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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2011)
news African American Film Fest Opens April 30 F ilmmakers love coming to Seattle for the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival (LHAFF). And for this 8th Annual Festival there will be a high number of filmmakers in atten- dance, some new and some seasoned with recent awards and accolades. This nine day festival from April 30 to May 8 features a powerful lineup of almost 40 thoughtful films that include Seattle pre- mieres, local directors, a LGBT focus, Weekday Happy Hour Films, Ladies’ Night, Teen Fest, talkbacks and panel discussions. Each year this festival sparks memorable and provocative discussions from across the aisle and across neighborhoods. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, at 17th and Yesler, continues to undergo major facility renovations, so the festival, like last year, will temporarily move to two locations –both within LHPAC’s Central District neighborhood. The opening and closing night films will both take place at the Quincy Jones Theatre in Seattle’s Central District at 23rd and Alder, next door to Garfield High school. All other films will show at the Central Cinema, also located in the Central District at 21st and Union. The panel discussion “Black Filmmaker Brunch, on May 7, will be at the Northwest African American Museum. This annual African American Film Festival is expected to draw more than 2,500 people passionate about creating and appreciating films by and about Black peo- ple in the world. The festival spotlights dozens of feature-length and short films by independent filmmakers, and the rare opportunity to chat face-to-face with filmmakers, industry professionals and Seattle leaders. Tickets are $5 for youth under 16 and seniors and $8 for adults. The All-Access Langston Pass is $50. All film details, including show times, locations and ticketing information, are available at www.langstonblackfilm- fest.org or by calling 206-326-1088. LHAAFF, co-sponsored locally by 4Culture and Comcast, offers a unique blend of returning filmmakers whose careers have grown much in line with LHAAFF’s amazing growth (Alrick Brown, Ava Duvernay, Charles Officer, and Joe Doughrity). Relatively new filmmakers such as Tanya Wright, who are eager to pre- miere their work with film savvy Seattle audiences, are also featured. Director Alrick Brown returns to LHAAF for a fourth year after a successful screening of his new film KINYARWANDA at Sundance 2010, which received an Audience Award. This year he’s making his feature film directorial debut and premieres KINYARWANDA for Seattle audiences at the festival’s opening night. KINYARWAN- DA is based on true accounts from Rwandan genocide survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the madrassa of Nyanza. It recounts how the Imams opened the doors of the mosques to give refuge to the Tutsi and those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing. The film interweaves six different tales that together form one grand narrative that provides the most complex and real depiction yet pre- sented of human resilience and life during the genocide. Alrick Brown was at LHAAFF in 2004 with The Adventures of Supernigger in 2008 with Death of Two Sons, and again in 2009 with Us: A Love Story. Filmmaker, actor (HBO’s True Blood) and author Tanya Wright will be in town for the festival’s closing and premieres her new film Butterfly Rising. She will also give away signed copies of her book, Butterfly Rising, to all ticket-buyers who purchase advance tickets for the festival closing before 5 pm on May 7. Butterfly Rising tells of two broken souls who steal a vintage Opening Film: KINYARWANDA 4/30 – 7 p.m. Sundance Award Winner! Filmmaker Alrick Brown in attendance. $20; Quincy Jones Theatre, 400 23rd Ave. Seattle. Closing Film: Butterfly Rising 5/8 – 7 p.m. Filmmaker Tanya Wright (HBO’s True Blood) in attendance. $20; Quincy Jones Theatre. truck and head out on the open road to a fated encounter with the mythical, magical 'Lazarus of the Butterflies.' When her broth- er dies, singer Lilah Belle sets out on a road trip to escape her grief, but not before coax- ing the scandalous, new-to-town woman Rose Johnson to go with her. What occurs with the strange Butterfly Man transforms their destinies and binds the women forever. N ew Fe at u r e Online Now you can post your announcements directly, using The Skanner.com ‘YOUR BEAT, Eyes on the Street’. Page 6 The Seattle Skanner april 20, 2011
