A Celebration of Black Cinema

The 38th annual Newark Black Film Festival is now underway and will feature weekly screenings of dramas, comedies and documentaries through Aug. 1.  Screenings of films appropriate for younger filmgoers begin July 9 and July 11, with two films showed weekly through Aug. 15.

The festival is sponsored by the Newark Museum, 49 Washington St. in downtown Newark, Bank of America, Amtrak, United Airlines and The Star Ledger. Films will be shown there and at other venues; click here for a complete schedule of offerings or call 973-596-6550 for a brochure. 

The museum, where many of the screenings will be held, is easily accessible via bus and light rail. The museum is also near two NJ Transit rail stops, Broad Street and Penn stations.

The next film is “Boomerang,” starring Eddie Murphy as “Marcus,” a lothario who gets his comeuppance when he meets his new boss, whom Marcus comes to realize is a female version of himself. The screening,  moderated by speaker Warrington Hudlin, will be June 27 at 7 pm. 

This year, there will also be screenings of the winners of the Paul Robeson Awards, a biennial competition begun in 1985 that recognizes up-and-coming African-American filmmakers.

Among this year's winners is S. Epatha Merkerson, one of the longtime stars of the television crime drama "Law and Order." 

The winners will be honored at an award ceremony at the Museum on Aug. 1, beginning at 4:30 pm. The films will then be screened at CityPlex 12 in Newark at 7 pm.
 
The ceremony and screenings are free but pre-registration is required to attend the ceremony. To register, call 973-596-6550, or email at rsvp@newarkmuseum.org.
 
“We are committed to providing a forum for filmmakers who reflect on the African-American experience in a way that goes beyond what is shown in mainstream cinema,” said Gloria Hopkins Buck, Newark Black Film Festival Chair, Newark Museum Trustee and judge.  “The talent and artistry of entrants who compete in the Paul Robeson Awards is outstanding,” she said.

In addition to Buck, judges included:  filmmakers Hisani DuBose, Hafiz Farid, Bobby Guions and Usman Sharif; educators Joyce Anne Judd and Wanda Payne; journalist Eugenia Woody; Executive Director of Women In Media, Pam Morgan; Associate Professor of Film at William Paterson University, Chriss Williams; and Director of Photography Film/Video, Bobby Shepard.
 
More than 30 films were entered in this year’s competition.  The winners were judged in the categories of Long Documentary, Short Documentary, Long Narrative and Short Narrative and Experimental. 
 
The 2012 winners are:
 
Long Documentary – Winner: The Contradictions of Fair Hope
Filmmakers: S. Epatha Merkerson & Rockell Metcalf
Documentary provides a window into the lives of freed slaves who courageously formed benevolent societies in America as they transitioned from slavery to freedom.
 
Long Documentary - Honorable Mention: All Me: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert
Filmmaker: Vivian Ducat
Documentary about a 66 year old artist from SW Georgia who paints with shoe dye on tooled leather, depicting scenes of his youth in the cotton fields and in the Jim Crow South.
 
Short Documentary - Winner: 1st & 4EVER
Filmmaker: Samein Priester
A personal film about becoming a man in the black community without having any examples. 
 
Short Documentary - Honorable Mention: Missing
Filmmakers: Aarion Jackson and William Coldwell
Documentary highlighting the effects of what happens to a family when a father is physically absent from the home.
 
Long Narrative -Winner: The Destiny of Lesser Animals
Filmmaker: Deron Albright
A story of one man’s journey to find his own purpose in the larger post-colonial context ofGhana independence.
 
Long Narrative - Honorable Mention: Probable Cause
Filmmaker: Blue Lion Club
Sometimes you have to look past the evidence to truly understand the crime.
 
Short Narrative - Winner: The Tombs
Filmmaker: Jerry LaMothe
A Brooklyn man’s three-day journey through New York’s central booking jail system.
 
Short Narrative - Honorable Mention: Keeper of the Flame
Filmmaker: Brian Nelson
The enigmatic Mardi Gras Indian culture serves as a pillar in the community and symbol of strength.  When the Big Chief of a prominent Indian tribe dies unexpectedly, leadership challenges emerge.
 
Experimental - Winner DAR HE: The Lynching of Emmett Till
Filmmaker/Director: Rob Underhill
One man performs 36 roles in telling the Emmett Till tragedy, which became a lightning rod for moral outrage and social change in the 1950s.