San Francisco Black Film Festival
A Global Gumbo

 
Cedi Ali Rajah - Director of Black Man

Photography and Article by Diane “Livonn” Adam

2005 marks the 7^th season of the San Francisco Black Film Festival held June 8-12, 2005.  Touted as a Global Gumbo, this year’s festival showcased an impressive array of black films that highlighted the works of both established and up-and-coming filmmakers who are making their mark on the independent circuit.  The opening reception at the Kabuki Theater on June 8  entertained and delighted attendees with Haitian dancers before the opening film On The Verge Of A Fever (Le Gout Des Jeunes Filles) directed by John L’Ecuyer.   A tender coming of age film, On The Verge Of A Fever follows the innocent escapades of 15 year old Fanfan who escapes the clutches of his over protective mother to follow after his streetwise friend Gege.  The innocent Fanfan follows his friend into the dangerous streets of a Haitian town held under a brutal dictatorship.  Fanfan inadvertently gets involved with the Tonton-Macoute police who mistake him for the culprit in a street prank against one of the members of the unfeeling and ruthless street regime.  While hiding out at his neighbors house, the young Fanfan lives out his sexual fantasies in a house full of beautiful vixens and is ushered into manhood as he bonds with one gentle women.

The festival continued on June 9^th at the Eureka Theater with many notable short films such as Bay City Luv: Singin’ N’ Living On The Edge about six street gospel singers who perform outside San Francisco theaters directed by Sally Gati.  The film Pink directed by Sophie Traub follows a 12-year old girl who seeks the coffin of her black nanny who was killed with 500 others in a peaceful protest in Soweto, South Africa to stop the law that would force black students to be taught in the language of their oppressors.  High School Ripped Me A New One by director Cameron Washington finds two unpopular high school students dealing with overnight popularity after finding a package of lost Mafia money.  Rosevelt’s America directed by Roger Weisberg and Tod Lending present the disturbing view of torture during Liberia’s civil war and the story of one man’s journey to America to work and finally return to the wife and baby girl he left behind.

The acclaimed autobiographical documentary, A Killing in Choctow – The Power of Forgiveness directed by Chike C. Nowoffiah returns to San Francisco from its successful premier at the Black International Cinema Festival in Berlin, Germany.  A Killing In Choctow documents the experience of San Jose educator/activist, Carl Ray whose life is defined by the racist murder of his father in 1962.  Blending archival footage, interviews, reenactments and narrative, Nowoffiah takes us on a journey back to the 1960’s to set the stage of racial prejudice and murder and the power of forgiveness that saved the life and spirit of Carl Ray.   The film has since becomes a beacon for race dialogue in the U.S. and Ray continues to perform his own one-man play directed by Ann Johnson throughout the U.S.  The PBS affiliate KLCS TV is now collaborating with the filmmaker to have a taped version of A Killing In Choctow piloted in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The short film Black Man directed by Cedi Ali Rajah (Detroit, MI) explores the effects of black-on-black internalized racism and made filmgoers jaws drop and minds reel as black men of varying shades revealed on screen their troubling hatred and alienation for their brothers.  A fine offering was also found in the world-premier of the film Coping With Babylon directed by Oliver Hill.  Coping With Babylon featured interviews with leaders of the Rastafarian movement Ascento Fox, Prince Emmanuel and Barry Chevannes who discussed the present state of the Rastafarian movement and their feelings about the biblical city of Babylon as it relates to the Western world. The film also featured interviews with many Reggae music artists including Freddie McGreggor, Luciano and the incomparable spoken word poet Mutabaruka who recently visited the Bay Area for his first book tour, First Poems/Next Poems held a Marcus Book Store in San Francisco on April 12, where Mutabaruka gave listeners a deeper insight to his poetry and life as a Rastafarian.

The San Francisco Black Film Festival always features films for all tastes.  During this year’s five day festival sixty films from all genres were screened from Africa, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Denmark and the U.S., along with film and screen writing workshops.  Special events like the early morning Champaign and Cinema reception hosted the Melvin Van Peebles Maverick Award which many missed due to the unscheduled venue change.  The awards ceremony this year honored actress Regina King who portrayed the part of Margie Hendricks, the mistress of Ray Charles in the Oscar winning film Ray.  The Pioneer Award was presented to director Michael Schultz whose career spans four decades and includes being a founding member of the off-Broadway theater company, Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).  Schultz, who has inspired many young urban filmmakers, is best known for his films Cooley High (1977 Cannes Film Festival winner), Car Wash, The Last Dragon and Krush Groove.

The climax of the film festival came on closing night June 12, with the short film Black Rock directed by Bay Area filmmaker Kevin Epps (director of the 2002 film Straight Outta Hunters Point) who this time examines the experience of black inmates at the infamous Alcatraz prison.  The full-length   film Bastards Of The Party directed by Cle Sloan chronicles five decades of the ‘Crips’ and ‘Bloods’ gang bangin’ in Southern California and includes an impressive amount of archival footage of the odyssey of black people from the south to the west at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

The San Francisco Black Film Festival is a dedicated organization that provides the most favorable exposure possible to the many talented independent black filmmakers.  Giving them a forum to elevate their films to the next level of mainstream feature films.  All of us in the Bay Area are fortunate to be given the unique opportunity to see and experience the innovative work of black filmmakers from around the world.   More information about the San Francisco Black Film Festival can be found at http://www.sfbff.org