19th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival PreviewPosted by Wilson Morales
September 23, 2015
The 19th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival (https://www.urbanworld.org) begins today (September 23-27, 2015) at Manhattan’s AMC Empire 25 on 234 West 42nd Street. Presented by BET Networks (BET) with founding sponsor HBO, the nation’s largest competitive multicultural film festival will screen over 80 films .
BET’s Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ will serve as the opening night film at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23. The biographical tribute to the former heavyweight champion, directed and executive produced by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah, will connect the fighter’s boxing prowess as well as his social media activism, to the millennial audience to reveal Ali’s meaning in the world today.
Premiering on BET Wednesday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, the special features exclusive interviews with family, friends and admirers including Muhammad Ali’s daughter and niece Laila Ali and Shaya Ali, LL Cool J, Ludacris, T.I., Nas, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Ray Lewis, Tyrese, Rosie Perez, David Banner, Michael Eric Dyson, Billie Jean King, Walt Frazier, Jim Brown, Ronnie Essett, Sway Calloway, Wood Harris, Jeffrey T. Sammons, Godfrey C. Danchimah, Richard Sherman, J. Ivy and Common. A Q&A with filmmakers will follow.
A Ballerina’s Tale will close the festival on Saturday, September 26 at 8:30pm. The film is an intimate look at a crucial period in the career of principal dancer Misty Copeland of American Ballet Theatre (ABT). It follows Misty from her triumphant lead performance in Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center through her painful injury and recovery that followed, to her return to ABT and subsequent pop cultural icon status.
The documentary, directed by Nelson George, also examines issues of race and body image in the elite ballet world. Sundance Selects will release the film theatrically and on VOD on October 14. After the screening, there will be a Q&A with Copeland and George.
In addition to BET Networks and HBO, the festival proudly partners with brands who are committed to Urbanworld’s mission. Comcast NBC Universal Telemundo and Time Warner serve as Premiere sponsors. Industry Circle sponsors include Fox Audience Strategy, Fox Global Directors Initiative, Interactive One, VH1, UMC, The Swirl Group, MoviePass, The Directors Guild of America, and AMC. Uptown, Hello Beautiful, Global Grind, NewsOne, TheUrbanDaily and Power 105 are media sponsors.
For additional announcements in September, go to www.urbanworld.org.
URBANWORLD 2015 FILM SLATE
OPENING NIGHT FILM
Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champ – Directed by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons &
Chike Ozah (USA) – Presented by BET Networks
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
A Ballerina’s Tale – Directed by Nelson George (USA) – Presented by Sundance
Selects
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets – Directed by Marc Silver (USA) – Presented by HBO
In 3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets, two lives intersected and were forever altered. On Black Friday 2012, two cars parked next to each other at a Florida gas station. A white middle-aged male and a black teenager exchanged angry words over the volume of the music in the boy’s car. A gun entered the exchange, and one of them was left dead. Michael Dunn fired 10 bullets at a car full of unarmed teenagers and then fled. Three of those bullets hit 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who died at the scene. Arrested the next day, Dunn claimed he shot in self-defense. Thus began the long journey of unraveling the truth. 3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets follows that journey, reconstructing the night of the murder and revealing how hidden racial prejudice can result in tragedy.
Stretch & Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives – Directed by Bobbito Garcia (USA)
During the 1990s, Stretch and Bobbito introduced the world to an unsigned Nas, Biggie, Wu-Tang, and Big Pun, as well as an unknown Jay Z, Eminem, and the Fugees. The total record sales for all the artists that premiered on their show exceed 300 million. The late-night program had a cult following in the art/fashion world and prison population as well. All would loyally tune in for the offbeat humor just as much for the exclusive tunes. Stretch and Bobbito brought a unique audience together, and created a platform that changed music forever.
The Man In 3B – Directed by Trey Haley (USA) – East Coast Premiere
Based on the characters from New York Times Best Selling author Carl Weber’s novel ‘The Man In 3B’ …. Darryl Graham (Lamman Rucker) has just moved into a Jamaica, Queens apartment building and his neighbors, both male and female alike, can’t stop talking about him. He immediately becomes intertwined in each of the tenants’ lives… but when a murder happens in the building everyone becomes a prime suspect.
