(l-r): Jesse Loncraine and Flannery Miller attend one of several Q&A sessions at the 19th annual Urbanworld Film Festival.AMC Theater in Times Square was among the most essential places to visit in New York City this past weekend. It’s where movie lovers gathered to enjoy live Q&A sessions, panel discussions about digital media and share a room with public figures such as lead actress Garcelle Beauvais, radio personality Charlamagne Tha God and ballet dancer Misty Copeland during the 19th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET Networks with Founding Sponsor HBO.
While the Pope visit and Taste of France hit the streets of NYC, feature films such as Ty Hodges’ debut A Girl like Grace, Ernest Nkosi’s South African movie The Two of Us (Thina Sobabili) had audiences gasping and in the case of Nelson George’s documentary A Ballerina’s Tale, cheering with pride. Most of the festival’s 80 titles that screened at AMC comprised of an electrifying lineup of short films. Audiences lauded filmmakers in the shorts competition for making movies with diverse storylines – no two films were the same in their tone – great soundtracks, and producing projects that represent the neighborhoods where they came from. The latter gave people in communities with at-risk youth a voice and assurance in knowing their stories are being told.
Meeting the filmmakers behind the shorts was the icing on the cake for a healthy mix of individuals, from aspiring movie makers to New Yorkers who return to Urbanworld every year to see what’s happening on the independent film circuit. Fortunately for these audiences, many filmmakers were in attendance including Tough director and producer Alfonso Johnson who cites the festival’s stellar reputation amongst the filmmaking community as the reason why he submitted his movie here. “It’s like the BET Awards – you have the old-school legends such as Loretta Devine and the new-school kids like myself, all in the same place. So, it provides the opportunity for incredible networking but also for the passing of the torch,” says Johnson.
(l-r): Director Alfonso Johnson and Writer/Actress Gillian Glasco of the short film 'Tough' at Urbanworld 2015Written by Gillian Glasco, Tough is a family drama that questions how masculinity is defined within American society and the African American community.
The narrative tale follows a complicated father and son relationship caused by years of disconnect. It confronts issues of identity, self-awareness and fatherhood.
Johnson also praises Urbanworld for providing what he calls the true “theater experience” for Tough on 42ndstreet, adding that there's "validity when people see it; it's a rite of passage, especially if you’re a filmmaker of color in New York City…[better yet]…in the United States, Urbanworld is the place you want to be.”
From an audience member’s perspective, the technical aspects of Sahim Omar Kalifa’s short film Bad Hunter was among London native Jesse Loncraine’s favorites due mostly to its fine cinematography. Made in Belgium, this movie is about a young man named Bahoz who witnesses the rape of a young woman by an older man during one of his hunting trips.
After chasing away the assailant, Bahoz helps the woman mend her clothes so she can conceal the rape from her family. That evening, Bahoz receives an unexpected visit. Loncraine also named Pete Chatmon’s Blackcard as the funniest short film he’s seen at Urbanworld this year.
Unlike Tough, matters of self-awareness and identity are dealt with using humor in Chatmon’s movie about a couple living in a culture that requires an ID and code. They find out how far the boundaries can be pushed when an organization tasked with keeping members up to snuff on their “blackness,” goes after one of them for his latest infraction. Director Pete Chatman notes that the film is shaped by the universal question that we face as individuals - Who are you?
Following the Urbanworld screening, Blackcard writer Tony Patrick pointed out that the spectrum of what it means to be black is so wide, no one skill, or area of interest that will make you more or less able to identify as such. That said, Patrick considers political affiliation to be the underlying factor that our society uses to distinguish between races. “We know there are black republicans, we just don’t know who they are….except for Ben Carson,” says Patrick while referencing a Blackcard scene where the main character’s voting practices are questioned. Knowing Democrats including Hilary Clinton have been popular in the black community for decades, Patrick asks “What if Condoleeza Rice ran for President?” – a possibility that would certainly shake up how our nation defines blackness.
'Blackcard' short film writer Tony Patrick gives advices to an aspiring filmmaker while director Pete Chatmon chats at Urbanworld.Through comedy and satire, Blackcard makes light of a complex subject matter; all of the laughs were surely welcome after Erica A. Watson’s heavy family drama Roubado. After his parent’s breakup, a teen photographer in the south of France develops a tense relationship with his mother’s new boyfriend, in Watson’s movie. I like the opening of this film and it has beautiful cinematography but as the plot thickens, it gets uncomfortable to watch.
New York based Flannery Miller cited Roubado as one of the shorts that made an impression on her while fellow audience member Jesse Loncraine describes Watson’s film in one word -- “distressing.” Loncraine and Miller agree that rape seems to have been the them for Urbanworld’s Shorts Program block #1. Having watched lot of films that screened at the festival this year and heard responses from theater goers who saw the titles I mised, I think there is some truth to Loncraine’s and Miller’s theory.
On a brighter note, Miller also favors Dubois, an “intriguing and well-acted” short by British director Kaz Ové. Filmed in Trinidad, this movie is about a grieving London girl who visits family on the island while recovering from her husband’s death. There, she finds herself drawn to a mentally ill homeless man. A metaphysical, spiritual journey follows, ending in an unnerving discovery.
Stay tuned for an on the spot interview with indie film producer/director Alfonso Johnson!
How do YOU define masculinity?
Who are the screenwriters and/or film directors YOU would like to meet?
What's YOUR idea of a fun weekend in NYC?
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Friday, September 9, 2016 at 5:00AM 
Presented by Disney, this sports drama is based on the true story of a young girl named Phiona who sold vegetables on the streets of an impoverished slum in Uganda.
Urbanworld is also the place to catch the U.S. Premiere for Gidi Blues, a Nigerian film about an affluent playboy named Akin whose world is unraveled when he meets an unusual lady who devotes her time to volunteering in a city slum.
