BILLIE HOLIDAY

52 years ago today, the world lost the great Billie Holiday – remember her with this quietly powerful portrait by Herman Leonard that captures her class, grace and elegance.

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The Peter K. Hixson Memorial Award for Creative Writers

Two poets will each receive two rounds of ELITE Full Service submissions valued at approximately $1,300 per award (cannot be redeemed for cash value).

DEADLINE: Friday, July 22, 2011. Poetry only. Future awards will be given for other genres. Watch our e-publication Submit Write Now! for announcements.

Peter K. Hixson (1947-2007) was a much-beloved client of Writer’s Relief. Peter’s creative roots were evident as far back as the third grade, when an encounter with an encouraging teacher fueled his interest in poetry. It developed in earnest in high school as a cathartic means for dealing with the death of his high school soul mate on Christmas day.

Peter’s love of art and learning led him to become a real “Renaissance Man.” He earned a PhD in speech-language pathology from Purdue University and spent his professional career developing programs, teaching, doing research, mentoring others, and serving as President of the Rochester Hearing and Speech Center, a large community nonprofit agency in upstate New York. For thirty years Peter also pursued his avocation as a dancer and choreographer. Later in life he enjoyed success as a woodworker, a volunteer fireman, a community volunteer, and a formidable tennis player. Apart from his many academic publications, Peter’s creative writing appeared in Concho River Review, Lynx Eye, The MacGuffin, North Atlantic Review, RE:AL, The Texas Review, and Whiskey Island Magazine.

When we at Writer’s Relief heard the news of Peter’s passing, we all grieved. Peter’s dedication was a true inspiration: In his writing, he was never afraid to tackle important issues, but he also had a lyrical and playful outlook.

Not only was Peter a talented writer, he was a caring and generous individual. His success in using our services inspired him to create a fund so that up-and-coming writers might have the opportunity to advance their careers with the help of Writer’s Relief.

Peter’s bequest of this award was an act of exceptional kindness and generosity. In spite of our sadness over his death, he continues to inspire us. Peter’s twin brother, Doug, notes, “I think his idea for a writing award grew from his understanding of how difficult it is to get published without losing hope.”

And in the words of Peter’s wife, Lois, “Peter often counted on the encouragement and support of the Writer’s Relief staff when he hit periods of discouragement that his writing would ever be of interest to anyone. Had an award like this been available to him, I believe he would have jumped at the opportunity and, once involved, would have found a way to stay connected because he so valued the help and encouragement he received.”

With funding from Peter’s estate, we at Writer’s Relief are deeply honored to offer the Peter K. Hixson Memorial Award for Creative Writers.

Read some of Peter K. Hixson’s work.

Peter K. Hixson (1947-2007)

What The 2011 Award Entails

For the summer of 2011, The Peter K. Hixson Award will be open only to poets. Future awards will be given for other genres. Watch our e-publication Submit Write Now! for announcements. Please read all guidelines carefully before emailing us with your questions and comments.

Two poets will each receive two rounds of ELITE Full Service submissions valued at approximately $1,300 per award (cannot be redeemed for cash value).

Our Full Service includes cover or query letter creation, targeting, proofreading, tracking, and much more. If you have questions about this award, please read more about our Full Service. Winners will receive two rounds of  submissions, with the creation of ONE cover letter to be applied to both rounds. We hope to make Peter proud in our commitment to his artistic ideals and dreams.

Winners will be selected by the Writer’s Relief Review Board based on 1) strength of writing sample, 2) strength of personal statement, 3) financial or other need.

NOTIFICATION: Winners will be notified by phone; other applicants will be notified of their status via email. Winners will be announced the week of July 25, 2011.

Winners’ first and last names will be publicly announced online on the Writer’s Relief homepage, blog, and other websites. Writer’s Relief will NOT be publishing the winning texts in any way (in print or online). Winners retain all copyrights to their work. Winners are not required to continue as Writer’s Relief clients after their awards have been received.

Who Is Eligible To Apply

All writers eighteen or older are welcome, but early- to mid-career writers are especially encouraged to apply. To honor Peter’s too-brief career in creative writing, preference will be given to writers who have not necessarily been widely published but who demonstrate exceptional technique, voice, and perspective.

Writers are welcome to apply to both this award and to our Review Board (for admission to our Full Service client list) if they choose to.

Current Writer’s Relief clients, employees past or present, and previous winners are not eligible.

