My PSA for 'Middle of Nowhere'

This post is my personal PSA for the upcoming African American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) film Middle of Nowhere, starring Emayatzy Corinealdi, Omari Hardwick, David Oyelowo, and Lorraine Touissant.

About a week ago I had the awesome pleasure to meet the AMAZING woman behind this film and Middle of Nowhere leading actress. And let me just say both Ava DuVernay & Emayatzy Corinealdi are truly an inspiration beyond words!!

I have literally seen every movie and own one on DVD from what I like to call the AFFRM vault. Each film truly tells a story in such beautiful way that you can't help but feel the actors and what they bring to the screen. Middle of Nowhere is no exception!!

Winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE follows Ruby, a bright medical student who sets aside her dreams and suspends her career when her husband is incarcerated. As the committed couple stares into the hollow end of an eight-year prison sentence, Ruby must learn to live another life, one marked by shame and separation. But through a chance encounter and a stunning betrayal that shakes her to her core, this steadfast wife is soon propelled in new and often shocking directions of self-discovery - caught between two worlds and two men in the search for herself.

The film truly speaks for itself with its engaging and compelling narrative! I would not steer you wrong folks!! So please please take a friend, or two, or three and check this film out!!

Special shout out for all my ATL folks, as it will be playing at the Landmark Midtown. And if you need more information about the film and/or AFFRM check the trailer below and the website AFFRM (African American Film Festival Releasing Movement) .

Middle of Nowhere hits theaters October 12th!!

'Restless City' becomes 4th AFFRM released film!!

And this is why I love the movies!!

Just announced today the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) has acquired the 2011 Sundance Film Festival selection Restless City.

Directed by Andrew Dosunmu, Restless City tells the story of an African immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle, and falling in love is his greatest risk.

A screenplay by Eugene Gussenhoven and produced by Katie Mustard and Matthew Parker, with executive producers Audra Alexxi Jones, Munu Elifituri, David Raymond and Tony Okungbowa. The film stars Sy Alassane, Nicole Grey, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Babs Olusanmokum. Cinematography by Bradford Young, with editing by Oriana Soddu and costumes by Mobolaji Dawodu.

Restless City is AFFRM's fourth feature film joining I Will Follow, Kinyarwanda, and Middle of Nowhere.

The newest AFFRM film will be released April 27th in the following selected cities ATL, LA, and NY!

For more information about the film go to Restless City Film !!

Let's make sure to support folks!!

Check out the official press release below...

Theatrical Distribution Collective Dedicated to

Black Independent Cinema Announces Third Release

RESTLESS CITY

Official Sundance Selection To Be Released April 27, 2012

“In this intense twist on the American Dream, director Andrew Dosunmu vividly captures the pulsating dynamic of New York city's pan-African community, a robust aggregation that subsists amid an often hostile foreign environment. “Restless City” is a mesmerizing glimpse into a culture and community that is only superficially seen by indifferent New Yorkers.” – Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter

Los Angeles, CA (March 1, 2012) – The African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection, RESTLESS CITY. Directed by Andrew Dosunmu, RESTLESS CITY tells the story of an African immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle, and falling in love is his greatest risk. The film will be released in theaters April 27, 2012.

RESTLESS CITY will mark the third feature from African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, the theatrical distribution entity powered by the nation’s top black film organizations. The collective activates quality black independent films with simultaneous theatrical engagements in select cities.

The company’s inaugural feature was the critically-acclaimed drama, “I Will Follow,” released in March 2011, followed by the Sundance Audience Award winner for World Cinema KINYARWANDA on December 2, 2011. Most recently, the collective jointly acquired MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Winner of the Best Director Award, with Participant Media for U.S. theatrical distribution.

"Both in its narrative and visual quality, RESTLESS CITY takes my breath away. Andrew Dosunmu is a brilliant artist who has crafted a stunning, groundbreaking film.” said Ava DuVernay, Founder, African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement. “We’re thrilled to work with Andrew and his passionate team to share this gem with film lovers.”

