San Francisco Black Film Festival 2008

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Fosters Cultural Diversity with SFBFF Grant

San Francisco, California – October 6, 2008 – The San Francisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF) today announced it is the proud recipient of a grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), bestowed to the festival for furnishing a unique forum for minority filmmakers, supporting social and cultural diversity and making independent films accessible to underserved audiences. Grants awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reflect the fundamental goals of the Academy: to advance the art and science of motion pictures and to foster cooperation among the creative leaders of the motion picture industry for cultural, educational and technical progress.

“We're absolutely thrilled that the San Francisco Black Festival is being recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences”, said festival founder and executive director Ave Montague. “It’s gratifying to be honored by such a prestigious organization, one that embraces our mission of integrating the work of independent Black filmmakers into the mainstream and illuminating the depth and diversity of the African-American experience.” Montague hopes that the AMPAS award will serve to encourage additional sponsors to support the San Francisco Black Film Festival, which commemorated its tenth anniversary in June of this year.

Long before “going global” became a catch phrase, the San Francisco Black Film Festival served as a bridge between worlds, underscoring the power of personal stories as the key to cultural connection. When Montague launched the SFBFF in 1998, the festival was a one-day event that played to an audience of a few hundred and barely caused a blip on the film industry’s radar screen. Over the years, it has evolved into a ten-day cultural celebration drawing international attention and thousands of attendees. The San Francisco Black Film Festival’s next incarnation runs June 4th through 7th and June 11th through 14th, 2009. “Call for Entries” deadlines for film submissions are December 15, 2008 (early) and January 15, 2009 (final).


About the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)

Over the past 40 years, AMPAS has distributed more than $8,000,000 in grants to media arts centers, schools, colleges, universities, film scholars and film festivals.
Grants awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reflect the fundamental goals of the Academy: to advance the art and science of motion pictures and to foster cooperation among the creative leaders of the motion picture industry for cultural, educational and technical progress.

In 1999, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy Foundation instituted a Festival Grants Program. Since its founding, the Festival Grants Program has distributed 174 grants totaling over $3 million in funding to film festivals based in the United States. Grant recipients include major international film festivals such as the Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Sundance and Telluride festivals; those that focus on independent and alternative filmmaking such as the Ann Arbor, Black Maria, Nashville and Woodstock festivals; and those that support social and cultural diversity such as the African Diaspora, Atlanta Jewish Kidfilm, Outfest and San Diego Latino festivals.

About the San Francisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF)

From its modest beginnings in 1998 with only $3,000 in funding, the San Francisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF) has grown from a one-day event with an audience of 300 to a ten-day cultural celebration drawing thousands of attendees. Under the leadership of founder and executive director Ave Montague, the SFBFF is managed by a dedicated advisory board of fifteen award-winning filmmakers, artists and business professionals including literary icon Ishmael Reed, actor/director Kevin Epps, producer/director Michael Schultz and actors Adam Davidson, Avon Kirkland and Terri J. Vaughn.

Presenting an array of work from Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Europe and the United States, the San Francisco Black Film Festival has been a driving force integrating the work of independent Black directors into the mainstream, illuminating the depth and diversity of the African-American experience. The SFBFF is now an established forum for the cinematic community and draws a vibrant mix of veteran filmmakers, emerging artists, celebrities, critics and film fans from around the world.

The 2009 San Francisco Black Film Festival is slated to run June 4th through 7th and June 11th through 14th, 2009. For more information about the festival, please call Ave Montague at (415) 346-0199 or film2fest@yahoo.com

Focus on Southern Africa...

Bird Can’t Fly
Fri. Oct 3, 7:15PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley

Thu. Oct 9, 4:45PM, Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
Set against gorgeous South African sand dunes, this
captivating crosscultural drama about unlikely family
connections (and the mysteries of ostriches) is fueled by
Barbara Hershey’s breathtaking performance.

Jerusalema
Sun. Oct 5, 7:00PM, Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley
Mon. Oct 6, 9:15PM, Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center

A Johannesberg crime boss rises and falls in this energetic,
well-acted gangster epic by director Ralph Ziman (Hearts
and Minds, MVFF 1996) and starring Rapulana Seiphemo
(Tsotsi).

Zimbabwe
Thu. October 9, 7:15PM, Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film
Center

Named for her native country, the orphaned 19-year-old
Zimbabwe leaves her estranged homeland for a new life
across the border in South Africa. Director Darrell James
Roodt (Sarana!, Cry the Beloved Country) uses low-bud -
get, guerilla-style lming to underscore the human drama
of illegal immigrants.

...and beyond

Heart of Fire
Sat. Oct. 11, 3:00 PM Sequoia Theatre, Mill
Valley
Sun. Oct 12, 6:45 PM 142 Throckmorton
Theatre, Mill Valley

This beautifully made lm from Luigi Falorni
(The Story of the Weeping Camel) is made
unforgettable by child actress Letekidan
Micael’s astonishing performance as Awet,
a naïve yet strong girl capable of making
her own way during Eritrea’s 1981 war for
independence.













