*(LOS ANGELES, CA) ? June 5, 2017 ? The Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers West (BADWEST) will host its exciting and highly anticipated 11th annual ?Day of Black Docs? on Saturday, June 24th from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Three rousing and sensational feature length award-winning documentaries and a short documentary will be screened.
?WHOSE STREETS?? ? The Sundance Film Festival Winner and feature film debut of writer-director Sabaah Folayan and co-director Damon Davis is about the Ferguson uprising.
When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and then left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis county. Grief, long-standing tension, and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. In the days that follow, artists, musicians, teachers and parents turn into freedom fighters, standing on the front lines to demand justice. As the national guard descends on Ferguson, a small suburb of St. Louis, with military grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new wave of resistance. For this generation, the battle is not for civil rights, but for the right to live.
?CHASING TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY? – a thought-provoking, uplifting, powerful film about an outside-the-box thinker whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people around the world.
This compelling portrait of a remarkable artist reveals the critical experiences and challenges that shaped the life of John Coltrane and his revolutionary sounds. It is a story of demons and darkness, of persistence and redemption. But, above all else, it is the incredible journey of a spiritual warrior who found himself, found God, and in the process, created an extraordinary body of work that transcends all barriers of race, religion, age and geography.
Although Coltrane never participated in any television interviews and only a handful for radio during his lifetime, he has an active and vibrant presence in the film through his print interviews. These words — spoken by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington ? illuminate what John Coltrane was thinking and feeling at critical moments throughout his life and career.
Written and directed by critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker John Scheinfeld the film is produced with the full participation of the Coltrane family and the support of the record labels that collectively own the Coltrane catalog. Scheinfeld brings his strong story-telling skills to the creation of a rich, textured and compelling narrative that takes the audience to unexpected places.
?BY BLOOD? – chronicles American Indians of African descent as they battle in the court to regain tribal citizenship. Americans are familiar with the removal of Cherokees in the infamous ?Trial of Tears,? but the involvement of African Americans is far less known.
When the U.S. Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans to relinquish their native land and move west, countless slaves followed them into the frontier, bound and shackled. The documentary chronicles Freedman descendants Roshon Jones and his children Sylvia Davis and Marilyn Vann as well as civil rights advocates David Cornsilk and Jon Velie whose roles illustrate tenuous race relations across Oklahoma.
Ultimately the documentary illustrates how federal encroachment over Indian territories led to Oklahoma?s statehood and fueled its violent history. The film is directed by Marcos Barbery & Sam Russell.
?BULLDOGGING: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COWBOY PROJECT?
A collaboration between Producer/Director Elizabeth Bayne and photographer Edward Cushenberry, this short documentary film explores the historic contributions of black cowboys to Western culture, and we meet the men and women who keep the legacy alive.
Q&A guest panelists include the Producer Dave Harding and Editor/Co-Producer Peter Lynch, ?Chasing Trane?.
The 11th annual ?Day of Black Docs? takes place on Saturday, June 24th, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the American Film Institute (AFI) Mark Goodson Theater, 2021 N. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Free parking in the AFI lot. Tickets for the all-day event are $20, and advance purchase is highly recommended at www.dayofblackdocs.org.
All day admission (12 noon until 5 p.m.) to the 11th Annual Day of Black Docs screening is $20.00. Tickets are available online at www.dayofblackdocs.org, as well as at AFI on the day of the event.
Formed in 2003, BADWest is a collective of documentary filmmakers of African descent that advocate the recognition and professional advancement of Black documentary filmmakers. Previous DAY OF BLACK DOCS have featured the Oscar-winning ?Music by Prudence,? Emmy-nominee ?Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America?, Stanley Nelson’s ?Freedom Riders?, ?BADDD Sonia Sanchez? and ?Alice Walker ? Beauty in Truth.?
Day of Black Docs is co-sponsored by the International Documentary Association (IDA), California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) and Momentous Insurance Brokerage.
BADWest is a project of the Pasadena Arts Council EMERGE Program www.pasadenaartscouncil.org
Source:
Allison Queen
Queen Publicity
allison.queen@gmail.com
