Black Art/Independent Films Part 2

[loyola llothta]

“(T)ERRO" (the first documentary to place filmmakers on the ground during an active FBI counterterrorism sting operation, as seen through the perspective of “Shariff,” a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned informant) ON Netflix JUNE 30th

The premise of (T)ERROR is astounding. Documentary directors Lyric R Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe gained access to both an undercover FBI informant, Saeed, who was working on a counterterrorism operation, and Khalifah, the target that the FBI instructed him to investigate. Neither knew that the crew was filming both sides as it was playing out. The FBI’s system of counterterrorism informants is inherently broken, as the directors describe, but it’s hard to get the message out with a film this flawed.

Cabral and Sutcliffe spent seven months in Pittsburgh tracking Saeed, an African-American Muslim, and his prey, an American who was raised Protestant but converted to militant Islam. The first hour of the film is spent looking at Saeed’s life as an FBI informant and the cases he’s worked in the past. The narrative doesn’t pick up steam until that hour is concluded, when the FBI interferes in Saeed’s infiltration. They force Saeed to introduce an agent to Khalifah, who immediately unmasks him just by Googling his cellphone number. After months of getting to know Khalifah, Saeed’s cover is blown.

This is riveting stuff, but the boring setup, which wastes too much time on the minutiae of Saeed’s investigation, is enough to scare many people away from the action-packed final 30 minutes. The film-makers’ inexperience shows (this is the first feature for Cabral and second for Sutcliffe) and they seem unsure how to whittle down the footage of Saeed early in his investigation.

This is a very important topic. The evidence presented makes it look like the FBI is entrapping American Muslims into crimes using highly paid informants. By the end of (T)ERROR, we see both Saeed and Khalifah as victims, desperate men played against each other by a government striving to make more terrorism arrests, even as their tactics drive more people to terrorism. This information needs to be shown to the public, and some will be drawn to it regardless of its form. But as a well-crafted film, it has a long way to go.

 

[Red Shield]

Some good looking recommendations in here

 

[loyola llothta]

UK: WATCH ACTION-PACKED “EXPLICIT TRAILER” FOR NOEL CLARKE’S ‘BROTHERHOOD’ (THE TRILOGY ENDS)

Noel Clarke, the British multihyphenate, is returning to the film franchise that I’d say most (especially on this side of the pond) know him for, to complete what is in essence a trilogy of films that begun with “Kidulthood” in 2006, followed by “Adulthood” in 2008, and will apparently now end with “Brotherhood,” which Lionsgate Films UK has released a red-band “explicit” trailer for.

Clarke directed the film from a script he wrote, and also stars in, which is produced via his Unstoppable Entertainment and Maggie Monteith’s Carpalla Films.

Joining Clarke in front of the camera are Arnold Oceng, Ashley Thomas and Red Madrell, with Jason Maza, Olivia Chenery and artist Stormzy – making his feature acting debut – rounding out the cast.

A film that Complex UK says kickstarted the “British hood film movement,” “Kidulthood” (2006) followed the lives of several apathetic, disillusioned teenagers in inner west London. It was directed by Menhaj Huda from a script written by Noel Clarke, who also stars in the film, and directed the sequel “Adulthood” (2008), which picked up 6 years after the end of “Kidulthood,” and followed the film’s star (Clarke), released from prison after doing time for murder, a little older and wiser, as he tries to bring an end to the cycle of violence he and his pals are caught up in, and make something positive out of all the destruction he caused.

Both films, which feature some very early work of a few British stars of today, like Aml Ameen, Nicholas Hoult, and Adam Deacon, were modest box office successes in the UK.

Clarke now returns to reprise his role as lead protagonist Sam in “Brotherhood,” which is slated for release in the UK on August 29, just in time for the 10-year anniversary of the release of the film that started it all, “Kidulthood.”

Josephine Rose, Chris Reed and Gina Powell are exec producing, with Ingenious funding the production.

Lionsgate will release the film in the UK in August. No word of a USA pick up at this time.

Both “Kidulthood” and “Adulthood” used to be available to stream on Netflix, but are no longer. So you’ll have to rent or buy them on DVD if you’d like to check them out.

Check out the new “explicit” trailer for the upcoming film below:

 

[loyola llothta]

WATCH THE SOUL-STIRRING FULL TRAILER FOR NATE PARKER’S ‘BIRTH OF A NATION’

You’ve seen a teaser trailer for Nate Parker’s much anticipated “The Birth of a Nation.” Fox Searchlight has now released a full trailer for the the film, which you can watch below.


The specialty distributor has set an October 7, 2016 release date for “Birth” which is a film that’s onmy 2017 Oscar predictions list.

Parker wrote, directed and also stars in the film, playing Nat Turner.

The official synopsis reads: Set against the antebellum South, this story follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. After witnessing countless atrocities against fellow slaves, Nat devises a plan to lead his people to freedom.

Joining Parker in front of the camera are Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union, Mark Boone Jr. and others.

