3rd Annual New Voices in Black Cinema Presented by ActNow Foundation Showcases Black Independent Film

3^rd Annual
New Voices in Black Cinema

Presented by ActNow Foundation

Showcases Black Independent Film

10 New York premieres including Big Words, 18 Ius Soli & The Undershepherd starring Isaiah Washington

Spoken Word Poet Saul Williams in film ‘Aujoud’hui (Tey)’ and

Director Adam Leon of film ‘Gimme the Loot’ Among Special Guests

New York, NY – January 23, 2013 – Brooklyn based ActNow Foundation presents the third annual New Voices in Black Cinema festival in association with BAMcinématek which runs from Friday, February 15 - Monday, February 18.  The New Voices in Black Cinema festival reflects the wide spectrum of views and themes within the Black community from Brooklyn to Italy and beyond.  The four-day film festival showcases 27 of the best in independent feature films, short films and documentaries from up and coming directors, producers, and talent throughout the Diaspora. All films will be shown at BAM (in the Peter Jay Sharp Building) located at 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, which has been the festival’s home since its inception.  General Admission is $13/ seniors & students $9 (25 and under with a valid ID). For more information and tickets visit: www.bam.org.

Curtis Caesar John, New Voices in Black Cinema Director and head of film programming for ActNow Foundation, states that this festival is the heartbeat of independent black film, “New Voices in Black Cinema creates something special by allowing New York audiences access to diverse films and perspectives from writers, producers and directors that focus on the Black experience.” John adds,   “People tell us all the time ‘I heard about that film’ but they somehow missed it. New Voices in Black Cinema is a birth and re-birth for a lot of these films about and by people of color.”

The 2013 festival lineup features a number of diversely rich films that are making their New York premiere.  The opening night film Big Words (2012, 97 min. – Friday, February 16) directed by journalist-turned-director Neil Drumming makes its New York premiere fresh off of its run at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival.  This fresh comedic drama starring Dorian Missick (“Southland”, Two Weeks Notice), Gbenga Akinnagbe (“The Wire”) and Yaya Alafia (The Kids Are All Right) takes place in Brooklyn on the eve of President Barack Obama’s history-making 2008 election as three self-absorbed friends, once members of a promising hip-hop trio, cross paths once again and discover that despite dreams deferred and the extreme changes in their lives that some things never change.  

About ActNow Foundation: Since its inception in 2005 ActNow has presented stories about race, love, family, cultural differences, self-empowerment, the corporate world, and the toils and aspirations of the working, middle, and upper classes, with a declared mission statement to “promote and preserve independent films and theater that reflect the infinite range of African diaspora images across the globe.” In addition to New Voices in Black Cinema, ActNow Foundation curates the Short Film Collective and is currently working on theater productions for 2013. Visit ActNow Foundation on the web at: www.actnowproduction.org.

About BAM: The four-screen BAM Rose Cinemas (BRC) opened in 1998 to offer Brooklyn audiences alternative and independent films that may not play in the borough otherwise, making BAM the only performing arts center in the country with two mainstage theaters and a multiplex cinema. In July 1999, beginning with a series celebrating the work of Spike Lee, BAMcinématek was born as Brooklyn’s only daily, year-round repertory film program. BAMcinématek presents new and rarely seen contemporary films, classics, work by local artists, and festivals of films from around the world, often with special appearances by directors, actors and other guests. Visit BAM on the web at: www.bam.org.

ActNow New Voices in Black Cinema Full Schedule:

Friday, February 15

• 1:30PM ● 18 Ius Soli – Talkback with director Fred Kuwornu to follow film 

       ● Beale St. Blues – Talkback with director Kecia Benson to follow film 

• 4PM ● The Fade
• 7PM ●  Big Words – Talkback with director Neil Drumming & producer Matthew Keene Smith to follow film 
• 9:45PM ● The Kill Hole

Saturday, February 16 

• 12PM ● The United States of Hoodoo
• 3PM ● High Chicago – Talkback with director Alfons Adetuyi to follow film 
• 6PM ● Aujourd’hui(Tey) – Talkback with director Alain Gomis & actor Saul Williams to follow film 
• 9:15PM ● FunkJazzKafé: Diary of a Decade – Talkback with director Jason Orr to follow film 

Sunday, February 17

• 1PM ● The Central Park Five
• 4PM ● alaskaLand – Talkback with director Chinonye Chukwu to follow film 
• 7PM● Four – Talkback with director Joshua Sanchez and actors Emory Cohen & Yolanda Ross  to follow film 
• 9:45PM ● The Undershepherd

Monday, February 18

• 1PM ● Stones in the Sun
• 4PM ● Unbreakable: Shorts Program – Talkback with various directors to follow film 
  • Barbasol 
  • Record/Play
  • Saudade
  • Fort Greene
  • Karim 
  • Everything Absolutely 
  • Nigga…Nigga…Nigga!
  • Make Me A Doorway
• 7PM ●  Gimme the Loot – Talkback with director Adam Leon to follow film 
• 9:45PM ● No Homo – Talkback with director Goddey Asemota to follow film 

General Information:

• Tickets: General Admission: $13
• BAM Cinema Club Members: $8
• Seniors & Students (25 and under with a valid ID): $9
• For tickets visit: www.bam.org

Directions to BAM:

• Subway:2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center
• G to Fulton Street
• C to Lafayette Avenue
• Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center
• Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM
• Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM