2019 closing ceremony
DEACON BROWN’S DAUGHTERS
USA 110 MINS
BEST FEATURE
Back in the day, green-eyed Stanley David Brown was a ladies’ man. Now he’s God’s man, and he’s got a lot of cleaning up to do. But where does an absentee father start in the quest to get to know the children he abandoned? Will they give him a chance to make up for lost time?
Director: CaSandra McLaughlin | Producer: Big Faith Productions
Cast: Raison Thompson, Andromeda Jones, Alacia James, LaDavia, Destini Webb
OLE B.R.Y.C.E.
Feature 2nd Place
USA 2 MINS
In 1968 on the heels of the historic Tuskegee Syphilis Study, two white doctors, Bryce and Feldman launched a secret experiment to find a cure for white mental illness. However, tired of using rats as test subjects, they decided to use Negro men instead. The premise was to see if negro’s (who’s brains were thought to be smaller than whites) had the same mental illness trait of whites.
Director: Eric B Ramsey | Writer: Eric B Ramsey | Producer: Nicole Ramsey
Cast: Tom Sizemore, Rhonda Morman
LARA AND THE BEAT
Feature 3rd Place
NIGERIA 137 MINS
Lara and the Beat is a coming of age movie about the young and beautiful Giwa sisters caught in the centre of a financial scandal with their late parents’ Media Empire. The sisters are forced out of their privileged bubble, and must learn to build their own future – through music and enterprise – to salvage their family’s past.
Director: Tosin Coker | Writer: John Arthur Ingram, Pearl Osibu | Producer: Tolu Olusoga, Tosin Coker, Temi Coker, Aderonke Oshinjobi
Cast: Seyi Shay, Chinedu Ikedieze, Somkele Idhalama, Chioma Chukwuka , Uche Jombo, Olanrewaju Vector Ogunmefun
AMRICA BACK TO THE WILD WILD WEST
USA 120 MINS
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
America Back to The Wild, Wild West is a documentary about Gun violence in America. The film is addressed in five parts; Gun Violence, Open Carry, School Shootings, Second Amendment and Gun Control
Director: Anthony D. Colby | Producer: Anthony D. Colby
Cast: Anthony D. Colby
BLACK MAN
Documentary Feature 2nd Place
USA 85 MINS
A kaleidoscope of raw, riveting, and candid conversations with black men ages 21 to 91 about their lives, their loves, their losses, their America unlike we’ve seen on screen. A small town in Michigan is the backdrop for Black Man, but the stories are Any Town, USA.
Director: Jon Covington | Producer: Jon Wesley Covington
Cast: Stephen Cofield Jr, Lina Green, LeLana Mcwilliams
I WAS ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE
Documentary Feature 3rd Place
USA 90 MINS
A documentary featuring women, Blackness, and central Texas.
Director: Jonathan Nunan | Producer: Jonathan Nunan
Cast: Eboni Staton
TOUGH LOVE SHOW
USA 40 MINS
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Story of how I went Viral trying to reach my son!
Director: Tommy Tucker II| Producer: Tommy Tucker II
Cast: Tommy Tucker II| Producer: Tommy Tucker II
GUMBO
Documentary Short 2nd Place
USA 48 MINS
GUMBO is a documentary that further explains the details of gumbo including the basic components, its historical and cultural implications and the various types of gumbo. This film is told from the filmmaker’s point of view, fully investigate all theories of origin, and provide a variety of preparations and perspectives.
Director: Alyssa Rachelle | Producer: Alyssa Rachelle, Brooke Giles, Kevin Sorrell
Cast: Leah Chase, Lolis Eric Elie, Jessica Harris, Ph.D., Donald Link, PJ Morton
MARKED
Documentary Short 3rd Place
NIGERIA 25 MINS
AIt’s the 21st century, and Henry carries marks of the culture of the Nigerian Yoruba people on his face. Remembering vividly the teasing from schoolmates while growing up, he goes to Oyo town to find out what is left of this almost-extinct tradition of tribal marks.
Director: Henry Ogunjimi | Writer: Henry Ogunjimi | Producer: Henry Ogunjimi
GOYAVE
USA 27 MINS
BEST SHORT
Gregory is a 40-year-old béké, a European white descendant of colonists, and lives with his ill dad. As a béké among black people, Grégory tries to find his place in society in the island of Martinique, when suddenly a general strike starts in February 2009.
Director: Neneb, Christophe Agelan | Writer: Neneb, Philippe Nijean | Producer: Christophe Agelan
Cast: Ingrid Jean-Baptiste, Mehdi Giguet, Zeline Setham, Bernard Domergue
SISTERS
Short 2nd Place
USA 13 MINS
A woman is faced with her worst fear upon learning that her younger sister is in an abusive relationship. In order to keep history from repeating itself, she’ll have to reveal one of her deepest secrets.
Director: Edrei Hutson | Producer: Edrei Hutson
Cast: Aisha Lomax, Shannon Shepherd, Winter Dunn
THE RUNAWAYS
Short 3rd Place
USA 21 MINS
Abused and neglected, Kellee attempts to run away with her boyfriend James only to be chased and cornered by her abusive stepfather Dave. What follows is a series of events that leads to a violent confrontation with the abusive man who terrorizes her life.
Director: Dewey A Ortiz Jr | Writer: Dewey A Ortiz Jr | Producer: Tia Goodson
Cast: Alyse Hamilton, Isaiah Evans, Valeka J. Holt, Bakaari Wilder, Nelson Irizarry
LET YOUR SPIRIT FLOW
USA 6 MINS
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
The Let Your Spirit Flow video aims to inspire unity and mutual respect throughout humanity through the healing power of music. It is based on Roy H. Howard, Jr.’s composition, “Let Your Spirit Flow,” which was inspired by the commonality of the human experiences rather than differences.
Director: Roy H. Howard, Jr. | Producer: Roy H. Howard, Jr.