Without further ado, check out the soul-stirring full trailer below (underneath it you’ll find the motion poster, and the poster art which were released a couple of weeks ago):

 

[loyola llothta]

HBO RELEASES FIRST TEASER-TRAILER FOR ISSA RAE’S ‘INSECURE’

Issa Rae’s comedy series “Insecure” will debut this fall on HBO, and unfold over 8 half-hour episodes. The network didn’t give an exact date and time, but just know that the series will debut in the fall. Further announcements coming…

Starring Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis and Lisa Joyce, “Insecure” looks at the friendship of two black women and their uncomfortable experiences and racy tribulations.

Created and executive produced by Issa Rae, this eight-episode series is also executive produced by Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Beck, Jonathan Berry, and Larry Wilmore as a consultant.

HBO has released a first teaser for the series. Watch it below:

 

[loyola llothta]

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION’S ‘HOME’ IS BECOMING A NETFLIX SERIES (RACHEL CROW LEADS VOICE CAST)

DreamWorks’ 3D computer-animated 2015 feature film “Home,” which stars Rihanna (providing the voice for the starring character – an enterprising girl named Tip), is becoming a Netflix series.


The post-apocalyptic-alien-invasion-buddy-comedy, follows a resourceful little girl named Tip (Rihanna) who manages to avoid capture when Earth is taken over by the overly-confident alien race the Boov, who are in search of a new place to call home. All humans are promptly relocated, while the Boov get busy efficiently reorganizing the planet. While on the run, Tip finds herself the accidental accomplice of a banished Boov by the name of Oh (Jim Parsons). Equally stubborn and set in their ways, these two fugitives realize there’s a lot more at stake than intergalactic relations as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime.

Jennifer Lopez voices Tip’s mother, and Steve Martin does the same for Captain Smek, the leader of the Boov race. In addition to her starring voice role, Rihanna also recorded a concept album featuring original songs from the film.

Rachel Crow

In the upcoming Netflix animated series, the dynamic duo (Tip and Oh) are back in DreamWorks Animation’s “Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh” with Rachel Crow (“Rio 2,” “X Factor”) replacing Rihanna and giving voice to Tip, while Mark Whitten (“Rolling High”) will be the voice of Oh.

Picking up where the hit 2015 animated film left off and building upon their enduring friendship, this coming-of-age buddy comedy follows fearless Tip and overenthusiastic Oh, as they navigate the crazily combined human and alien culture they live in, finding adventure everywhere they go. And just as Rihanna provided original music for the movie, Rachel Crow will do the same for the Netflix series.

Joining the voice cast are Ana Ortiz (“Devious Maids”), Ron Funches (“Get Hard”), and Matt Jones (“Breaking Bad”).

Throughout the series’ first season, recurring and guest-starring voices will feature comedy actors Cheri Oteri (“Saturday Night Live,” “Liar Liar”), Abby Elliot (“Saturday Night Live”), Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Blades of Glory”), and Wayne Knight (“Jurassic Park,” “Seinfeld”).

Developed by Ryan Crego (“Shrek Forever After”) and Thurop Van Orman (“The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack”), the series is executive produced by Ryan Crego.

The first season will be available exclusively to Netflix members in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux and France beginning July 29.

This is the second Netflix project that Rachel Crow is attached to; the other, announced on this blog yesterday, is a crime-comedy feature film titled “Deidra & Laney Rob a Train,” from director Sydney Freeland.

In addition to “Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh,” Netflix will launch several new original series in partnership with DreamWorks Animation in 2016. Along with a reimagining of pop culture phenomenon “Voltron,” also comes “Trollhunters” from Guillermo del Toro, a new, fantastical world centered on two best friends and the startling discovery made beneath their hometown.

 

[Danie84]

@loyola llothta, thanx for puttin me on to these unknown visualz: BLACKEXCELLENCE

...i don't know why Starz don't feed US these gems when they're so much out there

And, Lenny Cook (I actually knew him) doc is a tuff one

 

[loyola llothta]

TRAILER: NETFLIX’S NEW ANIMATED SERIES BASED ON DREAMWORKS’ ‘HOME’ (RACHEL CROW LEADS VOICE CAST)

DreamWorks’ 3D computer-animated 2015 feature film “Home,” which stars Rihanna (providing the voice for the starring character – an enterprising girl named Tip), is becoming a Netflix series.




The post-apocalyptic-alien-invasion-buddy-comedy, follows a resourceful little girl named Tip (Rihanna) who manages to avoid capture when Earth is taken over by the overly-confident alien race the Boov, who are in search of a new place to call home. All humans are promptly relocated, while the Boov get busy efficiently reorganizing the planet. While on the run, Tip finds herself the accidental accomplice of a banished Boov by the name of Oh (Jim Parsons). Equally stubborn and set in their ways, these two fugitives realize there’s a lot more at stake than intergalactic relations as they embark on the road trip of a lifetime.

 

[loyola llothta]

INTERVIEW: DIRECTOR ZERESENAY MEHARI ON ‘DIFRET’ & CREATING A COMPLEX ETHIOPIAN NARRATIVE (NOW STREAMING ON NETFLIX USA)

Presented by Angelina Jolie, Ethiopian director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s critically-acclaimed feature film debut “Difret” is now streaming on Netflix in the USA.

