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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2014)
Arts & Entertainment 2014 Langston Hughes African American Film Festival A record number of films grace the schedule at his year’s Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, held at the Langston Hughes Per- forming Arts Institute, 104 17th Ave S, Seattle. Chock-full of panels, workshops and mini-fests, the nine-day event kicks off with a fun-filled Family Film Weekend on April 26 and 27 with food trucks and a Fat Albert mini-fest featuring Pacific North- west film critic and author David Walker. Food trucks are also planned for the closing day screening of Tous- saint L’Ouverture on May 4. The festival will host a LGBTQ focused screening on Saturday, May 3, featuring the documentary, “The New Black,” and a special Ladies Night mini-fest will feature ten shorts on Thursday, May 1 at 7 and 9 p.m. Festival passes ($50 - $150) are currently available. Individual screenings will go on sale in the coming weeks and are $5 for youth (under the age of 16) and seniors (65+), and $10 for adults. Teen Tix cards are accepted for individual film screenings for teens ($5). Thewww.langstoninstitute.org film festival has up-to-date film additions, call LHPAI at 206-684- 4758. Family Film Weekend Saturday, April 26, 1-4 p.m: Fat Albert mini-fest. This beloved animated series that ran from 1972 to 1985 centered on Albert (known for his catchphrase "Hey, hey, hey!"), and his friends who hung out in a Philadelphia junkyard. Together this group of Afro-American inner city kids shared educational adventures and finished each episode with a song played on cobbled-together junk- yard instruments. It was created, produced and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby based on Cosby's childhood memories. Four 30- minute episodes, writer, filmmaker and cultural critic David Walker will lead a post- screening Q&A. (all ages) Sunday, April 27, 11 am – 12:30 p.m.: “The Bicycle” (rec- ommended for ages 9+) with film short “Secret Decoder Ring” (all ages). The Bicycle: Bobbi’s bicy- cle is stolen and soon-to-be step-dad Teddy realizes that find- ing the bully and getting the bicycle back is the perfect oppor- tunity to repair their relationship. Their journey through the enclaves of their Queens, New York community connects them in a way neither could have imag- ined. In the film short Secret Decoder Ring Justin is a normal kid eating his favorite breakfast cereal when a special offer catches his eye: a secret decoder ring. He succumbs to the lure and sends away for it by mail. What he gets in return is more than he bargained for! 1-4 p.m.: Sci-fi and digital divide short films STEM work- shops follow, led by Microsoft, Technology Access Foundation and the University of Washington. (films tba) Opening Night Saturday, April 26, 7 p.m.: “They Die By Dawn:” Four out- laws, each with a bounty on their head, set a date for a shootout in Langston, Okla., with the idea that the last man will take the collec- tive bounty. Violence and mayhem ensue. Featuring Rosario Dawson (Sin City), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects, Once Upon a Time), and Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy). British film- maker and musician Jeymes Samuel (music for The Great Gatsby) will be in attendance. Closing Day Sunday, May 4, 1-5 p.m.: Tou- ssaint L’Ouverture: a two-part action epic based on the life of Haitian revolutionary Toussaint In ‘Eyes on the Stars,’ Carl McNair tells the story of his brother Ronald, an African American kid in the 1950s who set his sights on the stars, showing Sunday at the STEM-themed Film Shorts program. L’Ouverture, a leader of the Hait- ian independence movement during the French Revolution, who emancipated slaves and established Haiti as a black-gov- erned French protectorate. 7 p.m.: “Mother of George”: A newly married Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn is having trou- ble conceiving a child – a problem that defies cultural expectations and leads the wife to make a shocking decision that could either save or destroy her family. Acclaimed director Andrew Dosumnu (Restless City) captures the nuances of this unique and fas- cinating culture by creating a beautiful, vibrant, and moving portrait of a couple whose joys and struggles are at once intimate and universal. Featuring Danai Gurira (Walking Dead). “Eye pop- pingly gorgeous” – Time Out Magazine April 9, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 13