RESTLESS CITY is directed by Andrew Dosunmu, from a screenplay by Eugene Gussenhoven. Katie Mustard and Matthew Parker produce, with executive producers Audra Alexxi Jones, Munu Elifituri, David Raymond and Tony Okungbowa. The film stars Sy Alassane, Nicole Grey, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Babs Olusanmokun. Cinematography by Bradford Young, with editing by Oriana Soddu and costumes by Mobolaji Dawodu.

The deal was negotiated from African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement by Gordon Bobb of Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein and Lezcano and by Ronna Wallace of Eastgate Pictures for the filmmakers.

History is Made at Sundance Film Festival by Director Ava DuVernay!!

Well if anyone said there is no room for Black Indie film, then they have not met Ms. Ava DuVernay!

She's on a roll!! On last night, Ava DuVernay became the first African-American woman to win US Directing Award: Dramatic for her second feature film, Middle of Nowhere. 

 The movie stars  Emayatzy Corinealdi as a young woman struggling to maintain her identity while her husband (Omari Hardwick) serves an eight year prison sentence.  The groundbreaking director tweeted a pic after her historic win:

Just last week Middle of Nowhere premiered at Sundance, and has received remarkable reviews from critics and audiences alike.  So much so that the film has been picked up for distribution by Participant Media, partnering with DuVernay’s African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) for Middle of Nowhere to be released in theaters later this year. I cannot wait!!

Films like this just prove that there is still quality in the movie industry especially as it relates to African Americans!! 

Black Savant Cinema gives a round of applause to Ava DuVernay, the cast and AFFRM on this outstanding achievement!! 

KUDOS!! Keep doing your thang!!

Another Excellent Film to Support & Put on Your Radar, "KINYARWANDA"

If you missed this year’s Bronze Lens Film Festival in Atlanta, GA then you missed out on a plethora of goodies. One in particular was the film that won Best International Film KINYARWANDA, directed by Alrick Brown (Rwanda/USA). 

AFFRM, the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, is pleased to announce that it will open its second film, KINYARWANDA, in theaters on Friday, December 2 in eight cities nationwide. 

During the Rwandan genocide, when neighbors killed neighbors and friends betrayed friends, some crossed lines of hatred to protect each other.

At the time of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Mufti of Rwanda, the most respected Muslim leader in the country, issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from participating in the killing of the Tutsi. As the country became a slaughterhouse, mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis came together to protect each other. KINYARWANDA is based on true accounts from survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the madrassa of Nyanza. It recounts how the Imams opened the doors of the mosques to give refuge to the Tutsi and those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing.

KINYARWANDA interweaves six different tales that together form one grand narrative that provides the most complex and real depiction yet presented of human resilience and life during the genocide. With an amalgamation of characters, we pay homage to many, using the voices of a few.

Writer/director Alrick Brown’s compelling feature directorial debut garnered the Sundance Film Festival 2011 Audience Award in the World Cinema Drama category this year, and captured the Grand Prize at the lauded Skip City Film Festival in Japan last week.

KINYARWANDA definitely needs your support once it hits the mainstream theaters. Just like there was a huge success with AFFRM’s inaugural release the award-winning film, I WILL FOLLOW, (which opened March 2011 in more than 20 cities during its seven week run.) The same energy and some needs to go into this film as well!!

If you don’t believe me check out the trailer…

KINYARWANDA will be released in AFFRM’s founding markets: New York (AMC Empire 25), Los Angeles (LAEMMLE Music Hall), Atlanta (AMC Phipps Plaza), Philadelphia (AMC Franklin Mills) and Seattle (Uptown Theater).  In addition, three new opening week cities have been added: Chicago (AMC River East), Washington DC (AMC Hoffman) and San Francisco.

"KINYARWANDA brings the victims and killers together as they seek to find a place of forgiveness in their hearts so that their country can survive and move forward.  This film, although dealing with an intense subject, is not graphic with violence, but full of emotional depth and hope as a country seeks to heal."

To find out more about this engaging and mesmerizing film please check out the website at http://www.kinyarwandamovie.com/ . You will not be disappointed at all!!