Reviews written by Heather Jackson, PhxSoul.com Contributor
If you weren't able to attend the 2010 Arizona Black Film Showcase on March 26-28 in Tempe, you missed out on a grand event! The 2010 Arizona Black Film Showcase featured a number of excellent screenings created by talented filmmakers. PhxSoul.com contributor and ASU journalism student, Heather Jackson, shares her reviews of the following films - "Lovely," "Justine," "Burn: The Evolution of an American City" and "Same Deep Water As You."
Film: Lovely
Director: Maurice Moore
Love scandals are always an intriguing hot topic in the black community.
Black women usually take the forefront of this hot topic showering it with complaints about black men cheating or playing the field of women all too well. This time around director, writer, and producer Maurice Moore throws his audience for a loop when he creates a family drama of a black women cheating with two twin black brothers (both played by director Maurice Moore) in his film titled “Lovely”. Maurice said the reason he played the twin brothers was because not only was he a director but an actor who really wanted to play twins. He does an amazing job as twins in his film Lovely.
Lovely is about a black woman named Lisa with a crack addiction who is in a relationship with one brother who is a college graduate and his twin brother who is a drug dealer.
Unfortunately for the college graduate, he has no idea that the love of his life is cheating on him with his twin brother. The college graduate is not only breaking a stereotype in this film by being educated but he also buys Lisa fancy things, and gives her money on call, contrary to the “broke” black brutha’ stigma. When his back is turned, Lisa uses his hard-earned money to buy crack from his twin brother. Her crack addiction is not the only thing she is addicted to. She also has sexual relations with his twin brother all because she feels she “can’t have him.”
One day the drug-dealing twin confesses to his brother who the real Lisa is in attempt to stop his brother from trying to marry her. After tears and confusion, the college graduate arrives at the house of his brother with the motive of killing him. When he arrives he finds that Lisa has already done so. After Lisa turns to leave and sees her college graduate lover standing behind her, she is then shot and killed. This brutal love triangle created by director Maurice Moore had the audience in total shock with the twist that is the premise of his film.
Moore said the concept from Lovely came from his desire to challenge himself in writing films with different concepts. He had also been working on two films prior to this one and said that “when (he) came up with this one (he) felt like it was something intriguing, something that (he) knew could potentially happen, and (be entertaining) as well.”
Moore definitely sheds some light into parts of black love scandals that are not usually highlighted. But for Moore, he felt his piece was much more than that. He stated that he wanted the audience to walk away knowing that there are “strong African American filmmakers that could write, that can produce, that can direct, and that there is some new talent that can be aspiring to do some new things in the future.” Although Moore’s piece was intriguing in itself, he confessed, “the showcase has been tremendous…and (he is) humbled by this whole experience.”
If you are interested in seeing more of Maurice Moore’s work, you can e-mail him at Mauricemoe@gmail.com.
Film: “Justine”
Director: Eric Dickens
Eric Dickens’ Justine is right on time.
His film fits neatly into the era of the breast cancer epidemic so prevalent amongst the 21st century black women. Justine is about an aspiring actress who’s world is shattered when she finds out she has breast cancer. She also has to deal with her boyfriend who cheated on her and has a baby by another woman. Ultimately, she leaves him but is still left to deal with her cancer. At the close of the film, she dies and her ex-boyfriend is sent a letter in regards to her death and funeral. He had no idea that when she called the relationship off that she had been battling cancer. Unlike most victory stories over breast cancer that many women proclaim, this film shed light on the stories of black women that do not make it. Dickens was personally affected by the effects of breast cancer among black women. He said the idea of his film originated from his aunt who died from breast cancer. He said she was diagnosed and literally six months after she died. Dickens provided the same ending for his piece Justine.
“I thought it was realistic, I am not for the Hollywood fairytale story,” Dickens states. “I want a story people can relate to.”
This heartfelt film not only had a great storyline but also left the audience thinking about their health, something Dickens wanted to leave the audience with.
“I always want to tell a good story and ... I want people to be aware of their health,” Dickens said.
Utilizing the effectiveness of film Dickens drove his message home.
To find out more information about his film Justine, visit www.justine2010.com or reach him on Facebook.
Film: “Burn: The Evolution of an American City”
Director: Harold Jackson III
Harold Jackson III educates his audience on a horrific story that occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He created a documentary called, Burn: The Evolution of an American City to turn the spotlight on the bombing and destruction of “Black Wall Street” - an affluent black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma where many black business men and women-owned stores were established.
His documentary features interviews, historical photographs, and cinematic shots that delicately describe the story of one young black man’s actions that led to the destruction of an affluent black community. The story is about a young black man stumbling into an elevator falling into a young white woman who was in the elevator at the same time. After white officials and residents found out about the incident they burned down the “Black Wall Street.” There were no findings of the young white woman making any charges against the young black man.
The death of this city sheds light into the horrific nature of America that prompts the notorious actions toward Black America. “Black Wall Street” stood once as an inspiration to all blacks in the community that they too could succeed through entrepreneurship. The community thrived with success, and when it was destroyed it was like the killing of dreams. Not only is the destruction of this city shocking, but the fact that the director Harold Jackson III had to dig up the artifacts just to cover the story.
In response he said, “I graduated from college and I find I am well-read, and yet I have never heard about it.”
He faced a lot of controversy but through all of it he said, “the more controversy (he) found the more excited (he) got.”
The documentary seems to go beyond the event that happened in Tulsa and reaches across America as a whole.
“I think that if you allow yourself to get beyond black and white it becomes about America and the people,” Jackson said. “And how one person’s dream can be snatched away from them and they are given nothing in return for that.”
The strength of Jackson’s documentary lies solely in its message: that as Black Americans, we do not have to accept America’s depiction of our history, but search for it ourselves, dig it up, analyze it, and spread the word.
If you are interested in more information on Harold Jackson III and his film, go to www.Salt2Light.com.
Film: Same Deep Water As You
Director: Ronald Jarett
Have you ever received an e-mail from a mysterious person trying to scam you for money? Well, director Ronald Jarett uncovers the life of scam busters who try to stop these scam artists from invading your e-mail through his film Same Deep Water As You.
Jarett describes his film as a blending of external suspense thriller elements of a crime noir with the domestic drama of a couple in serious need of communication counseling. Jarrett cleverly depicts a story of scam busters who are trying to catch Keisha Ivanova, a prominent scam artist. The main character Gwen is worried about her partner Cole who is missing during their plans to bust Ivanova. Her other colleagues ignore her concerns and continue with the investigations. After a night of arguing with her suspicious spouse, she goes to the hotel to find Cole. She finds her partner dead. Her spouse who angrily followed her pushes her and she dies from injury from hitting the bathtub. Ivanova is in the hotel because she has killed Cole. When the husband is done pushing his wife, Ivanova kills him. This intriguing and suspenseful film educates and entertains the audience on the work of scam busters.
When asked where the idea stemmed from Jarett responds, “Lauren Walker (who he co-wrote and co-produced the script with) had just read a New York Times article on real-life scam busters,” so he decided to do a film on it. Even more, Jarett confesses that the main ammunition behind his film was his dedication to “showing (his) 3-year-old daughter that nothing should stop her from following her bliss.”
For more information about his film go to www.cinetribe.org.
For more information about the 2010 Arizona Black Film Showcase, please visit azblackfilm.com.
To see photos of Friday's festivities at the 2010 Arizona Black Film Showcase, please click HERE!
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