Black FIlm Watch: Pastor Brown

Rockmond Dunbar, a known actor from Soul Food and Prison Break, directed the upcoming black film Pastor Brown. In Pastor Brown, Jessica, an exotic dancer, returns home when her father becomes unexpectedly ill. Her father's dying wish is for her to take over the church, pitting her against her sister and other eager church members looking to take over the throne. 

The film stars Salli Richardson, Nicole Ari Parker, Keith David, Michael Beach, Tasha Smith, Michael B. Jordan, and Monica. Pastor Brown is scheduled to be released in 2009, but no official release date has been set.  

Black Film Watch: Prom Night In Mississippi

With Barak Obama President, in this so-called "post-racial" society, it's hard to remember we still have a long way to go in ridding this country of racial prejudices. Prom Night In Mississippi tells the well-known story of a high school in Mississippi that still holds segregated proms. The film premieres on HBO on Monday, July 20th at 9PM/8C. 

BLACK FILM WATCH: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Disney has finally released the much anticipated trailer to The Princess and the Frog, the first Disney animation to star black characters. When I first found out about the project I was iffy on it. This is the same organization that made a movie putting the motherland on display, but instead decided to focus on animals and not its people. I know many loved The Lion King, but I was upset for ages.

Disney Animation may be able to appease me with this new film, but only if they do it right. I applaud them for using the backdrop of New Orleans and displaying jazz music and creole speak, but why does our first black princess need to turn into frog? Back in the day, blacks were often portrayed in the media as having animalistic qualities. Will this be any different? 

BLACK FILM WATCH: THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is HBO/BBC six-part miniseries starring Neo-Soul singer Jill Scott. Precious Ramotswe learned the skills necessary to become a detective from her father. After his death, she sets up her own female detective agency in Botswana along with quirky secretary Mma Makutsi (Anika Noni Rose from Dreamgirls, and The Princess and The Frog).

The series premiered on HBO on March 29th and will soon be available on DVD. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is the first major film or television production to be undertaken in Botswana. The film is based of the 10-part novel series of the same name written by Alexander McCall. 

BLACK INDY FEST

A common complaint about Hollywood is their lack of films dealing with minorities. Yeah, we get our occasional The Secret Life of Bees, Dreamgirls, and Notorious, which are good and  a step up from the often "white only club" controlling the film industry. But sometimes we do need to dig a lot deeper to discover the truth. And the truth is that the film industry is oozing with black films, they all just don't make it to theatres. However, as Slumdog Millionaire proved (which was considered becoming a straight to DVD release) just because a film is an "indy" doesn't make it any worse in quality or content. 

Below are four black "indy" films that you should be made aware of. They may not all get theatrical releases, but if you dig deep, you should be able to find a way to view them in your area. 

A MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY

Medicine for Melancholy is a love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African-American twenty-somethings dealing with issues of class, identity, and the evolving conundrum of being a minority in rapidly gentrifying San Francisco—a city with the smallest proportional black population of any other major American city.

Status: On IFC (Video on Demand)

Website

PRECIOUS 

(formerly PUSH)

Based on the novel PUSH by Sapphire, Precious is about a teenage girl growing up in harlem. She is physically and emotionally abused by her parents and pregnant with her second child. The film is directed by Lee Daniels, co-stars Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, and Lenny Kravitz, and championed by both Oprah and Tyler Perry. 

A GOOD DAY TO BE BLACK & SEXY

Press play on A GOOD DAY TO BE BLACK AND SEXY. A mixed tape of deftly arranged vignettes on Black Love, Sex, and Reciprocity. What you hear may be unrecognizable at first… Neo-realistic intimacy between black people found in rare grooves previously drowned out by the sounds of modern hook-ups and bougie preoccupations, a cacophony of mass-produced beats created with drum machine loops and software. A Good Day to be Black and Sexy is that dusty LP you find in the crates. But as soon as you put the needle to wax, all the forgotten lyrics return to your lips in this dreamy love sonnet to the beautiful and chocolate coated. The intro track is a prelude into the heavily sensual world of expectations - the rhythm that drives the film. Erotic moments are lullabies that turn into syncopated groves without notice. This record skips, and jumps to the hook of a Millie Jackson remix. An anthem belted out by a minx who knows her limits, but can’t resist testing the boundaries.

