Why I Collect the Hair
Showing: Friday, June 15, 2012
Time: 7:10PM (Before Feature Film : The Loving Story)
Location: National Center for the Preservation of Democracy – Democracy Forum
SYNOPSIS:
“Why I Collect The Hair” is a poem by Tara Betts, adapted into a film as part of Nijla Mumin’s collaborative cine-poem series. The poem looks at the duality of identity, and the way one woman’s idea of her identity is disrupted by outside assumptions. The poem encourages us to ask questions about private versus public beliefs of what it means or “looks like” to be black, white, or biracial. The poems speaks to the nuances of private moments between lovers, and how categorization and “naming” interfere with the moment, causing a deeply held hurt that stains future moments.
BIOGRAPHY:
Nijla Baseema Mu’min is a writer and filmmaker from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a 2007 graduate of UC Berkeley, and also attended Howard University’s MFA Film Program. She is the recipient of the 2009 Paul Robeson Award for Best Feature Screenplay. She has written for “Shadow and Act” and “Indiewire.” She is currently an MFA student in Film Directing and Writing at the California Institute of the Arts. Visit her website and blog at:
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Location: National Center for the Preservation of Democracy – Democracy Forum
Time: 11:00AM – 12:30PM
Color Blind
SYNOPSIS:
A recent USA Today study shows that 40% of US adoptions are transracial. While the dialogue on race in the United States is evolving, opposing sides continue to debate the benefits of transracial adoption. Color Blind looks at the aftermath and follows two families with differing views. Just one year after their adopted son Luc arrives from Haiti, the Garwood family is establishing their own roots in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in South Los Angeles. Parents Allison and Reed, a white couple, immerse themselves in black culture through church and a strong circle of friends, but they can’t escape the opinions of the outside world. The Garwoods are joined by the Howertons, a multi-racial family with two adopted boys. Color Blind provides an intimate glimpse into the experience of families who have adopted across cultural and racial lines.
BIOGRAPHY:
Khadija Diakite is currently pursuing her MFA in Film Production from the University of Southern California. As a writer and director, she hopes to tell diverse stories about the African Diaspora.
Your Own is Your Own
SYNOPSIS:
The insecurities of Mixed-Race Americans and their emergence as a modern demographic are examined during one man’s seemingly impossible quest to find long lost relatives in his father’s Indian homeland.
BIOGRAPHY:
David Gielicz (Director/Producer) is a writer, director, producer, editor, and actor. He has worked in commercial production for over a decade. Along with a love for documentaries, he is a devoted cinephile with over twenty screenplays written ranging from coming of age comedies and thrillers to historical dramas and romantic tragedies.
Anjay Nagpal (Director/Producer) was born in London to a Polish mother and an Indian father. He is a business development executive at a film production company who directs and produces short films in his spare time. He received an MBA from UCLA in Entertainment Management.
Unfinished
SYNOPSIS:
An East Indian mother’s last will and testament proves a powerful catalyst, ultimately reconnecting her long-estranged African-American husband with their now fully-grown daughter.
BIOGRAPHY:
Reena Dutt (Producer) Independent Producing: 2010 Hollywood Fringe Festival NOTE Theatre Panel Discussions, NYC International Fringe Festival production of White Cotton (1999), That Takes Ovaries! Ovaries and Coffee(LA), Asian Pacific Women’s Center fundraising event @ Disney Concert Hall, Uterock Night @ The Gig-Hollywood; Disha Theatre @ The Lark (NYC), Theatre of NOTE(Ovation, LA Weekly and GLAAD Award nominated), Off-Chance Productions, Shetani Films, Red Dirt Productions. ; Chance Productions, Associate Producer on the award winning web-series, The Real Girls Guide to Everything Else.
Q&A with Host Tanya McRae
Tanya McRae is an Emmy Award nominated journalist with a diverse background as a television producer, writer, reporter, host, media consultant… and quite a few jobs in between!
She’s worked in a variety of TV and broadcast media genres including news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, talk shows, investigative series, makeovers, documentaries, and reality-based programming.
Tanya’s credits include shows on all 4 networks and most major cable channels such as Travel Channel, Lifetime, TLC, Discovery Channel, MTV, A & E, ABC and NBC News, as well as local stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Palm Springs.
Tanya’s company, Amazonia Productions, creates original programming for television, the internet, corporate videos and commercials. Tanya also emcees special events and moderates panel discussions and conferences.
Yaya/Ayat
Showing: Sunday, June 17, 2012
Time: 11:00AM (Before the Feature Film : Somebody Else, Somewhere Else: The Raymond Andrews Story)
Location: National Center for the Preservation of Democracy – Democracy Forum
SYNOPSIS:
yaya/ayat explores identities, being lost in translation and distance. But at its core it’s about the filmmaker longing for a relationship with her geographically distant grandma and her journey to Greece to find her. This is an experimental documentary about how being a part of any diaspora shapes a person’s identity.
BIOGRAPHY:
