during the colonial times. The film depicts the daily life of Dona Luzia in the district of Quilombo, located in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range, and recovers part of the Brazilian slave history, which was largely written out of the country's official history.

Film Title: Power Force 5: The Story of Oshun & Ogun
Length: 1:05 Min
Category: Animation
Director: Carol Mayes and Paul Collins
Producer/Writer: Carol Mayes

When Mighty Ogun quits and goes into hiding, he causes the world’s machinery & technology to come to a halt. The Power Force 5 must convene to figure out how to bring him back. They soon find out that the weakest of them, Oshun, possesses the only way to reach Ogun and restore order to the world.

Film Title: Obara & The Merchants
Length: 8:15 Min
Category: Animation
Director: Manauvaskar Kublall
Producer/Writer: Rich McKeown, Michelle Bodden

Obara and the Merchants tells the story of a powerful hunter named Obara who lives in a town experiencing a famine. When he is finally able to eat, a group of hungry merchants appears! Will Obara share or keep his food to himself? What decision would you make? Obara and the Merchants has recently been awarded the Dove Foundation "Family Approved" Seal Award. It was featured in the 2007 Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner and has garnered over twenty official film festival selections throughout the U.S.A., Canada, Europe and India.

Film Title: Bi-racial Hair
Length: 4:56 Min
Category: Experimental
Director: Lisa Russell
Producer/Writer: Lisa Russell

“Slit my wrists, my blood does not excrete in black and white” prophesizes 13-year-old Zora in her poem entitled “Bi-Racial Hair” which was performed live in front of 1500 of her peers and adult allies at the Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Slam. The film is a satirical look at the racial tension young African Americans of mixed ethnic backgrounds experience.

Film Title: Ain’t I’m Clean
Length: 7:34 Min
Category: Narrative/Experimental
Producer/Director/Writer: Aisha Tandiwe Bell

Both question and statement, this experimental film explores and asks questions about fear, guilt, and shame. While obviously exploring the psychological impact of living in a culture of white supremacy, it is a dual narrative that implies deeper conflicting wound/weapons. It suggests the possibility of burden acting as armor as it begs the question, What kind of dirt is worse than soil? It is a beautiful ugliness.

Film Title: Nappy Heads
Length: 3:00 Min
Category: Experimental
Producer/Director/Writer: Sabrina Moella

Nappy Heads is a short and vibrant tribute to the Afro hair. Shot on Super 8 in the streets of Toronto, it portrays dozens of women, men and children who all agreed to shake their nappy heads‚ in front of the camera. Afros, dreadlocks, cornrows‚ all types of hairstyles are represented. Whether you like them kinky or curly, wavy or twisted, you will spontaneously fall in love with the fabulous cast!

Film Title: Spent
Length: 15:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Boris Schaarschmidt
Producer/Writer: Phyllis Toben Bancroft

Cheryl has realized the American Girl Shop until you drop‚ fantasy and has done just that. Now this ambitious real estate agent is desperate to sell a house in order to stay afloat.

Film Title: What A Difference
Length: 38:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Nikklas Bates
Producer/Writer: Khalilah Bates

What A Difference is a humorous and profound film of when a gold digger can’t dig no mo’. A young materialistic woman discovers her string of boyfriends cannot save her from the inevitable.

Film Title: The Mattress Hustle
Length: 20:51 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Susan Watson Turner
Producer/Writer: Vanessa Turner

“The Mattress Hustle” is a sexy romantic comedy about an African-American couple in New York City. Olivia and James have been unemployed for a couple of months and have reluctantly moved back home. With little chance for privacy, the couple creates innovative ways to satisfy their healthy appetite for lovemaking.

Film Title: Land of Promise: The Story of Allensworth
Length: 26:08 Min
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director/Writer: Pamela Harris

Land of Promise tells the story of Allensworth, the only intentional community in California incorporated and governed by African Americans. The film enters Allensworth 99 years after it was established and finds that nearly no black people live there today. The film explores the unique history of the town and takes viewers inside a present-day controversy about two mega-dairies planned for construction near Allensworth’s historic town center. Land of Promise brings together current events and history using live action footage, rare historical photos, and historical documents. Meet descendents of original pioneers and travel the dusty, unpaved streets of contemporary Allensworth with present day residents to learn first-hand about the ups and downs of this unique settlement.

Film Title: 365 Days of Marching: The Amadou Diallo Story
Length: 90 Min. (Director’s Cut)
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director/Writer: Veronica Keitt, 360 Media

365 Days of Marching: The Amadou Diallo Story recounts the bitter and yet compelling part of New York City history‚ documenting the series of marches and protests that was set into motion after the death of Amadou Diallo. It’s a story that’s told through the eyes of the marchers exploring the history of the NYPD, police/community relations and how Diallo’s death galvanized a city to fight for justice‚ not only for Diallo, but for all injustices plaguing New Yorkers during that time. Written, produced & directed by Veronica Keitt, with appearances by Rev. Al Sharpton, Seiko and Kadiatou Diallo, David Dinkins former NYC Mayor, Congressman Charles Rangel, Gov. David Paterson, family members of victims of police brutality, community activists, and others.