Status: Now on DVD 

Website

I'M THROUGH WITH WHITE GIRLS

After years of dating white women, an unconventional "brotha" vows to try his luck with some "sistahs" of his own race. But when he falls for a self-described "half-Rican Canadian", it is possible he's found his soul mate? True, she isn't black - but her race is only part of the problem. For this longtime commitment-phone to settle down, he'll have to drastically change his ways. 

Status: On IFC (Video on Demand), DVD & Netflix

Website

BLACK FILM WATCH: THE LENA BAKER STORY

Lena Baker is an African-American maid who was executed in 1945 for killing her employer. During her testimony, she claimed her boss had imprisoned her and threatened to shoot her if she fleed. Defending herself, she took the gun and shot him. 

In the new movie, The Lena Baker Story, Tichia Arnold (Martin, Everyone Hates Chris) plays the tragic hero. For those complaining they're aren't enough movies out there featuring talented black actresses, this is a must see, must support.

The Lena Baker Story is adapted from the novel by Lela Bond Phillips, which chronicles the life and death of Lena Baker. It was written and directed by African-American Actor Ralph Wilcox. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and is set for a theatrical release in April.

From The Black Film Academy:
The Lena Baker Story takes place in the early 1900’s through 1945 in Cuthbert, Georgia. It’s the story of one woman’s attempt to rise above the challenges of life, the choices she makes, and the consequences of those choices. The moment she thinks she has overcome her inner demons, she is called to work for Elliot Arthur, a father, a millworker and a drunk. As their relationship unfolds, it becomes strange, strained, and highly unacceptable for the time. Elliot Arthur needs Lena and in return Lena seems to need him. He abuses her and keeps her from her children by imprisoning her in his home. When she has finally had enough, Lena stands up and attempts to break free from the bondage of Elliot Arthur. A struggle ensues, and Elliot Arthur, a white man, is shot by Lena Baker, an African-American woman, on a hot, humid night in Southwest Georgia in 1945.

BLACK FILM WATCH: AMERICAN SON

If you're wondering what Nick Cannon's been up to lately,  rest assured he hasn't been taking a break from the business. Leaving the Hollywood Blockbusters behind, Cannon has gone the indie route. In 2006 Cannon played a featured role in Emilio Esteves' BOBBY (centered around the night of Bobbby Kennedy's Assassination). In American Son he plays  a 19-year old Marine who's just graduated from Boot Camp. The film encompasses his last weekend back home before departing off to Iraq. I've never been a fan of Nick Cannon's, but I applaud him for the courage to take on more serious roles in his career. 

BLACK FILM WATCH: AMERICAN VIOLET

I usually just put these in my movies to watch section, but decided to take a more active approach. I'm not big into Police/crime dramas, but this film is different. It's not often you see a take on police corruption from an African-American female's perspective. 

DESCRIPTION:

Based on true events in the midst of the 2000 election, AMERICAN VIOLET tells the astonishing story of Dee Roberts (critically hailed newcomer Nicole Beharie), a 24 year-old African American single mother of four young girls living in a small Texas town who is barely making ends meet on a waitress salary and government subsidies.

On an early November morning while Dee works a shift at the local diner, the powerful local district attorney (Academy Award® nominee Michael OKeefe) leads an extensive drug bust, sweeping her Arlington Springs housing project with military precision. Police drag Dee from work in handcuffs, dumping her in the squalor of the womens county prison. Indicted based on the uncorroborated word of a single and dubious police informant facing his own drug charges, Dee soon discovers she has been charged as a drug dealer.

Even though Dee has no prior drug record and no drugs were found on her in the raid or any subsequent searches, she is offered a hellish choice: plead guilty and go home as a convicted felon or remain in prison and fight the charges thus, jeopardizing her custody and risking a long prison sentence.

Despite the urgings of her mother (Academy Award® nominee Alfre Woodard), and with her freedom and the custody of her children at stake, she chooses to fight the district attorney and the unyielding criminal justice system he represents. Joined in an unlikely alliance with an ACLU attorney (Tim Blake Nelson) and former local narcotics officer (Will Patton), Dee risks everything in a battle that forever changes her life and the Texas justice system. AMERICAN VIOLET also stars Emmy Award® winner Charles S. Dutton and Xzibit.