WHY DO YOU HAVE BLACK DOLLS?, BREAKING NIGHT, YELLOW FEVER, RETURN, and MR. STOKES' MISSION: Short Film Showcase II
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Washington, WA
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WHY DO YOU HAVE BLACK DOLLS?, BREAKING NIGHT, YELLOW FEVER, RETURN, and MR. STOKES' MISSION: Short Film Showcase II
9:00 p.m. Thursday, April 18 SHORTS SHOWCASE II
wishing (USA, 2011, 5 min 18 sec.) Directed by Gabrielle Lansner.
In search of his lost bride a man is ushered into " another world" by two guardian angels. Their marriage and relationship is evoked through a series of kinetic snap shots and romantic dance sequences. Their lost love and marriage is evoked in a poetic dance of longing and memory.
WHY DO YOU HAVE BLACK DOLLS? (USA, 25 min.) Directed by Samantha Knowles. Seattle premiere.
Why Do You Have Black Dolls? is the award-winning debut documentary of filmmaker Samantha Knowles. Inspired by a question asked of Knowles as a child, the short film, the first of its kind, focuses on the little-known black doll community and brings heart-warming and powerful stories of the history, beauty, and pride that is the black doll. In a world where representation and self-esteem are at the forefront of sociological debate, the film brings a message that reveals that black dolls are more than just playthings - they are cultural artifacts that represent the history of the people they depict.
The film, which began as Knowles' senior honors thesis at Dartmouth College, has garnered national attention. Since its completion, it has been accepted into multiple film festivals, has earned a City Council Citation from the City of New York, and has been featured in the Huffington Post, the Daily News, the Grio, Jet Magazine, BET.com, and CUNY TV.
I am interested in the concept of skin and race, and what they imply; in the ideas and theories sown into our flesh that change with the arc of time. The idea of beauty has become globalized, creating homogeneous aspirations, and distorting people's self-image across the planet. In my film, I focus on African women's self-image, through memories and interviews; using mixed media to describe this almost schizophrenic self-visualization that I and many others have grown up with. Contains brief nudity.
Work-in-Progress. Sole is a compulsive binge eater who looks through her window at Jasmine her perfect and pretty neighbor. Sole is compelled to try to make friends but Jasmine is completely resistant.
BREAKING NIGHT (USA, 2012; 9 min. 59 sec.) Directed by Yolonda Ross. Seattle premiere.
Girl flees a heavy situation at home with her boyfriend. By circumstance, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, she comes face to face with a vision of confidence and sophistication that she's never seen before. This chance meeting changes her outlook of who she is, and more so, who she can become; transforming her life forever. As night gives way to morning, she abandons the young 'lost girl' she was, emerging as a young woman with purpose, into the light.
RETURN (USA, 2012; 10 min.) Directed by Wes Fisher. Seattle premiere. A young veteran returns from Iraq to his lower income, inner city community and finds difficulty re-adjusting to life back home, while internalizing the guilt he feels as a result of leaving his buddies at war.
MR. STOKES' MISSION (USA, 2012; 30 min.). Directed by Sam Hampton. Seattle premiere.
Mr. Stokes' Mission is a half-hour documentary about Civil Rights activist and educator John A. Stokes. On April 23, 1951, Stokes, then president of his senior class at the Robert Russo Moton High School in Farmville Virginia, helped organize and lead a walkout by students to protest inferior conditions for his fellow African-American students. His efforts contributed to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling three years later, which banned segregation in public education. The documentary gives a candid and unique insight to the motivation and work of Mr. Stokes at the time of the student strike, in addition to his current work with students and educators.
Endorsed by the National Council for the Social Studies, Mr. Stokes' Mission presents primary sources that make history deeply personal and immediate. Mr. Stokes' Mission gives a unique insight into the role that Stokes and other young citizens played in America's movement from a segregated to integrated society.
Sam Hampton, Director
Sam's previous films have won a CINE Gold Eagle Award for Documentary Short and a TIVA Bronze Award for Documentary. Hampton Films have screened at the Library of Congress, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Cornell Cinema, the Chautauqua Institution, and numerous film festivals. Sam is the former operations director for Docs In Progress, a Maryland non-profit that fosters a community for documentary filmmakers. Sam is now a partner in Hampton Consulting & Film, a management and media company based in Alexandria, Virginia. Sam holds a doctorate in urban education from Cleveland State University.
Robby Aceto, Original Music Robby Aceto is an internationally recognized musician whose highly personalized approach and unending fascination with the electric guitar place him firmly among the new breed of "color" guitarists. He has toured and recorded with such artists as the Tom Tom Club, David Sylvian and David Torn. Among his film credits are: "Saved By Deportation" (dir: Slavomir Grunberg; winner Audience Award, Best Documentary; Jewish International Film Festival, Washington, DC). He composed the theme music for NPR's award-winning series "World@Work", and has scored several short films for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Kirsten Hampton, Producer Kirsten is a partner in Hampton Consulting and Film and serves as producer for Hampton Films. She is the 2012 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation's Creative Fellow, and has held residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. A former university dean and vice president, she now works largely with nonprofit institutions and organizations.
Mr. Stokes' Mission is narrated by Terry Rumsey. Dr. Robert Green, Alumni Distinguished Professor in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University serves as academic advisor and scholar. The film also contains archival footage and personal photos of John Stokes' and his family.
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Location
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (View)
104 - 17th Ave S
Washington, WA 98144
United States