Film Title: Finding Common Ground In New Orleans
Length: 24:00 Min
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director: Walidah Imarisha

FINDING COMMON GROUND IN NEW ORLEANS looks at the effects that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have had on New Orleans and the surrounding area. Through compelling and often heart wrenching interviews with residents, survivors, activists, volunteers and officials, the landscape of a city devastated and trying to rebuild in the light of criminal governmental neglect comes to light. This film includes exclusive footage shot in the makeshift bus station jail known as, Camp Amtrak, and interviews with officials at the jail about the city‚ criminal justice system, or lack thereof. The documentary is able, through the lens of personal accounts that speak to broader issues and concerns, to capture the pain, the loss and the hope of New Orleans.

Film Title: Belly of the Basin
Length: 56:40 Min.
Category: Documentary
Producer/Director/Writer: Tina Morton and Roxana Walker-Canton

Bombarded with sensationalized media coverage of Hurricane Katrina
for months after the hurricane ravaged the Gulf Coast, audiences around the world watched as the media portrayed demoralizing images of African Americans “looting” in the midst of the chaos of survival. Since the hurricane, physical displacement and the emotional and psychological
loss of “home” have been the most difficult to handle.

With an original score by New Orleans musician Monica Dillon, Belly of
the Basin asks New Orleans to tell its story through the voices of ordinary residents from black, indigenous, and poor communities. Belly of the Basin poses questions about the value of human life in relationship to race, class, and politics.

Film Title: Tribute: Stanley Tookie Williams
Length: 66 Min.
Category: Documentary
Director: Barbara Becnel, Shirley Neal
Producer/Writer: Barbara Becnel, Shirley Neal

TRIBUTE: Stanley Tookie Williams, 1953-2005, a powerful and moving documentary examining the life and premature death of condemned prisoner, Crips co-founder, children’s book author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stanley Tookie Williams, killed December 13, 2005, via a botched lethal injection procedure at San Quentin. It took him 35 minutes to die. TRIBUTE includes scenes from a staged reenactment of that execution, produced and directed by writer Barbara Becnel and producer Shirley Neal, longtime friends of Williams. The reenactment is based on their real-life death-chamber experience witnessing him die.

Film Title: Boxed
Length: 12:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Producer/Director/Writer: Jennifer Sharp

Boxed is a short film about the baggage from our past that interferes with the future. _Olivia Baker possesses a box that she’s carried everywhere since childhood. The box interferes with intimacy in her marriage, gets in the way of her work, and hinders her in other daily activities.

Film Title: I’m Through With White Girls
Length: 89:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Jennifer Sharp
Producer/Writer: Lia Johnson, Camilla Rentsen, Chris Adams, Phyllis Johnson, Courtney Lilly

Jay Brooks is that black guy who digs indie rock, graphic novels, and dates white chicks. After a slew of bad break-ups, Jay gives up white women, "cold turkey," and he goes on a mission: “Operation Brown Sugar.” But because Jay doesn't fit the "brotha" stereotype, he fails miserably with the "sistahs." Then he meets the dynamic Catherine, a misunderstood "Half-rican Canadian," who's as righteously quirky as he is. To win her heart, Jay must confront his fears as he realizes commitment is a bigger issue than race. I'm Through With White Girls, written by Courtney Lilly (Arrested Development, Everybody Hates Chris, My Boys), is a quirky romantic-comedy addressing race, class, and cultural identity in America.

Film Title: Blackout
Length: 95:00 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Jerry Lamothe
Producer/Writer: Jerry Lamothe and Judith Aidoo

On a hot summer afternoon, Thursday, August 14, 2003, a gritty section of East Flatbush, Brooklyn was about to be affected by one of the biggest blackouts in American history, a disaster that would paralyze states in the northeast. Blackout, starring award-winning actor Jeffrey Wright, takes us to the bustling and diverse neighborhood of Browser Ave., just two blocks from Hallsboro housing projects.

Film Title: Seen But Not Heard: Black Women and the untold War
Length: 19:20 Min
Category: Narrative
Director: Susan Watson Turner
Producer/Writer: Vanessa Turner

Seen, But Not Heard is a short documentary that will explore the historical antecedents, current trends, and emerging activism concerning HIV/AIDS and women of African decent. Despite the lack of outcry or outrage, the time is now for women of color to have a voice and put a face on this pandemic. Through this revealing portrait of African-American women, their constant struggle of life with AIDS is front and center.

Film Title: Rise Sally Rise
Length: 2:36 Min
Category: Experimental
Director: Darlene Pinkerton
Producer/Writer: Darlene Pinkerton

Rise Sally Rise is an experimental video that examines the connection of African-American women with the games they played as young girls. The video also suggests that a connection between these women and the visual images of older women from the same group does exist. The relationship between these women do not need to be established for the connection to be established. The film is about a young woman who is inspired by the childhood game, “little sally walker.”

Film Title: Racing Daylight
Length: 85 Min.
Category: Narrative
Director: Nicole Quinn
Producer/Writer: Sophia Raab-Downs/Nicole Quinn

Told as three short films in two different times Racing Daylight is a ghost story, a murder mystery and a love story, which crosses time. Sadie Stokes is a mousey librarian who returns to the family farm to care for her catatonic Grandma. There have always been Stokes in Cedarsville ... Sadie and Grandma are the last. Except for the longing Sadie bears for Henry, the farm's handyman, she’s pretty content to let life pass her by, until the man appears in her mirror, calls her “Anna” and disappears. As Sadie starts to take on the characteristics of her ancestor Anna Stokes, she realizes that they both want the same thing. They both want Henry. Only Anna thinks Henry is her long lost Harry.