No preference will be given to applicants who identify themselves as friends or family of Peter K. Hixson.

Writers from all nations and backgrounds are welcome! Submissions must be in English (for targeting to American editors of literary journals).

Applicants must be at least eighteen years old. Applicants warrant that all writing is their original creation and has not been published in any form in print or online.

How To Apply – Submission Guidelines

Read all submission guidelines before submitting your application or contacting us about this opportunity. No phone calls, please.

To apply to The Peter K. Hixson Memorial Award For Poetry, please use our online form to send us a sample of your writing (directions are on the form) and a personal statement of no more than two paragraphs.

Applicants who are not already receiving our free, informative e-publication, Submit Write Now!, will be automatically subscribed. Submit Write Now! offers free publishing leads, guidelines, calls for submissions, and articles about submission techniques and etiquette. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time; however, if you unsubscribe, anti-spammer precautions used by our email management system will prohibit us from contacting you to notify you about your award status.

We are anticipating a large turnout for this competition. For that reason, candidates will NOT be personally notified if their applications fail to meet requirements; in other words, applications that don’t meet guidelines will be disqualified without notification or opportunity for resubmission.

Be sure to follow all instructions. If you don’t follow directions, your submission may be lost and/or disqualified.

• IMPORTANT: You may upload only ONE file that includes five to ten poems (ten pages MAX), with a page break between each poem. *Your file name must include both your last name and the title of at least one of your pieces in some manner.* To minimize the risk of a mix-up, do NOT call your file anything like “poetry.doc” or “mysubmission.rtf.” 
• Acceptable file types are .DOC or .RTF only. 
• No children’s poetry.
• Include your name and all contact information (including mailing address) on the first page of your writing sample.
• Poetry must be submitted in standard format: one-inch margins (minimum), 12 pt Times New Roman or other standard font.
• One application per writer. Duplicates will result in disqualification.
• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable.
• No previously published work will be considered.
• Applicants must include a personal statement (1,000 characters MAX).
• Applicants must include a bio detailing publication credits and experience (1,000 characters MAX).
• Applicants must use our online form (no snail mail, no email).
• There is no fee to apply.

Submit Your Writing Using Our Online Form!

Additional Tips For Your Personal Statement

Peter had a deep love of learning, language, storytelling, and community. In your personal statement, please tell us (in first person) a little about yourself, and (if applicable) tell us about any circumstances (financial or otherwise) that may be relevant. The personal statement may not exceed two paragraphs (1,000 characters MAX).

The personal statement is open to interpretation, so feel free to talk about your goals, intentions, hardships, successes, setbacks, and dreams. Help us get to know you and your writing!

Have a question about this award? Email info@wrelief.com. Do not send applications or writing samples via email (all applications sent via e-mail will be disqualified and deleted).

Submit Your Writing Using Our Online Form!

Previous Winners Were…

Poetry Winner: Kim Waggoner (with honorable mentions for Heather Bartlett, Keith Gaboury, Marissa Mollot, and Adrienne Sneed)

Short Prose Winner: Elishia Heiden (with honorable mentions for Byron Campbell, Pittershawn Palmer, and Maria Carvajal)

Book Winner: Rebecca Elswick (with honorable mentions for Lynda Martin and Lynda Letona)

Wild Card Winners: Jackleen Holton and Daniela Petrova

Submit Your Writing Using Our Online Form!

 

Deadline Extended: Storymoja Urban Fiction Contest (Kenya)

Deadline: 23 July 2011

Following several write-in requests, we are extending the deadline of the Urban Fiction Short Story Contest. Here are the Details again.

Genre: Urban Fiction

Topic: No one told me about this when I was growing up…

Length: 1200 to 1800 words.

Deadline for submission: July 23rd, 2011

Prizes: 500 bob airtime and a Storymoja title, plus long term feature and author profile on the main Storymoja website.

Please send in your short story to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke and mark in subject line Urban Fiction Contest.

