15th Annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF) Begins Today, August 7 – 12Posted by Wilson Morales
August 7, 2017
The 15th Annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), presented by Run&Shoot Filmworks, will be held on the beautiful beach island of Martha’s Vineyard from August 7 – 12, 2017.
In celebration of 15 years, the MVAAFF will unveil an unmatched program of over 50 original features, documentaries and short films from a collective of filmmakers from across the globe. This year’s festival will be inclusive of poignant panel discussions and conversations, along with highly exclusive events. Registration opens on Monday, August 7, at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center (MVPAC), 100 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Oak Bluffs, MA, from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.
“As we approach our 15th year of the ‘Summer’s Finest Film Festival’ we are beyond excited to continue to applaud extremely talented filmmakers of color. We have reached a very significant benchmark with this festival and look forward to many more years on beautiful Martha’s Vineyard! We are incredibly proud,” states Floyd and Stephanie Rance, founders of the MVAAFF.
Sponsored by HBO (Major Sponsor), Netflix, Amazon Studios, American Heart Association, National Black Programming Consortium, Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University, and Saatchi & Saatchi Global Advertising, the MVAAFF is considered to be a premiere film festival and consistently maintains its mantle of celebrating and supporting artistic endeavors from people of color.
“The MVAAFF is one of the most unique film festivals on the circuit. One that elevates storytellers of color to the highest level and HBO is honored to have supported the festival for the last 14 years and hope to do so for many years to come,” says Lucinda Martinez, SVP, Multicultural & International Marketing, HBO.
The 2017 MVAAFF will kick-off with an extraordinary presentation by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts’ department of digitization and preservation. On Monday, August 7 at 4 p.m. at the MVPAC the museum will preview, from their historical collection, home movies from Cab Calloway, Harlem’s legendary crooner, the late Maurice Sorrell, the first African American member of the White House Photographers Association and civil rights photographer, and the late J. Max Bond, Jr. one of the most influential African American architects in the country.
Immediately following the museum’s preview, the MVAAFF’s exclusive, pre-festival Spotlight Screenings will take place at the MVPAC. From 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Annapurna Pictures will screen Detroit starring John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Civil War). Directed by Oscar-winning Kathryn Bigelow, Detroit encapsulates the 1967 riots, which became one of the most violent revolts in US history. Talk-back to immediately follow with Kathryn Bigelow, moderated by Khalil Muhammad, professor of History, Race and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School – Harvard University. From 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. Amazon Studio’s gritty crime drama, Crown Heights will screen starring Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out, “Atlanta”) as a Brooklyn man who is wrongfully convicted of murder. The film also stars Nnamdi Asomugha (former NFL cornerback) as his friend and only hope at freedom, who fights for more than 20 years to reverse the verdict.
Serving as the festival’s official Opening Night Film will be a special advanced screening of Reginald Hudlin’s (“88th Annual Academy Awards,” Django Unchained) Marshall, presented by Open Road Films, on Tuesday, August 8 at 7 p.m. at the MVPAC. The film, a biographical thriller, stars Chadwick Boseman (Captain America: Civil War, 42) as a young Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases. The MVAAFF’s signature moderated event: “The Color of Conversation” will immediately follow with Reginald Hudlin.
On Wednesday, August 9 at 4:30 p.m. the American Heart Association will present, “Take Me Home.” Directed by Crystal King and Lauren Gray, “Take Me Home” is a series of 12 minute mini-documentaries that feature multicultural influencers who take us back to the neighborhoods where they were raised to explore effects of the social determinants of health on the African American community.
At 7 p.m. at MVPAC, the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University will present a screening of the NAACP Image Award-nominated “Little Ballers” with talk-back to immediately follow with Crystal McCrary, producer, Kym Hampton, former professional basketball player and Dr. Scott Brooks, professor, Arizona State University.
On Thursday, August 10 at 7 p.m. at MVPAC, the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University and Spike Lee will present, the Netflix acquired, Rodney King starring Roger Guenveur Smith (Dope, A Huey P. Newton Story, Do The Right Thing). The performance documentary is the most recent manifestation of Lee and Guenveur Smith’s 30-year creative collaboration. Under Lee’s direction, Guenveur Smith’s one-man demonstration deeply explores and hauntingly appraises the man (and his journey) who was famously caught on tape being beaten by the LAPD on March 3, 1991.
Following the screening, one of the MVAAFF’s most anticipated events, the “Summer White Party” will be held from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. at Lola’s Restaurant, 15 Island Inn Road, Oak Bluffs, MA.
The short film competition, sponsored by HBO (Major Sponsor) and Saatchi & Saatchi Global Advertising, will be held Friday, August 11 from 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the MVPAC. Immediately following, at 5 p.m., HBO will showcase an episode of the network’s inventive and wildly popular series, Issa Rae’s “Insecure” with talk-back featuring Jay Ellis (“The Game,” “Masters of Sex”) and Yvonne Orji (“Jane the Virgin”) moderated by, Isoul Harris, author and journalist. At 7 p.m. HBO’s new four-part documentary series, “The Defiant Ones,” executive produced by Allen Hughes, will screen. Centered on the relationship between Hip Hop mogul Dr. Dre and resident music industry titan Jimmy Iovine, the documentary focuses on the education of the music business following Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014. The series features commentary from Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Nicks. Moderated talk-back to immediately follow with Allen Hughes, director, writer, and executive producer and Dr. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr., director, Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University.
At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 12 at MVPAC, Yance Ford will bring his film, a probing account of a young African-American man’s murder, Strong Island to the MVAAFF. The film, a personal memoir, tells the story of the killing of Ford’s brother and the aftermath with which the entire family had to courageously confront.
Spike Lee will present a preview the Original Netflix series “She’s Gotta Have It” on Saturday, August 12 at 7 p.m. at MVPAC. Based on Lee’s first film, this Spike Lee Joint is a modernized version which explores the journey of the young, adventurous, uninhibited “Nola Darling,” a Brooklynite who casually dates three radically different men. “The Color of Conversation” will immediately follow with Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, executive producers, who will be joined by DeWanda Wise (“Shots Fired,” “Underground”) and other cast members.
All daily screenings and evening events will take place at Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center (MVPAC) unless otherwise noted. Please be advised that all screening and events are subject to change without notice.
For more information on the MVAAFF and for a complete schedule of daytime and evening screenings and special events, please visit www.mvaaff.com.
