Entertainment
Gil Robertson: African American Film Critics Show
AAFCA Founder on the Organization’s Start and Progress
Kam Williams: Why did
you find it necessary to cre-
ate the African-American
Film Critics Association
(AAFCA)?
Gil Robertson: AAFCA
was started to address the
need to advance diversity
and inclusion in cinema,
both in front and behind the
camera. At the time the
group was formed, I was a
part of a very small commu-
nity of black journalists
who had relative good
access to film properties
and the talent starring in
them. It was an extremely
hard network to crack, but
C ELEBRITY
I NTERVIEW
by Kam
Williams
part of this network each
had our grievances about
the studio system. First,
there was a double standard
at play with regards to black
talent, unless they were A-
list stars, who were seldom,
if ever, invited to participate
sible challenge
to gain access to
the elite ranks of
film journalists.
There was a need
for advocacy on
both sides of the
table, and so the
creation
of
AAFCA
was
essential
to
address
these
issues.
KW: How has the organi-
zation expanded over the
years?
GR: It’s been a long walk,
but we’ve been steady in
At the time the group was formed, I was a part
of a very small community of black journalists
who had relative good access to film properties
and the talent starring in them. It was an
extremely hard network to crack
the access proved valuable
in offering us a platform as
entertainment journalists. It
was a very small network
and those of us who were
in promotional activities
except for “black-themed”
movies. Secondly, next-
generation black journalists
were given a nearly impos-
building relationships and
infrastructure. We’ve estab-
lished alliances with the
Screen Actors Guild, the
Writers Guild and the
We honor the many
accomplishments of African
Americans.
It is our primary goal as a
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African-American Steering
Committee at DGA. Over
the years, AAFCA has been
instrumental in getting our
members placed on influen-
tial Voting Blocs for the
NAACP Image Awards and
the BET Awards. We’ve
also expanded our network
of partners on the film festi-
val circuit through the
creation of partnerships
with film events in Boston,
Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville,
Seattle and Los Angeles.
KW: How did the
AAFCA Awards come
about?
GR: One of the most vis-
ible activities executed by
film critics groups is
announcing their annual
year-end lists of their Top
10 films and other awards in
high profile categories.
From day one, AAFCA’s
leadership wanted to for-
mally present our annual
awards list via a live event.
In 2009, that idea came to
fruition with an event held
at the Ebony Theatre in LA.
Since then, we’ve estab-
lished the show, which now
includes a full dinner, as an
activity with a growing
presence on the Hollywood
Awards Calendar. The
AAFCA Awards regularly
attracts key A-list talent like
Viola
Davis,
Octavia
Spencer, John Singleton,
Paula
Patton,
Forrest
Whitaker and other notable
in front and through the
executive ranks in Holly-
wood. It’s been enormously
hard work, but we’re getting
it done.
KW: What can we expect
at this year’s show?
GR: The AAFCA Awards
is a really great event. We
call it “A Special Evening in
Cinema,” because it actual-
ly is. It’s a dressy, red carpet
ceremony that attracts the
upper leadership ranks in
Black Hollywood and also
leading celebrity talent. The
Gil Robertson
program for our 6th annual
live event will include spe-
cial honors given to icons in
the film community like
producer Stephanie Allain
[Hustle and Flow, Some-
thing New and Dear White
People] who is also the
director of the LA Film Fes-
tival; producer Debra
Martin Chase who is
responsible for a long list of
films that includes The
Cheetah Diaries, Sparkle
and The Preacher’s Wife.
Our other honorees are
Franklin Leonard who is
responsible for The Black
List – a key indicator for
which scripts will get the
greenlit to go into produc-
tion; Donna Langley, the
Chair of Universal Pictures;
and LA Times reporter
Susan King.
KW: What else is going
with the organization?
GR: We are always look-
ing for new opportunities to
expand AAFCA’s footprint
in the marketplace. The
AAFCA Screening Series
was recently launched, con-
ducting film screenings
across America. More and
more studios have also
begun to license the
KW: What are your plans
for AAFCA in the future?
GR: Television definitely.
We are very close to finalize
a partnership with a produc-
ing partner to televise the
AAFCA Awards. We are
also very interested in creat-
ing other special programs
for TV audiences. The sky
is literally the limit as far as
opportunity and we plan to
take it all the way.
For more information
about the African American
Film Critics Association,
visit www.aafca.com
Movies
continued from page 9
illustrates how it is never too late to reclaim
one’s heritage. (In Hebrew, German and
English with subtitles)
Ode to My Father (Unrated) Coming-of-
age saga revolving around a Korean War
refugee’s (Jeong-min Hwang) attempt to
provide for his mother (Young-nam Jang)
and younger siblings as promised his dear-
ly-departed dad. With Yunjin Kim, Dal-su
Oh and Mi-ran Ra. (In Korean with subti-
tles)
Predestination (R for violence, profanity,
nudity and sexuality) Ethan Hawke stars in
this sci-fi thriller loosely based on “All You
Zombies,” the Robert Heinlein short story
about a bartender who travels back in time
to thwart a terrorist attack. Support cast
includes Noah Taylor, Sarah Snook and
Elise Jansen.
Page 10 The Portland and Seattle Skanner January 7, 2015
AAFCA Seal of Approval,
which is a quality indicator
for black consumers. Proba-
bly
the
thing
the
organization is most proud
is the AAFCA Student
Internship Program that
recently completed its 2nd
year at Clark Atlanta Uni-
versity and will launch fall
2015 at Howard University,
Northwestern and a still
undetermined college in
Southern California. We
have a few more projects
expected to start in 2015
that will be finalized in the
coming months.
Preservation (Unrated) Hunters become
the game horror flick about a woman
(Wrenn Schmidt) whose hunting trip in the
woods with her husband (Aaron Staton) and
brother (Pablo Schreiber) turns into a har-
rowing nightmare when they awaken to find
their belongings stolen and their foreheads
ominously marked with a big “X.” With
Cody Saintgnue, Nick Saso and Michael
Chacon.
Valley of Saints (Unrated) Romance
drama, set in Kashmir, about a civil war
fugitive (Gulzar Ahmed Bhat) who takes
temporary refuge at a seaside village only to
become torn between a new life and a new
love when he falls for a mysterious scientist
(Neelofar Hamid) studying the lake’s pollu-
tion levels. Featuring Mohammed Afzal. (In
Kashmiri with subtitles)