Contact Information:

For inquiries: blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke

For submissions: blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke

Website: http://storymojaafrica.wordpress.com

 

Announcing Our 2012 One-Act Play Contest

The Festival is pleased to announce our 2012 One-Act Play Contest. We will be accepting submissions by mail and online from June 1, 2011—November 1, 2011. Have a question about one of our writing contests? Please send questions to: contests@tennesseewilliams.net. Grand Prize: $1,500 Staged reading at the 2012 Festival (March 21-25, 2012) Full production at the 2013 Festival VIP All-Access Festival pass for 2012 and 2013 ($1,000 value) Publication in Bayou Top Ten Finalists Names will appear on website. Finalists will also receive a panel pass ($75 value) to attend the 2012 Festival. Guidelines: The playwright's name should not appear in the script. Include two title pages: one with play title only and the other with play title and name, address, phone, and email of author. On the submission form (for online entries), you will be asked to provide the name of the file containing your One Act Play contest submission (e.g. "JohnDoe-OneActPlaySubmission1.doc"). There will be an upload button to select and upload your submission. To clarify: On the submission form, you will upload a single document. The first page of your document is your cover page and contains only a) the name of your play, and b) your name, address, phone and email.  The second page of your document should be a title page containing only the title of your play. Your play script should begin on the third page of that same document. The document should contain no identifying information about the author on any page except the initial cover page, which will be removed before the entries are judged. Plays should run no more than one hour in length. Plays must be typed. Please do not include professional resumes or biographies with your entry. Entries are judged anonymously; the judges only consider manuscript quality. Unlimited entries per person. Production criteria include scripts requiring minimal technical support for a 100-seat theater. Cast of characters must be small, and it is suggested that characters range in age from approximately 20 through 40 years old. Play content is NOT limited to Tennessee Williams or New Orleans-related themes. Eligibility: Plays must not have been previously produced, published or performed, including in a formal staged reading. "Workshopped" readings are accepted provided that the audience was limited to participants of that workshop. Students and faculty of the University of New Orleans FTCA and Creative Writing Workshop are ineligible. Plays that won this contest in previous years are ineligible; their authors remain eligible but must submit new work. Plays submitted to this contest in previous years that did not win are eligible. Plays that have won any other playwriting contest are ineligible. Simultaneous submissions accepted; please notify the Festival if your play is accepted elsewhere. Deadline: The deadline for digital and mailed-in submissions is November 1, 2011 (postmark). Winner will be announced by March 1, 2012. Entry Fee: $25 per entry. Unlimited entries per person. Submission fees are non-refundable. To enter online: Electronic submissions are preferred and must be in .doc, .rtf or PDF formats. If you are using the latest version of Microsoft Word, please save your submission as .doc and not a .docx file before sending it to us. We accept entry fees via Discover, MasterCard and Visa only. To enter by mail: Send your manuscript and check or money order for $25 (made out to the: Tennessee Williams Literary Festival) to: One-Act Play Contest Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival 938 Lafayette Street, Suite 514 New Orleans, LA 70113. Do not send submissions by certified mail or signature required delivery.   One-Act Contest Online Submission Step 1: Entry Fee To begin the One-Act Contest submission process by paying your $25 entry fee, click the button below. Once you've paid your entry fee, you'll be taken to the Entry Submission form to provide additional information and upload your contest entry. Read the contest eligibility rules and guidelines above BEFORE you begin the online submission process. Submission fees are non-refundable.

• 18 JULY, 2011

Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela:

7 Ways to Celebrate

by Maria Popova

What Apartheid has to do with Victorian poetry and using peace as a weapon of mass reconstruction.

Today, the great Nelson Mandela — one of the most exceptional living icons of our time — celebrates his 93th birthday. To mark the occasion, here are seven timeless gems that honor his life and legacy.

FIRST RECORDED INTERVIEW

In 1961, Mandela became leader of the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, and coordinated sabotage campaigns against military and government targets. On 21 May that year, mere months before being arrested for sabotage and other charges and sentenced to life in prison, a 42-year-old Mandela gave his first-ever interview to ITN reporter Brian Widlake as part of a longer ITN Roving Report program about Apartheid. At that point, the police are already hunting for Mandela, but Widlake pulls some strings and arranges to meet him in his hideout. When the reporter asks Mandela what Africans want, he promptly responds:

The Africans require, want the franchise, the basis of One Man One Vote — they want political independence.”

Towards the end of the interview, Mandela tries to reconcile the difficult dynamic between peace and violence, suggesting that the full force with which the police had gone after him might have triggered this shift from nonviolent to violent protest means — violence, it seems, does only breed violence.

