9th Annual URBANWORLD FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2005 SLATE OF
FILMS TO BE SCREENED
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2005
(New York, NY)-The Urbanworld Film Festival announced today
its 9th annual festival, taking place in New York City, June
22-26, 2005, and the roster for official feature, documentary,
short film and music video selections, as well as special screenings. Urbanworld,
screening 71 films this year, is the largest internationally
competitive festival dedicated to the exhibition of independent
cinema by and about people of color.
"Urbanworld has established a reputation for featuring
the best the world of independent urban cinema has to offer,
and this year will be no different. We have producers and
directors who return to premiere their films at Urbanworld year
after year," said Stacy Spikes, founder of Urbanworld. "This
year's slate is representative of the vibrancy and diversity
of perspectives reflected in international film. Urbanworld
is happy to provide a platform for showcasing stories that might
not otherwise be told, and incredibly grateful to the film makers
who choose to share their work with us. We encourage cinephiles
everywhere to join us in this celebration of the best and brightest
in urban moviemaking!"
Highlights of Urbanworld 2005 include:
* Opening Night Premiere of
Roll Bounce, directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring Bow Wow,
Mike Epps and Nick Cannon (Chi McBride, Wesley Jonathan, Megan
Good, Charlie Murphy); - click here for photos
* Closing Night Premiere of
Hustle & Flow, produced by John Singleton, directed by Craig
Brewer, and starring Terrence Dashon Howard, Anthony Anderson
and Ludacris; click here for photos
* World Premiere of Animal,
starring Ving Rhames and Terrence Dashon Howard;
* Special Screening of Constellation,
featuring Hill Harper, Gabrielle Union and Billy Dee Williams;
* Special Screening of Rize,
a documentary directed by David LaChapelle - click here for photos
-http://www.blackfilm.com/20050408/features/fs_rize.shtml
All festival screenings, except for opening and closing night
premieres, will be held at the Loews 34th Street Theaters. Opening
and closing night premieres will both be at Magic Johnson/Loews
Theaters on 125th Street in Harlem.
"HBO is proud to have been a part of Urbanworld from its
beginnings. This film festival has a tremendous track record
for showcasing--and premiering--world class films and film talent," said
Olivia Smashum, EVP Affiliate Marketing, HBO. "HBO
shares Urbanworld's commitment to providing an outlet for both
fledgling and seasoned filmmakers telling stories by and about
people of color. We're excited about this year's slate
of films and look forward to helping Urbanworld deliver a phenomenal
festival to New York's diverse moviegoing audience."
"MTV2 is thrilled to be back supporting Urbanworld for
another year as we have tremendous respect for the quality festival
Stacy and his team have built," said David Cohn, GM, MTV2. "The
partnership between Urbanworld and MTV2 is an extremely powerful
pairing as we both strive to be a launching ground for emerging
talent and share the vision of bringing diversity to the respective
worlds of film and music. We are proud to support Urbanworld
as it adds such a unique element to the landscape of international
film festivals."