There’s a scene in Zeresenay Berhane Mehari’s feature film debut “Difret,” where several men swoop in, riding horses and abruptly kidnap 14-year-old Hirut (Tizita Hagere) as she walks home from school. There’s something very masculine and forceful about it, almost as if they’re cowboys coming to take over a town. The film, which had it’s world premiere at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, centers on the very textured bond between Hirut and the tenacious female lawyer (Meaza Ashenafi, played by Meron Getnet) who comes to represent her in a fight against one of the country’s oldest traditions of abduction into marriage, which is also practiced in many other parts of the world.

Based on a true story, the film explores this patriarchal custom through intimate character relationships and effective storytelling where villains and heroes become blurred in the milieu of a very diverse Ethiopia; one we don’t often see onscreen. I caught up with Mehari (who goes by Zee) to discuss how he discovered the story, his techniques for working with actors, and the preset “African look” that he avoided in “Difret.”

 

[loyola llothta]

Trailer for Short Film ‘Flowers’ By Rising Sierra Leonean-American Filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu Debuts

Up-and-coming Sierra Leonean-American filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu and partnerYvonne Shirley have been hitting up the summer film festival circuit in the U.S., promoting their short film Flowers, which they wrote and directed together.


The coming-of-age drama set during a Brooklyn summer about a 17-year-old’s revenge prank gone terribly wrong had its world premiere at the 20th Annual 2016 Black Film Festival in June.

Flowers builds on a streak of success for Jusu, a New York University MFA program graduate, who has received the prestigious NYU Spike Lee fellowship for her short film Say Grace Before Drowningas well as a Director’s Guild Honorable Mention and a HBO short film award for African Booty Snatcher (2007). Both film projects have been acquired by HBO.

While the short film version of Flowers is currently in post-production, check out the menacing trailer above.

 

[Danie84]

@loyola llothta , I just discovered this PIFF



...it's beautiful to see US (from all over the globe) making an array of interesting visual content

BLACKEXCELLENCE

 

[O.Red]

 

[loyola llothta]

NETFLIX USA PREMIERE: TIMELY BRIT DOCUMENTARY ‘THE HARD STOP’ EXPLORES POLICE SHOOTING OF MARK DUGGAN + RIOTS THAT FOLLOWED

It’s a hybrid observational work of non-fiction with the Sundance stamp on it, which made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, under the name “The Hard Stop,” from director George Amponsah (it was previously-titled “Down By Law”).

The very timely film centers on Mark Duggan, a young black man who was killed by armed police in London, on August 4, 2011 – an event regarded as the spark that set the London riots in motion immediately after.

Twenty-nine-year-old Duggan was shot and killed by police in Tottenham, North London. The Metropolitan Police argued that officers were attempting to arrest Duggan on suspicion of planning to avenge a friend’s death, and that he was in possession of a handgun. However, there were conflicting stories on what led to the fatal shooting, drawing criticism and suspicion from Duggan’s family, residents of Tottenham, and other supporters, accusing police of misconduct and of failing to properly investigate Duggan’s death. The circumstances of his killing resulted in public protests in Tottenham which, fueled in part by poverty and racial tension, led to conflict with the police, and later escalated into riots across London and other English cities.

Shortcomings in police response were also blamed for stoking the riots, and for fueling discontent.

Amponsah’s film explores the life and death of Mark Duggan, as well as the Tottenham riots of 2011 that would follow.

The project was also supported by the BFI Film Fund, following a pitching session, held at and in partnership with the UK’s leading documentary festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest.

The film is now available to USA audiences, streaming on Netflix, so add it to your queue.

Trailer below:

 

[loyola llothta]

WATCH ISAACH DE BANKOLÉ FIGHT TO ESCAPE HUNGARIAN SLAVE CAMP IN TRAILER FOR ‘MIRAGE’

A Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) alum, “Mirage” is described as a western, which tells the intriguing story of an African (we aren’t told what specific country) football player in a small Hungarian town, who commits a crime and has to flee. He finds refuge on a farm deep in the Hungarian flatland. Soon he realizes that the farm is a modern slave camp where he is forced to fight for his freedom and ultimately his life.

S&A actor fave Isaach de Bankolé (an actor who works internationally, and seemingly isn’t limited by any boundaries) stars in the film, which is written and directed by Hungarian filmmaker Szabolcs Hajdu.

The project hails from Mirage Film Studio, is executive produced by De Bankolé, and produced by Andrea Taschler, Gábor Kovács.

“Mirage” was a TIFF Contemporary World Cinema selection, one of the top movie showcases, although the film hasn’t been released in the USA. Its only North American screening, besides TIFF, was at the Seattle International Film Festival last year (at least, according to IMDBPro). So it’s a woefully underseen film. It was released theatrically in the filmmaker’s native Hungary, but nowhere else, which is too bad.

But I’m investigating a potential USA (or any English-language territory) release, so when I learn more, I’ll share here.

In the meantime, take a look at a first embedded below, followed by official pics from the production:

 

[loyola llothta]

IN USA THEATERS THIS WEEK: KING OF SOCA, MACHEL MONTANO, MAKES HIS ACTING DEBUT IN MUSICAL ROMANCE