THE RELEASE (1990)

On 2 February 1990, President F. W. de Klerk reversed the ban anti-apartheid organisations, announcing that Mandela would shortly be released from prison. Nine days later, after 26 years in prison, Mandela reentered the free world and gave a seminal speech to the nation. The event was broadcast live all over the world, and this recording from the BBC archive is the only surviving footage of the momentous moment. Here, a deeply overwhelmed Mandela shares his first impressions of the new South Africa he had just brushed up against and revisits the complex relationship between peaceful means and armed struggle.

I have committed myself to the promotion of peace in the country. But I have done so as part and parcel of the decisions and campaign that have been taken by the ANC . . . The armed struggle is a defensive act against apartheid . . . There is not a single political organization in this country, inside and outside of Parliament, which can ever compare to ANC in its total commitment to peace.” ~ Nelson Mandela

INAUGURAL ADDRESS

On April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first multi-racial elections in which full enfranchisement was granted. The ANC won with a 62% majority, and Mandela, as leader of the organization, was inaugurated as the country’s first black President on 10 May, 1994. His inauguration address was as much a vision for South Africa’s future was it was a declaration of humanity and justice for a new global era.

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all. All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world who are so well represented here today.” ~ Nelson Mandela

CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF

Released last fall, Conversations with Myself is a timecapsule of (an) extraordinary character if the world ever saw one — a remarkable anthology of materials that capture Mandela’s essence with equal parts humility and heroism. The Guardian‘s Peter Godwin eloquently called it not “so much a book as a literary album,” with its varied snippets of Mandela’s life — letters, calendars, prison diaries, vignettes of personal life, and transcripts from over 50 hours of audio recordings by TIME magazine editor Richard Stengel, who ghost-wrote Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. With a foreword by Barack Obama and an introduction by Verne Harris, head of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, the book is an absolute treasure about an absolute treasure, reminding us, as Godwin puts it, that we often see history through retrospectacles that lead us to think what happened was somehow inevitable, whereas in fact it, not unlike human character, is a series of conscious and not always easy choices.

The cell is an ideal place to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and regularly the process of your own mind and feelings.”

NEED TO KNOW: NELSON MANDELA

 

For the biographically inclined, this short documentary from The Biography Channel manages to cover the essential Mandela, from his birth in the small African village of Mvezo in the Thembu tribe to his early interest in political activism to his imprisonment, release and eventual rise to presidency, in just under 7 minutes.

 

WISDOM

Andrew Zuckerman’s fantastic Wisdom project is a longtime favorite. Driven by the insight that the greatest heritage of a generation is the wisdom gained from life’s experience, Zuckerman went wisdom-hunting among 50 of our time’s greatest thinkers and doers — writers, artists, philosophers, politicians, designers, activists, musicians, religious and business leaders — all over 65 years of age. The resulting brilliant book-and-film, Wisdom: The Greatest Gift One Generation Can Give to Another, features remarkable interviews with and portraits of icons like Nelson Mandela, Jane Goodall and Desmond Tutu, among a treasure trove of others. (Zuckerman subsequently divided the great tome into four smaller, more digestible sub-volumes, each with its own thematic DVD: Wisdom: Life, Wisdom: Love, Wisdom: Peace, and Wisdom: Ideas.)

 

Nelson Mandela 

Image copyright Andrew Zuckerman | www.wisdombook.org

 

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another. Peace is the greatest weapon for development that any people can have.” ~ Nelson Mandela

More on the project here.

INVICTUS

Say what you will of Hollywood, but they certainly know how to send chills down your spine. In 2009, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, starring Matt Daemon and Morgan Freeman as Mandela, swept the awards circuit to great acclaim. Titled after the short Victorian poem of the same name, published by William Ernest Henley in 1875, the film captures Mandela’s journey and character through the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted there immediately following the dismantling of apartheid.

In the closing scene, Matt Daemon’s character visits Mandela’s prison cell as Morgan Freeman’s voiceover reads Henley’s poem, which Mandela has professed to have inspired him in prison. The vignette is nothing short of an emotional tour de force — try, if you can, to stop the goosebumps from enveloping your whole body.

(In true Hollywood fashion, the studios seem to have disabled embedding on all clips of the Freeman-narrated poem floating around on YouTube.)

Invictus is based on John Carlin’s excellent book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation.

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Happy Birthday

Nelson Mandela!

South African Icon Turns 93

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What I Saw At The

Chale Wote Street Festival

In James Town

 

 

Yesterday, I run into more creative people at the Chale Wote Festival in James Town than I've ever seen in any single place in Accra.

