The eighth annual Capital City Black Film Festival (CCBFF) will return with Black-ish star and executive-producer, Anthony Anderson as the celebrity ambassador. Anderson is a four time NAACP Image Award nominee and has appeared in various television shows and over 20 films over the course of his career including Michael Bay’s Transformers and Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning feature, The Departed. Currently, Anderson is the host of ABC’s game show To Tell the Truth. He can also be seen in Netflix’s Beats, Barbershop: The Next Cut, and the Sundance film Goats.
This year, the Capital City Black film festival will take place virtually Friday, Dec. 4th to Saturday, Dec. 5th. “Breakthrough Unleash Your Power” is the title of the theme. The festival will focus on mental health within the Black community and feature 65 films in various categories in the lineup. This theme really resonated with Anderson and he spoke about why he was passionate about forums like CCBFF where like minded individuals from different walks of life can come together to share stories and why this film festival is so powerful.
Anderson says, “Being able to create and control your own narrative and not having someone else do that for you is power. We need to harness that and we need to unleash that to the world. That is what I embody, so of course I wanted to become a part of a festival highlights that. It’s all about realizing what your power is harnessing that and unleashing that onto the world. If we can do that as a community, just imagine how much more powerful we can be. That’s why I wanted to become involved with this festival.”
Mental health is a theme that has been highlighted for many of us during these difficult times. With everything going on including racial violence, a global pandemic that disproportionately affects black people, and the sensitivities around the presidential election, it is essential for film festivals and other collaborative platforms to focus on mental health, especially during a pandemic when we’re all stuck in our homes and forced to deal with it. Anderson emphasized the need to understand and manage mental illness head on as a community saying,
“It should always be important for us to talk about mental health within our community. Not addressing it only exacerbates issues going on within households and the community. Mental illness isn’t something we should be ashamed about; it’s a reality. I have a half sister, a very brilliant young lady, that has severe mental issues that she has trouble coping with, and having forums like this gives us a palace to talk about these issues and let people know that there is a community out there that cares about them and is willing to help. It is also important to be honest about the pain as well as the joy that surrounds those with mental illness. It’s also not always something that is sad or negative. Many people who suffer from mental illness have beautiful spirits and brilliant minds. We should be celebrating that as well. It’s all about support, understanding, and help.”
Blackish, the show Anderson stars in has been running for 7 seasons on ABC. It’s a television show that resonates not only with black culture, but culture around the world. A few years ago, the series aired an episode that focused on port partum depression. This episode showcased how effective it is when platforms discuss mental health and display healthy examples of how to approach loved ones with mental illness. Anderson believes utilizing his platform is all about giving chance and opportunity, and that’s what platforms like Blackish and CCBFF do. They promote from within and give people of color the opportunity to create and showcase their art. He stressed the idea that it is the responsibility of fellow Black creatives who have a platform to afford it to others and pay it forward.
The Blackish star explains, “We’re story tellers first and foremost, and in telling our stories we’re shining a light on things that may not normally be addressed, so it’s important for us to tell our stories as truthfully and as authentically as we possibly can. That’s how we spread awareness about issues that need our attention. The role that we play is very big for those reasons: sharing information, building a community of knowledge and understanding…For so long we weren’t given the chance or provided the opportunity to tell our stories and unleash this power that we have, so it’s my responsibility to use my platform to give that chance and opportunity to the next generation of Black filmmakers and creators.”
Fans of Anderson and those interested in mental health in film can purchase tickets to The Capital City Black Film Festival on their website, Capcitybff.com where you can catch Anderson on Saturday, December 5th as well as a number of films by Black filmmakers that will be showcased throughout the two day event.
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