On Thursday, July 20th, I was invited to attend
the NYC screening of John Singleton's FX TV series "Snowfall". I was totally entertained and educated about the history of crack cocaine from Mr. Singleton's brilliant filmmaking and story telling perspective. A must see!
ABOUT "SNOWFALL"
Los Angeles 1983. A storm is coming and its name is crack. Snowfall
is a one-hour drama set against the infancy of the crack cocaine
epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it.
The story follows numerous characters on a violent collision course,
including: Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), young street entrepreneur on a
quest for power; Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), a
Mexican wrestler caught up in a power struggle within a crime family;
Teddy McDonald (Carter Hudson), a CIA operative running from a dark past
who begins an off-book operation to fund the Nicaraguan Contras and
Lucia Villanueva (Emily Rios), the self-possessed daughter of a Mexican
crime lord.
Created by John Singleton & Eric Amadio and Dave Andron, Snowfall is executive produced by Singleton, Andron, Thomas Schlamme, Amadio, Michael London and Trevor Engelson.
Implementing my skills as a Social
Media Specialist, I keep a steady stream of information
coming from Harlem Late Night Jazz straight to you! Pictures, videos,
updates and more.
HarlemLateNightJazz.com is bringing live late night Jazz and Blues
back to Harlem by connecting the finest musicians with the finest late night
clubs providing that unique feeling you can only get in Harlem late night. #HarlemLateNightJazz I'm also delighted to feature the Harlem Late Night Jazz TV playlist on the Robin Downes Network Youtube Channel. - Please Subscribe
The evening of August 9th, ended with a screening of “Southside
With You” at 7:30 p.m. at Edgartown Cinemas, 65 Main Street, Edgartown,
MA. The film, written and directed by Richard Tanne, set in 1989
Chicago, is the charming and witty reimagining of the first date between
Barack and Michelle Obama.
I had the opportunity to meet actor, Parker Sawyers, who does an amazing job at portraying Barack Obama. Check out the movie trailer:
Southside with You is a 2016 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Tanne, who will be making his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter as a young Barack and Michelle Robinson Obama,
respectively. The film focuses on the couple's first date on an evening
in 1989 and their first kiss outside an ice cream parlor. Principal photography began in July 2015 in Chicago.
The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics.
The film is scheduled to be released on August 26, 2016, by Miramax and Roadside Attractions.
WE tv and the Association of Black Women Attorneys (ABWA) celebrated the premiere of its latest show, "Sisters In Law,”
an 8-episode one-hour series that follows a group of Houston's top
black female attorneys as they tackle some of the toughest cases in
Texas.
Cast members Jolanda Jones, Juanita Jackson, Rhonda Wills, Vivian King, Monique Sparks, and Tiye Foley shined on the red carpet as various New York tastemakers mixed and mingled in the swanky reception space at the Museum of Art & Design on Wednesday, March 23rd.
Guests previewed the season’s first episode which was
followed by a Q&A session moderated by TV and radio host, Jacque Reid. The cast discussed their behind the scenes discomfort with the reality show rules of protocol for the show. Check out the juicy details in the video clip below:
Attendees included reality star Yandy Smith (“Love & Hip Hop”), TV/Radio personality Bevy Smith, recording artist Elle Varner, JudgeLauren Lake (“Paternity Court”), actress Naturi Naughton (“POWER”), and Boogie Dash (“Growing
Up Hip Hop").
Winter Film Awards 5th annual INDIE FILM FESTIVAL
runs Feb 18-26 in NYC with a jam-packed schedule of 86 films by
emerging filmmakers from 26 countries. Free discussion Panels — $5
Animation afternoon —Bloody Thursday all horror all day — daily
screenings of fantastic films and free parties every night. Screenings
& Discussion Panels @Cinema Village (22 E12th St). Opening Reception
@The Attic (251 W48th St) Feb 18 8-11PM, Open Bar 8-9PM. Gala Red
Carpet @230Fifth (230 Fifth Ave) Feb 26 8-11PM. Hollywood might ignore
women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
#WFA2016 #WFASoDiverse
The 2015 Urbanworld Film Festival was hosted by film ambassador, Tyrese Gibson. The festival ran Sept. 23-27.
It opened with BET biography “Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ” and close with “A Ballerina’s Tale,” the documentary that centers on American Ballet Theater principal dancer Misty Copeland. The two films were part of a full slate of more than 80 films, including shorts, that made up the 19th annual New York festival, presented by BET Networks with HBO.
Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah’s “The People’s Champ” aims to showcase Ali’s boxing skills and his activism to a millenial audience, and will feature interviews with Laila Ali, Ludacris, Sugar Ray Leonard, Billie Jean King and Common, among many others. Meanwhile, Nelson George’s “Ballerina’s Tale,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, chronicles Copeland professional triumphs as well as her recovery from a painful injury.
Spotlight films include Marc Silver’s “3 1/2 minutes, 10 Bullets,” a documentary about a 2012 shooting; Bobbito Garcia’s “Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives,” about the titular hip-hop radio show; and Trey Haley’s mystery “The Man in 3B.”
The 2015 Urbanworld Film Festival will open with BET biography “Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ” and close with “A Ballerina’s Tale,” the documentary that centers on American Ballet Theater principal dancer Misty Copeland. The two films are part of a full slate of more than 80 films, including shorts, that make up the 19th annual New York festival, presented by BET Networks with HBO.
Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah’s “The People’s Champ” aims to showcase Ali’s boxing skills and his activism to a millenial audience, and will feature interviews with Laila Ali, Ludacris, Sugar Ray Leonard, Billie Jean King and Common, among many others. Meanwhile, Nelson George’s “Ballerina’s Tale,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, chronicles Copeland professional triumphs as well as her recovery from a painful injury.
Spotlight films include Marc Silver’s “3 1/2 minutes, 10 Bullets,” a documentary about a 2012 shooting; Bobbito Garcia’s “Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives,” about the titular hip-hop radio show; and Trey Haley’s mystery “The Man in 3B.”
The 2015 Urbanworld festival runs Sept. 23-27. The list of features is below.
URBANWORLD FILM FESTIVAL 2015 FILM SLATE
OPENING NIGHT
“Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ” – Directed by Coodie Simmons & Chike Ozah (USA) – US Premiere — Presented by BET Networks
CLOSING NIGHT
“A Ballerina’s Tale” – Directed by Nelson George (USA)
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
“3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets” – Directed by Marc Silver (USA)
“Stretch & Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives” – Directed by Bobbito Garcia (USA)
“The Man In 3B” – Directed by Trey Haley (USA) – East Coast Premiere
NARRATIVE FEATURE FILMS
“After School” – Directed by Carlos Melendez & Mauricio Mendoza (USA) – New York Premiere
“A Girl Like Grace” – Directed by Ty Hodges (USA) – New York Premiere
“Breaking Through” – Directed by John Swetnam (USA) – US Premiere
“Carmin Tropical” – Directed by Rigoberto Perezcano (Mexico) – New York Premiere
“Chapter & Verse” – Directed by Jamal Joseph (USA) – World Premiere
“Flow” – Directed by Fenar Ahmad (Denmark) – US Premiere
“Honeytrap” – Directed Rebecca Johnson (UK) – New York Premiere
“Knucklehead” – Directed by Ben Bowman (USA)
“Last Night” – Directed by Harold Jackson III (USA)
“Pocha” – Directed by Michael Dwyer (USA) – New York Premiere
“Primero De Enero (January 1st)” – Directed by Erika Bagnarello (Dominican Republic) – New York Premiere
“Riding 79” – Directed by Karola Hawk Gonzalez (Puerto Rico) – New York Premiere
“Romeo is Bleeding” – Directed by Jason Zeldes (USA)
“Somewhere In The Middle” – Directed by Lanre Olabisi (USA) – New York Premiere
“The Stockroom” – Directed by Victor Cruz (USA) – World Premiere
“The Two Of Us” – Directed by Ernest Nkosi (South Africa) – New York Premiere
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMS
“Anatomy of a Dress” – Directed by Flora Pérez-Garay (Puerto Rico) – New York Premiere
“Hate Crimes in the Heartland” – Directed by Rachel Lyon (USA)
“Dramatic Escape” – Directed by Nick Quested (USA) – World Premiere
“Can You Dig This” – Directed by Delila Vallot (USA) – New York Premiere
“We Like It Like That” – Directed by Mathew Ramirez Warren (USA) – New York Premiere
“In Football We Trust” – Co-Directed by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn (USA) – New York Premiere
“Tap World” – Directed by Dean Hargrove (USA)
