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)
Wendell Haskins, Beverly Johnson, Amari "Tigress" Avery, Lee Elder and Roland Martin
On July 20, 2015, the Original Tee Golf Classic held its 16th tournament at Wild Turkey Golf Club in Hamburg, N.J. Over 250 VIPs from various industries participated in the all-day event which honored golf legend Lee Elder for breaking the color barrier at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA forty years ago.
Check out the video highlights of the Original Tee Golf Classic 2014 from the Robin Downes Network:
Attendees included supermodel Beverly Johnson, radio/tv host Roland Martin, Wendell Haskins (founder, Original Tee Golf Classic), Iain Page (FOX29 Philadelphia anchor), Keith Clinkscales (CEO, REVOLT), Len Burnett (Publisher, UPTOWN), Sharon Harris (Microsoft), golf phenoms Amari "Tigress" Avery and Alona Avery, entertainment attorney Matt Middleton, Jeff Sanchez (NBA Senior Manager, Event Activation), designer Tony Shellman, Derrin Woodhouse (Samsung), Michael Davis (Philadelphia Eagles), Shante Bacon (founder, 135th Street Agency), Dres from Black Sheep, advertising exec Malcolm Gillian, Byron Kirkland (manager of Machine Gun Kelly), Kevin Peck (manager of Dru Hill), Lenny Singletary (BNY Mellon), Kainon Jasper (Bridge Intelligence Group), Latoya Finney (Asst. VP at Barclays Capital), Frank Fraley (Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce), Michael Vann (former owner of The Shark Bar) and Jim Kelly III.
Guests enjoyed on-site haircuts by Denny Moe's Superstar Barbershop from Harlem; an all-day open bar courtesy of Zacapa Rum and Ciroc;
a silent auction of sports memorabilia; and clinics hosted by PGA
professionals who introduced 25 novice attendees to the game of golf.
Golf coach Buddy Cooper led the Nine-Hole Youth Competition along with several PGA professionals including NFPGA Section Member Anthony G. Stepney (UMES DiversitiTee Golf & ProjectNext Tee), New Jersey Section Members Jim Famula (Raritan Golf Center),
Bill Nightingale (Life Member) and Hal Myers (Life Member).
Later
that evening at the Awards Dinner hosted by Iain Page, Beverly Johnson -
last year's True Original honoree - presented Elder with this year's
True Original Award. Tournament winners included golfers Henry Lopez and Greg Lewisfor the adult competition, and Khalid Page, Diana McCready and Alona Avery for the youth competition.
Special thanks to our sponsors Chico's, Mercedes-Benz, National Basketball Association (NBA), Zacapa Rum, Delta Airlines, Times Square Communications, Ciroc, Bai Water and GIII by Carl Banks.
For more information on the Original Tee Golf Classic, visit www.originaltee.com.
With many attendees to the 19th Annual American Black Film Festival (#ABFF2015) taking content creation into their own hands, it was helpful to check out How to Monetize a Successful Web Series, where Andrea Lewis (Black Actress), Numa Perrier, Dennis Dortch (Blackandsexy.tv) and Smokey Fontaine (Interactive One), shared tips on how to take your web series to the next level.
Check out the video highlights from the ABFF playlist on the Robin Downes Network:
Make sure you download the BE Events app, available via iOS and Android. Use the app to register for ABFF events and enter to win a trip for two to ABFF’s 20th anniversary in 2016.
For complete coverage of the 2015 American Black Film Festival, visit www.blackenterprise.com/tag/abff/
or follow along on social media using #ABFF2015. For more information
on the films, schedules, and activities, download the BE Events app on iTunes or Google Play.
Film director Rick Famuyiwa's critically acclaimed film, Dope, sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of American, will open the 19th annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) on Thursday, June 11, at the SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, NYC. With its New York City premiere, Dope is one of the buzziest and most talked about film releases of the 2015 summer season.
Dope is a coming of age comedy/drama for the post hip hop generation. High-school senior Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his friends Jib
(Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) bond over '90s hip-hop
culture, their studies and playing music in their own punk band. A
chance encounter with a drug dealer named Dom lands Malcolm and company
at the dealer's nightclub birthday
party; when the scene turns violent, they flee -- with the Ecstasy that
Dom secretly hid in Malcolm's backpack. A wild adventure ensues as the
youths try to evade armed thugs who want the stash.
Recently, I had the opportunity to have a sneak peek VIP screening
hosted by Open Road Films, Mack Wilds, Angela Yee and the 135th Street Agency. I found the film to be a fresh 2015 voice for a new generation that is often misunderstood. The film evoked full belly laughs and thought provoking reflection on the state of affairs for this coming of age generation. I can see why it is being hailed as a classic in the same status as Boys In The Hood. The film opens in theaters June 19th. For tickets to the American Black Film Festival (June 11 - 14, 2015) go to www.abff.com. #DOPEMOVIE Check out this video clip of the 'Dope' trailer in the 'ABFF Playlist' on the Robin Downes Network:
