Urbanworld Film Festival 2009

Sexy, sassy Brie and her best friend Asha are in for a night they will never forget. After one too many romantic disappointments, Asha is at her wits’ end. When she seeks comfort from Brie, she discovers that the answer to her problems may be closer than she thinks. Her simple solution ends up causing them both more drama then they bargained for. BIO: KIARA C JONES began her professional life as a poet and Hip Hop artist and enjoyed an award-winning career in broadcast radio and television. Kiara currently studies filmmaking at NYU and also serves as the Proprietor of Cultivated Films LLC. She has produced 8 short films on various formats and Directed 4 award-winning shorts that have been featured in Film Festivals nationwide and on Lifetime Movie Network, PBS Reel Shorts and BET. www.cultivatedfilms.com

AMERICANA explores American identity at home and abroad by juxtaposing the personal stories of Americans overseas and those of two teenagers in their last three months of high school before their U.S. Army enlistment. BIO: 
TOPAZ ADIZES has traveled to over 40 countries. He is fluent in English, Hebrew, Spanish and Swedish. Presently he has two films touring the festival circuit, AMERICANA (Cinema Du Reel, Morelia Int. FF) and TRECE AÑOS (Sundance FF, Aspen Shorts Fest, LA FF). He is currently finishing his fourth feature script LOOK FOR THE LIGHT, and is pre-producing his next feature to be shot in the winter in Argentina. For more information visit www.topazadizes.com

‘Bama Girl follows a black woman’s quest to become the 2005 Homecoming Queen at the University of Alabama, one of the great Deep South institutions. Homecoming has a rich history there, tied into centuries of privilege, old money, and racial exclusivity. We follow Jessica Thomas’ campaign for Queen, running against not only 15 other co-eds, but a strictly segregated Greek system, internal black politics, and, most ominously, a secret all-white association called 'The Machine' that has been controlling politics at the University for most of the past century. BIO
: RACHEL GOSLINS is a documentary director and producer who has worked on productions for National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, A&E and the History Channel, among others. Her short film, ONDERDUIKEN, was acquired for incorporation into standardized civil rights curriculum for Northern California high schools. A former international copyright attorney, she is currently directing a feature documentary on Muslims who saved Jews from the Holocaust and serving as the Programming Coordinator for the Impact Film Festival.

Based on a real conversation between writer/director Nelson A. George and an anxious barber, A BARBER’S TALE offers a glimpse into the dark side of cutting hair. BIO: NELSON GEORGE is an author, filmmaker and television producer. His latest book is CITY KID: A MEMOIR OF GHETTO LIFE & POST-SOUL SUCCESS (Viking). He produced GOOD HAIR, starring Chris Rock, which will be released theatrically in October by Roadside Attractions. He directed the HBO film LIFE SUPPORT, which won several NAACP Image awards and won Queen Latifah a Golden Globe. Nelson's web site is www.nelsondgeorge.net.

Adapted from Richard Wright's short story, BIG BLACK GOOD MAN tells the story of Olaf, an old white hotel porter, who is challenged to face his deepest fears when a big black man wants to check in to his hotel. BIO: 

Raised in Istanbul, Turkey, USAME TUNAGUR has a BA degree in Mass Media from Temple University and an MFA degree in Film from Ohio University. Currently, Usame is working as a Producer at Ebru-TV whose mission is to create programming promoting diversity and multicultural celebration. BIG BLACK GOOD MAN is his thesis film.

(New York Premiere) Gary 'Blue' Meekins, a prize fighter from NYC's Harlem, weathered the storm of the streets and put his past behind him. While keeping his eye on the prize, the middle weight championship of the world, he and his long-time trainer China Banks go through a series of emotional obstacles. As fate would have it, Blue finds unlikely love during the course of his journey with his neighbor Carmen Vasquez. Just when everything seems so right, life can go so wrong. The strength of a man is not when he stands tall on his feet, but when he is on his knees... BIO RYAN MININGHAM attended film school at Temple University. After graduation, Ryan moved to Los Angeles, where he performed stunt work in the films Planet of the Apes and Men in Black 2, booked his first commercial for ESPN, and participated in The Groundlings. Ryan’s first screenplay, KNUCKLE SANDWICH, was made into a film that won the Best Picture award at Tupelo Film Festival (2007) and was distributed by Westlake Entertainment. His second feature, BLUE, was completed in 2008.

Rocky Otoo is the Bronx-bred teenage daughter of Ghanaian parents, and she's no pushover. She is a sassy high-achiever bound for college. With freedom in sight, Rocky rebels against her mother's rules. When their relationship reaches a breaking point, Rocky flees to her father, a chief in Ghana. What follows is captured in Bronx Princess, a tumultuous coming-of-age story set in a homeland both familiar and strange. Her precocious — and very American — ideas of a successful, independent life conflict with her father's traditional African values. Reconciling her dual legacies becomes an unexpected chapter in this unforgettable young woman's education. BIOS: YONI BROOK is a film director and photographer. His film A SON’S SACRIFICE won Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival and Best Documentary Short at the International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards and was broadcast nationally on PBS. Brook’s photography has received the field's highest honors at the Pictures of the Year International and Best of Photojournalism competitions. www.yonibrook.com. MUSA SYEED is an independent filmmaker and writer. After producing A SON'S SACRIFICE, he co-directed two films with Yoni Brook for national ITVS/PBS broadcast: THE CALLING, about young religious leaders, and BRONX PRINCESS (for P.O.V. on PBS). Syeed was a Fulbright Fellow in Cairo, Egypt, where he focused on experimental filmmaking. This year, he is a professor of documentary production at Williams College. Both are alumni of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Philadelphia, 1963. Marcus Christenson is poised to take control of his father’s business – the Philadelphia Black Mafia. The problem is that Marcus’s heart lies with his music. The young guitarist must decide between pursuing his own dreams and fulfilling the dreams of his father. His choice will make him a man, but what kind of man will he become? BIO: Soon after graduating from Hampton University, MICHAEL JOHNSON was accepted into the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. In his first year at USC, he wrote and directed JAZZ SINGER, which premiered at the Arizona Black Film Showcase. He also produced the acclaimed short film LAST EXIT. BROTHERS INCORPORATED is his thesis film and was shot in his hometown of Philadelphia. The project received The Caucus Foundation Student Production Grant in 2008.

Anders Østergaardʼs award-winning documentary offers a rare inside look into the 2007 uprising in Myanmar. While 100,000 people took to the streets to protest the country’s repressive regime, foreign news crews were banned and Internet access was shut down. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a collective of approximately 30 anonymous video journalists (VJs), recorded these events on handycams. They smuggled the footage out of the country, and it was broadcast worldwide via satellite. Risking torture and life imprisonment, the VJs document protestors’ brutal clashes with the military and undercover police – even as they themselves become targets. BIO: ANDERS ØSTERGAARD graduated from the Danish School of Journalism in 1991. Mixing documentary footage with staged shots has been a hallmark of Østergaard’s films. Awarded Best Documentary at Odense International Film Festival (1999) for THE MAGUS. Was writer-director on the internationally acclaimed TINTIN ET MOI (2003); made his first big impression on Danish cinemagoers in 2006 with a documentary about the rock band Gasolin. In 2008, Burma VJ was selected for Joris Ivens Competition and Movies That Matter, IDFA, Amsterdam.