Creativity is gradually finding its voice again in Ghana. Yesterday was proof. Poets, Musicians, Artists, performers, cyclists and all sorts of creatives stormed this ancient part of Accra and breathed fresh life into it.


The cyclists were impressive. I wonder where they train and who trains them. The atmosphere wasn't designed for conversations. The music was loud and the chatters ear-shattering. The easiest thing to do was to just shoot.

Ama proudly showed off her colourful scarf :)

Those who were too lazy to come on the streets seemed rather content peeping through their windows. I also got to briefly meet one of James Town's artists, Attukwei:



Creativity is contagious. I was really touched, just watching the kids have a go at art. Seeing some of Ghana's best artists at work, definitely sparked something in them.



The good thing with James Town is there is always something of photographic interest, whether there's a festival or not. I went through the alleys, capturing some of daily life.

It was quite interesting watching these three men read an obituary. "Who's next?" They seemed to ask:

This fridge had just pulled in for servicing. I wondered if sticking pictures of Jesus on a fridge or writing scriptures on it made it work better. Obviously, it doesn't :)

One of the signs of a good Ghanaian woman, is how white her baby's clothes, napkins and husband's "supporters" are:


Frequent readers of my blog know I grew up not too faraway from James Town. Watching these girls playing mum and cooking reminded me of my own childhood. Normally, I would play either the husband to one of them or the son of one. The husband role was always more interesting:

One of the highlights of yesterday's event was the fashion show. Somehow, I managed to miss that one. I was quite lucky not to miss these guys though:


They say, everything that has a beginning has an end. These were some of the last images I made before I coiled back in my shell:



Behind all the noise, the sea lay calmly, full of history but not divulging much. It was calming to stand in the forts and the castles and just watching the sea. We keep piling history on history... and may be someday, we'll take the time and look at all we've been blessed with as a people, all we've been through as a people and come to the conclusion that: God has given us everything we need.

Have a great week.

 

© Nana Kofi Acquah at 7/17/2011 03:16:00 PM    

Labels: "Accra", "chale wote festival", x100

 

This Week 7/19 – 7/22:

Dominican Film Festival in DC

By BFC/A

Our friends at the Smithsonian Latino Center called our attention to the Dominican Film Showcase.  The festival will take place at the Organization of American States’ Art Museum of the Americas and features four films from the Dominican Republic.  Filmmakers and actors will be in attendance.  For free tickets, click HERE.

Here’s the related information from the press release:

GFDD and FUNGLODE will be sponsoring a Dominican Film Showcase at the OAS, during which four films closely associated with the DR will be screened — two of them directed by Dominican filmmakers.

The presence of the Dominican community is well acknowledged in cities across the United States and its culture, music, and traditions are quickly becoming household references, however, the country’s film industry still remains relatively unknown.
Global Foundation for Democracy and Development aims to change this by showcasing a sample of the best films produced recently in the Dominican Republic, by Dominican filmmakers, about Dominican topics.

The films will be shown every evening from July 19-22 at 6:30pm, at the Art Museum of the Americas, located at 201 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006.

Sugar
Date of Screening: July 19 at 6:30PM

 
 

Internationally acclaimed film Sugar, portraying a fictional account of an aspiring Dominican pitcher, 19-year-old Miguel Santos. Santos, as well as many other players in the DR, is observed by an American scout seeking out those players who might be good enough to compete in the US. Santos impresses with his curveball and wins a contract to play for a fictional minor league team in Iowa.

Aside from language and cultural issues, the focus of his struggle is the game. When the Dominican players arrive, the American coach explains that they have to work very hard because the competition is rough, there are simply far more players than positions for them to fill. And it is the case that the vast majority of minor league players do not make it to the majors.

* Title in Spanish: Sugar
* Title in English: Sugar
* Country: USA
* Completed: 2008
* Duration: 114 mins.
* Language: English with Spanish Subtitles
* Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Love Child
Date of Screening: July 20 at 6:30PM

 
 

Dominican Director, Leticia Tonos first feature-length film focuses on the story of María, a teenager who is sent to live with her father after her mother’s death. Together they inhabit a haunted Dominican plantain field and face the “ghosts” of the past and present. María, daughter of a single mother, must come to terms with a previously unknown father who had only been present in her life as an absent figure that her mother had never forgotten. The film is dedicated to single mothers of the world and their children.