Starring Lamman Rucker, Christian Keyes, Brely Evans, Anthony Montgomery, Robert Ri’chard, DB Woodside, Kellita Smith, James Black, Olivia Longott, Trisha Mann, with Jackee Harry, Marla Gibbs and Billy Dee Williams.
NARRATIVE FEATURE FILMS
After School – Directed by Carlos Melendez & Mauricio Mendoza (USA) – New York Premiere
A Girl Like Grace – Directed by Ty Hodges (USA) – New York Premiere
The film stars Ryan Destiny, Meagan Good, Garcelle Beauvais, Raven-Symone, Romeo Miller, Blair Redford, Marcus Lyle Brown, Leticia Jimenez and Paige Hurd.
A Girl Like Grace, follows seventeen-year-old “Grace” (Ryan Destiny), who grows up in a dysfunctional home raised by her single mother “Lisa” (Garcelle Beauvais). Entering her senior year of high school, Grace fights for acceptance in the world while being bullied at school by “Mary” (Raven Symone). Grace looks for guidance from her best friend “Andrea” (Paige Hurd) and becomes heavily influenced by Andrea’s older sister “Share” (Meagan Good). Grace spirals into a dark world of sex, rebellion and her idea of womanhood. Faced with life’s cruelty, Grace must find a way to make peace with herself and claim her own beauty in this gritty yet relatable coming-of-age story.
Breaking Through – Directed by John Swetnam (USA) – US Premiere
When Casey, a dancer who is discovered on YouTube, gets thrust into the modern world of internet celebrity and culture, she must find a way to balance her true identity with her online persona, or risk losing everything she cares about.
Carmin Tropical – Directed by Rigoberto Perezcano (Mexico) – New York Premiere – Presented by NewFest in Partnership with Outfest
This mesmerizing mystery delves deep into the heart, mind, and soul of Mabel, a Mexican muxe (transwoman) who revives past demons when she comes face to face with the people, places, and memories of a faraway life. After learning that her dear friend Daniela has suddenly died, Mabel travels back to her hometown of Juchitán only to discover that everything is both the same and different at once. As she cautiously navigates her old haunting grounds, we learn more about the life she left behind and the senseless violence that reigns in all areas of her former home. She soon finds herself immersed in a tale of crime and passion that reveals shocking moments of emotional turmoil and unadulterated truth.
Chapter & Verse – Directed by Jamal Joseph (USA) – World Premiere
Upon his return from serving a ten-year sentence in prison, reformed gang leader, S. Lance Ingram, struggles to adapt to a changed Harlem. Unable to use the technological skills he acquired in jail, Lance is forced to accept a position delivering meals for a local food bank. It is here that he befriends Ms. Maddy, 75, a past beauty with a irreverent and hardened shell to whom he delivers dinners. Through her, Lance finds hope, relearning the joys of life and living despite the outwardly bedeviled society in which they find themselves.
Flow – Directed by Fenar Ahmad (Denmark) – US Premiere
Michael lives in a housing project. He and his friends make music together. Michael is clearly the biggest talent in the group, and one day he is discovered by the established rapper Apollo who makes Michael his ghostwriter. A big opportunity for Michael, this also means moving forward without his friends and breaking the unwritten rule of loyalty. Michael focuses on his music, hoping that the situation will resolve itself. As his friends lose their patience, a dramatic showdown is inevitable.
Honeytrap – Directed Rebecca Johnson (UK) – New York Premiere
Layla arrives in Brixton from Trinidad, full of fantasies about her new life ahead but she soon realises she is an outsider, both at home and among her peers. She finds a friend in underdog Shaun but yearns for status and belonging. Rescue comes in the dazzling form of local top boy Troy, who sweeps her off her feet into a world of romance. But when Troy dumps her, she is left heart-broken and socially shunned. Layla vows to rebuild herself as a hardened player in order to win Troy back and Shaun becomes a pawn in her game. A rarely seen female perspective on gang culture, Honeytrap is authentically local in setting but universal in its themes of passion, jealousy and revenge.