9TH ANNUAL URBANWORLD FILM FESTIVAL
2005 ROSTER
Opening Night (WORLD PREMIERE):
ROLL BOUNCE directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Closing Night (NY PREMIERE):
HUSTLE & FLOW directed by Craig Brewer
Other Special Screenings:
Animal directed by David Burke
Rize directed by David LaChapelle
Narrative features in competition include 10 films:
Bullet Boy directed by Saul Dibb
Constellation directed by Jordan Walker-Pearlman
The Hero directed by Zeze Gambao
Proud directed by Mary Pat Kelly
Resurrection: The J. R. Richard Story directed by Greg Carter
Slow Jam King directed by Steven Malloria
Urbanworld directed by Malik Isasis
Documentary features in competition include 14 films:
Code 33 directed by Zachary Werner
Deep Crates directed by Jeremy Weisfield
Heart of a Champion directed by DeVaughn Ali Kahn
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and enjoy it) directed
by Joe Anglo
Just For Kicks directed by Thibault De Longeville
The Karlton Hines Story directed by Troy Reed
Liberia: The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here directed by Gerald
Barclay
Love, Lust, & Lies directed by Gary "Hafiz" George
The MC2: How We Do It directed by Peter Spirer
Street Fight directed by Marshall Curry
Tat's Cru: The Mural Kings directed by Mark Kotlinski
Through the Fire directed by Phil Aromando
Short features in competition include 27 films:
420 Seconds of Love directed by Sarah Walker
A Beautiful Life directed by Kenneth Williams
Among Thieves directed by Oscar Daniels
Barely Buzzed directed by Carter Harris
Breached directed by Laura Richard
Chinese Dream directed by Victor Quinaz
Dragon of Love directed by Doan La
Elephant Boy directed by René Mohandas
El Gran Salto (The Big Leap)
El Otro Sueno Americano (The Other American Dream) directed
by Enrique Arroyo
Flaw and Order directed by Malcolm Goodwin
Fried Rice (Nasi) directed by Nils Mooij
God's Hands directed by Sai Varadan
Yo Tambien Te Quiero (I Like You Too) directed by Jack Zagha
Kababie
In the Morning directed by Danielle Lurie
Induction directed by Elan Glasser
Kiss and Run directed by Hollie Harper
Las Viandas directed by Jose-Antonio Bonet
The Marriage Counselor directed by Nzingha Stewart
My Pet Pinata directed by Curtis Walker
My Purple Fur Coat directed by Kathryn Ann Busby
Para Vestir Santos directed by Armando Casas
Peso directed by James Bang
Secrets Kept directed by Charles Nuckrolls
Show and Tell directed by Chris Dollard
Singapore Girl directed by Li-Anne Hunag
Spam-Ku directed by Steven K. Tsuchida
Victoria Para Chino directed by Cary Fukunaga
Walking on Sunshine directed by Tracy Taylor
Youngster directed by Will Canon
Short documentaries in competition include 7 films:
African-American directed by Askia Holloway
The Ali Experience directed by Nikki Bates
Amps & Young directed by Basia Winograd
Bullets in the Hood directed by Terrence Fisher & Daniel
Howard
Chan: Part of the Nation directed by Joe Kim
Foster Stories directed by Sasha Isaac-Young
Saving Jackie directed by Selena A. Burks
Music videos in competition include 11 clips:
Criminal Mind directed by Skin
Da Principle directed by Skin
Do it for the Dirty directed by Raymond Lynch
Keep On Moving directed by Len Peterson
Let Me directed by RT!
Looking for Love directed by RT!
Saphire Blue directed by Yves Bernadet
Skeet Skeet directed by Jorin Ostroska
System directed by Dawn Wilkinson
Understand if I directed by Skin
Urban Rhapsody directed by Basia Winogard
Urbanworld was launched in August 1997 with 35 films by founder,
Stacy Spikes, a former Miramax executive. HBO continues its support
at the 2005 festival as the Founding Sponsor and MTV2 returns
as an Official Sponsor. Principal Sponsors include NBC4,
blackplanet.com, and MiGente.com. Benefactors include DGA
New York, Westin New York, Kodak, Loews, Magic Johnson Theaters,
and Tribeca Film Center.
The advisory board includes Debbie Allen, Charles Burnett, Michelle
Byrd, Julie Dash, Kenneth "Babyface" and Tracey Edmonds,
Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Franklin, Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson
and LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Rosie Perez, John Pierson, Wesley
Snipes, Nick Wechsler, and Laura Ziskin. Spikes serves
as Chairman Emeritus. Gabrielle Glore and Maria Weaver-Watson
are executive producers.
For more information, visit www.urbanworld.org.
CONTACT: Ebony Shears or Dana Baxter
DIME Media Inc. for Urbanworld
212-460-0516 tel
212-460-0549 fax
ebony@dime-media.com
dana@dime-media.com
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