* Títle (Spanish): La Hija Natural
* Título (English): Love Child
* Country: Dominican Republic
* Completed: 2010
* Duration: 96 Min.
* Language: Spanish

Jean Gentil
Date of Screening: July 21 at 6:30PM

 
 

The feature length film, Jean Gentil, is the work of Mexican-Dominican husband-wife team Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman. Based on the life of a real man named Jean Remy Genty, a Haitian immigrant living in Santo Domingo who got to know Guzman when she took Haitian Creole lessons with him, the film is the result of the directors’ desire to explore the experiences of Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic.

* Title (Original): Jean Gentil
* Title (English): Jean Gentil
* Country: Dominican Republic / Mexico / Germany
* Completed: 2010
* Duration: 84 min.
* Language: Haitian creole/Spanish
* Directores: Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas

The Republic of Baseball: Dominican Giants of the American Game
Date of Screening: July 22 at 6:30PM

The movie documents the tale of the first great baseball superstars from the Dominican Republic — Felipe Alou, Juan Marichal, Manny Mota, and Ozzie Virgil — and how they overcame poverty and dictatorship at home and racism in the United States on their way to greatness in the Major Leagues.

* Title (Original): The Republic of Baseball: The Dominican Giants of the American Game
* Country: Dominican Republic/ USA
* Completed: 2006
* Duration: 83 min.
* Language: English with Spanish Subtitles
* Director: Daniel Manatt

Sweet Memories:

“Calvin” for McDonalds

Monday Jul 18, 2011 – by Jamilah Lemieux

Back in the early 1990′s, you could not tell me that working at either McDonald’s or the local grocery store (where all the fine high school boys were employed) wouldn’t be the coolest thing ever to do as a teenager. My interest in ringing up McOrders came from this iconic commercial:

Calvin’s life turned all the way around when he got that job! He got that ambition baby, look at his eyes. This week he’s mopping floors, next week…he owns McDonalds? That’s what the streets thought.

OMG, this sh*t was so feasible. I hate your cousins, you know they love to tell a story and start exaggerating the details to make it sound more interesting! Girls would have been all on Calvin trying to get prom dates on account of him owning a daggone Mickey D’s!  However you feel about “urban” marketing, you have to admit that these commercials were both cute and promoted something wholesome- the after-school job. Damn you, Chappelle’s Show, for destroying Calvin’s great legacy!

 

Celebrating Caribbean Music 

Documentaries

By BFC/A

Did you know that June is Caribbean-American Heritage Month as well as Black Music Month?  In honor of the occasion, on this last day of June, this post  highlights a few recent–and one classic–documentary films featuring Caribbean music.  What are your favorite Caribbean music docs?

 

Calypso Dreams (dir: Geoffrey Dunn & Michael Horne, 2004) traces the history of calypso music through an engaging mix of interviews, archival footage and performances.  Watch the trailer HERE.

 

 

 

<p>"The Other Side of the Water" web Trailer from Jeremy Robins on Vimeo.</p>

The Other Side of the Water (dir: Jeremy Robins & Magali Damas, 2010) follows the Brooklyn-based Haitian band DJARARA.  The film explores the roots of rara music and its attendant controversies, focusing on the band’s charismatic leader Pé Yves.  Watch the trailer HERE.  (And HERE‘s a related article from New Yorker magazine on rara music.)

 

Rise Up (dir: Luciano Blotta, 2009) is a riveting film about three artists who try to make it in Jamaica’s cutthroat music business.  The film won the Best Music Documentary award at Silverdocs and has screened at many other festivals.  Watch the trailer HERE.

 

 

…Y tenemos sabor /…And We Have Flavor (dir: Sara Gómez, 1967) gives a lyrical introduction to Afro-Cuban rhythms.  This short is packed with interviews, footage of impromptu street performances and studio recordings. Check out this CLIP from the film, which definitely showcases Cuban flavor.

 

About BFC/A

The Black Film Center/Archive was established in 1981 as a repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. Included are films which have substantial participation by African Americans as writers, actors, producers, directors, musicians, and consultants, as well as those which depict some aspect of black experience. The BFC/A is a facility where scholars, students and researchers can view films and have access to auxiliary research facilities on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Black Camera, the micro-journal of the Black Film Center/Archive, serves as an academic, professional, and community resource. View all posts by BFC/A