Knucklehead – Directed by Ben Bowman (USA)
Cast: Gbenga Akinnagbe, Alfre Woodard, Amari Cheatom, Justin Myrick, Nikiya Mathis, Carla Duren
When his brother is shot, mentally disabled Langston Bellows (Gbenga Akinnagbe) is left without a protector in Brooklyn’s housing projects. Now under the control of his abusive mother (Alfre Woodard) he must take his future into his own hands. Langston strives for independence from his prior life, from his mother, and from his fractured mind.
Last Night – Directed by Harold Jackson III (USA)
Love at first sight wouldn’t appear to stand a chance when Jon (Gavigan), a young would-be businessman at loose ends in his career, spots knockout fashion model and downright cranky Sky (Blair) in a Washington, D.C., coffee shop. He’s loopy and impulsive; she’s all but engaged to her upwardly mobile rock-steady boyfriend Daniel (Benton Greene). In the romantic spirit of BEFORE SUNRISE, LAST NIGHT spins an unexpected adventure when verbal sparring takes an intimate turn into soul-baring disclosures between strangers who might never meet again
Pocha – Directed by Michael Dwyer (USA) – New York Premiere
After being deported from the USA for credi t card fraud, Claudia (22) is forced to go to her estranged father’s cattle ranch in northern México. Str uggling to adapt to family and a way of life she has never known, she partners with a smuggler who promis es to get her back to America if she helps him trespass on her family’s ranch.
Primero De Enero (January 1st) – Directed by Erika Bagnarello (Dominican Republic) – New York Premiere
When a 12-year-old boy learns that his father’s beloved piano is stolen, he and his two best friends set out on an exciting, cross-country journey through beautiful DOminican Republic to bring it back home before January 1st.
Riding 79 – Directed by Karola Hawk Gonzalez (Puerto Rico) – New York Premiere
Riding 79 is a coming of age movie set in magical Puerto Rico. it’s 1979 and Miguel is about to go on the ride of his life to meet his dream girl Stella.
Somewhere In The Middle – Directed by Lanre Olabisi (USA) – New York Premiere
Four lovers collide into each others’ lives as one marriage morphs into several intertwining affairs. SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE was born out of a year long improvisational process in which the actors and director mutually crafted an ensemble drama. Structured like a jigsaw puzzle, no character fully grasps their current dilemma as interwoven stories are retold from varying viewpoints.
The Stockroom – Directed by Victor Cruz (USA) – World Premiere
Cast includes Victor Cruz, April Hernandez Castillo, Luis Antonio Ramos, Liza Colon-Zayas, and Tracy Perez as “Lilly”.
The year is 1998. Our story follows Joseph Rodriguez, a stockroom supervisor who once had a dream to be a stand-up comic. After a failed promotion, his original dream begins to resurface. Urban legend tells us, if you’ve been in the stockroom for ten years or more, you’ll never leave. Joseph is about to hit that mark and he’ll have to decide what he is going to do with his life before the clock strikes midnight.