Heart of Fire


Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maatai
Sat. Oct. 4, 1:45 PM, Rafael Film Center,
San Rafael
Sun. Oct. 5 6:00 PM, 142 Throckmorton
Theatre, Mill Valley

Nobel laureate and environmental activist Wangari Maathai
and her Green Belt Movement have inspired dramatic
improvements in Kenya, simply by encouraging women to
plant trees. A dictator’s demise is just one seed of change
sprouting in the revitalized forests.

Where the Water Meets The Sky
Sun. Oct. 12, 2:45 PM Sequoia Theatre, Mill Valley

In northern Zambia, 23 young women did the unimaginable:
They told their stories. In a community in which women are
rarely given the chance to speak up, the inspiring voices at
the core of this moving documentary ring loud and clear.
preceded by:

The Road to Ingwavuma

Deborah Rick’s extraordinary documentary follows a group
of artists (Alfre Woodard, Samuel Jackson and Carlos
Santana, among them) on a tour of people, places and life
in postapartheid South Africa.

THE 10th ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO BLACK FILM FESTIVAL WRAPS

SOMETHING IS KILLING TATE, Directed by Leon Lozano wins
Melvin Van Peebles Award.

KINGS OF THE EVENING, Directed by Andrew P. Jones is the Audience Favorite

San Francisco, CA---The San Francisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF) celebrated its ten-year anniversary from June 4-8 and June 11-15, 2008. Befitting its milestone status, the theme of this year’s festival was “10 Years, 10 Days, more than 100 Films” as the SFBFF spanned the globe with works from Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States.

Ave Montague, SFBFF founder and director commented, “Screening at five venues presented its challenges, at the end of the day we were exhausted but thrilled with the number of new and repeat filmgoers and record breaking box office numbers.”

The festival got a jump start with the annual Urban Kidz Film Series at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. Created with young viewers in mind, the annual film series is an offshoot of the San Francisco Black Film Festival and featured a striking assemblage of short and feature films, designed to spark the imaginations of the 5-to-12-year-old set. Audience favorites included The Don of Virgil Jr. High and African Academy Award winner, Do You Believe In Magic?

Opening night kicked off on Wednesday, June 4th with Shoot the Messenger, a funny and sometimes controversial work from Nigerian-born British filmmaker Ngozi Onwurah about a Black British teacher who fights his way out of madness and stops blaming his own people only after losing his job. Our audience loved the film and folks are still talking about it. The opening night festivities continued with a standing room only party at Rasselas Jazz Club. The festival continued with non-stop films, receptions and workshops throughout the historic Fillmore District.

On Saturday, June 14, the first annual Awards Brunch was presented at the posh 1300 on Fillmore restaurant. Owners David Lawrence and Monetta White welcomed the film community as they sipped mimosas and sampled the restaurant’s signature barbeque shrimp, grits, eggs and organic black-skillet fried chicken.

The Brunch sponsored by PG&E was followed with an awards program acknowledging the best works in screenplay, short, feature, documentary, student and Urban Kidz categories. The first St. Clair Bourne Award was presented for the best documentary. The overall winner received the Melvin Van Peebles Award, which honors an emerging filmmaker with a unique vision, singular style and uncompromising point of view.

Actress Taraji P. Henson (who currently plays attorney Whitney Rome on Boston Legal) received the first-ever Phoenix Award in honor of her swift rise to stardom. Taraji who stole all of our hearts as the pregnant “Shug” in Hustle and Flow and shined opposite Don Cheadle in last year’s Talk to Me, has four major releases approaching in the next few months. They include Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt, Taraji stars opposite Forest Whitaker and Lil’ Wayne in Hurricane Season and opposite Morris Chestnut in Not Easily Broken.

The festival’s closing film was Tribute: Stanley Tookie Williams: 1953-2003 directed by Barbara Becnel. The documentary examined death row prisoner, Crips gang co-founder, children's book author, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Stanley Tookie Williams.

Here are the winners:
Each winner received a custom made plaque and the winner of the Melvin Van Peebles Award received two round trip tickets to South Africa courtesy of South African Airways.

2008 Melvin Van Peebles Award Winner and Best Feature
Something Is Killing Tate
Director: Leon Lorenzo
(Grand Prize: Round trip to South Africa)

2008 St. Clair Bourne Award Winner for Best Documentary
Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
Directors Dawn Logsdon and Lolis Eric Elie

Best Short
Lifted
Director: Randall Dottin

Best Student
Keys
Director: Christopher Babers

Best Urban Kidz Winner
The Don of Virgil Jr. High
Director: Deon Hayman

Best Screenplay
American Dream
Olugbemiga Idowu

Audience Favorite
Kings of the Evening
Director: Andrew P. Jones

Festival sponsors include: San Francisco Grants For The Arts, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, Rainbow Cooperative and Comcast.

The dates for the 2009 San Francisco Black Film Festival are: June 3-7 & June 10-14, 2009
Call for entries: Early deadline December 15, 2008 Final deadline January 15, 2009

For further information log on to www.sfbff.org or call 415.771.9271