The Two Of Us – Directed by Ernest Nkosi (South Africa) – New York Premiere
Set in Alexandra township, South Africa, a brother and sister journey through life knowing they have no one but each other. Schoolgirl Zanele falls in love with an older man where a series of events are set in motion and reveal much more.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMS
Anatomy of a Dress – Directed by Flora Pérez-Garay (Puerto Rico) – New York
Premiere
Can You Dig This – Directed by Delila Vallot (USA) – New York Premiere
Dramatic Escape – Directed by Nick Quested (USA) – World Premiere
Hate Crimes in the Heartland – Directed by Rachel Lyon (USA)
In Football We Trust – Co-Directed by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn (USA) –
New York Premiere
Romeo is Bleeding – Directed by Jason Zeldes (USA)
Tap World – Directed by Dean Hargrove (USA)
We Like It Like That – Directed by Mathew Ramirez Warren (USA) – New York
Premiere
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
By Jamal Joseph: A Life Transformed by the Arts – Directed by Mike De Caro
(USA) – World Premiere
Looking at the Stars – Directed by Alexandre Peralta (Brazil) – New York
Premiere
Quest for Cuba: Questlove Brings the Funk to Havana – Directed by Jauretsi &
Daniel Petruzzi (USA) – Presented by Okayplayer Films & Jill Newman
Productions
NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS
#American – Directed by Nate Parker (USA) – New York Premiere
1440 & Counting – Directed by Tony Gapastione (USA) – New York Premiere
2nd Life – Directed by Jake Alexander McAfee (USA) – New York Premiere
Ackee & Saltfish – Directed by Cecile Meke (UK)
About That… – Directed by Damien Smith (USA) – New York Premiere
Amishi – Directed by Malinda Kaur (UK)
Ana – Directed by Renee Marie Petropoulos (USA) – New York Premiere
Bad Hunter – Directed by Sahim Omar Kalifa (Belgium) – New York Premiere
Beyond The Passage – Directed by Terrence Jones (USA) – New York Premiere
Blackcard – Directed by Pete Chatmon (USA)
Boxed In – Directed by Tasha Smith (USA) – New York Premiere
Charlotte – Directed by Angel Kristi Williams (USA) – New York Premiere
Clean – Directed by Gabriel Wilson (USA) – World Premiere
Debt to Society – Directed by Tristan Daley (USA) – New York Premiere
Dream – Directed by Nijla Mu’min (USA) – New York Premiere
Dubois – Directed by Kaz Ové (Trinidad & Tobago) – New York Premiere
Fanta Face – Directed by Yaa Boaa Aning (USA) – World Premiere
Forgiving Chris Brown – Directed by Marquette Jones (USA) – World Premiere
Gang – Directed by Clayton Vomero (USA) – US Premiere
Human Behavior – Directed by Carey WIlliams – New York Premiere
In the Clouds – Directed by Marcelo Mitnik (Argentina) – New York Premiere
King of Guangzhou – Directed by Quester Hannah (China)
Late Expectations – Directed by Laurie Arakaki (USA) – World Premiere
Lia – Directed by Ethosheia Hylton (UK) – World Premiere
Love for Passion – Directed by Nathan Hale Williams (USA)
Mandala – Directed by Guan Xi (China) – New York Premiere
Marianne – Directed by Tomisin Adepeju (UK) – New York Premiere
Only Light – Directed by Evita Castine (USA)
Roubado – Directed by Erica A. Watson (USA) – New York Premiere
Since I Laid Eyes – Directed by Adel Morales
South Arcadia Street – Directed by Melanie D’Andrea (USA) – New York
Premiere
Standing8 – Directed by Michael Molina Minard (USA)
Stanhope – Directed by Solvan Naim (USA) – New York Premiere
Stomach – Directed by Javier Kühn (UK/Spain) – World Premiere
Taking Chance – Directed by Jerry Lamothe (USA) – World Premiere
Tap Shoes & Violins – Directed by Dax Brooks (USA) – New York Premiere
The Call – Directed by Zamo Mkhwanazi (USA) – New York Premiere
The Cycle – Directed by Michael Marantz (USA) – New York Premiere
The Loyalist – Directed by Minji Kang (South Korea)
The Reunion – Directed by Carmen Elly Wilkerson (USA) – New York Premiere
The Trade – Directed by Michael A. Pinckney (USA) – World Premiere
The Trophy Thief – Directed by Dave Edwardz (USA) – New York Premiere
The Walk – Directed by Alonso Alvarez Barreda (Mexico) – New York Premiere
The Waltz – Directed by Trevor Zhou (USA) – World Premiere
Times of Competition – Directed by Toti Loureiro & Ruy Prado (Brazil) – New
York Premiere
Tough – Directed by Alfonso Johnson (USA) – New York Premiere
Wait Till the Wolves Make Nice – Directed by Jess dela Merced (USA) – New
York Premiere
Wayward – Directed by Kira Richards Hansen (Denmark) – New York Premiere
Welcoming Arms – Directed by Roseanne Ma (USA) – New York Premiere
When Fragile Things Break – Directed by Shanika Warren-Markland (USA) – New
York Premiere
