The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival is pleased to co-sponsor the August 2009 Seattle Art Museum Remix event!

Celebrate Summer at the Olympic Sculpture Park! Join SAM on Friday, August 7, for a unique late-night mashup of art, music, dancing, spoken word and after-dark tours in a social atmosphere. Highlights will include a sunset performance by poet Roberto Ascalon and musician Paul Rucker, DJ sets by Colby b and DJ Freddy King of Pants, live music performances curated by Decibel, and a comics drawing rally with Friends of the Nib.

Tickets: SAM members $5, nonmembers $10, students $8. Purchase tickets at any of SAM's three sites, over the phone by calling the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121, or at the door the night of the event. This event is open to guests age 18 and over only, and the first 100 guests at the door get in FREE.

Date: 8/7/2009

Time: 8 pm–midnight

Location: Olympic Sculpture Park The night's activities include: A special collaborative sunset performance by poet Roberto Ascalon and musician Paul Rucker beside Alexander Calder's Eagle at 8:30 pm. A stage of internationally renowned recording artists curated by the Decibel Festival in the PACCAR Pavilion, including Rena Jones (Portland) at 9 pm, Filastine (Barcelona) and DJ Collage (Seattle) at 10 pm, and Lusine (Seattle) at 11 pm. The stage will also feature interactive projections from some of Seattle’s most respected digital video artists. Tours of the park after dark with the Strangers: Bethany Jean Clement, Jen Graves, Charles Mudede, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee and Lindy West. A comics drawing rally with Friends of the Nib in the Alvord Art Lab all night. DJ Freddy King of Pants mashing up mixes and DJ Colby b spinning her stellar set in the park beginning at 8 pm. Innovative street moves by the Breakdancing Ninja Clan on the PACCAR Pavilion's south terrace.

SAM is proud to have Pacific Northwest Ballet Backstage Pass, Canoe Social Club, Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas, Decibel Festival, EMP|SFM, Girl Power Hour, Great City, Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, Northwest African American Fine Arts Association, NW NOMA -- National Organization of Minority Architects, Out for Sustainability, Sustainable Belltown, Sustainable Seattle and Three Dollar Bill Cinema as our August SAM Remix cohosts.

CALLEJON - a production of the African ConeXion project: original, bilingual Afro-Peruvian musical

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center
Special Events

Callejon

Date: June 3 - June 14
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $12 Adults, $6 Students & Seniors

An original bilingual musical with Teatro Del Milenio of Peru. Blends Afro-Peruvian rhythms with African American beats. Shows are Thursday thru Sunday from June 3rd to June 14th, 7:30pm.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

SPECIAL PARTNERSHIP FEBRUARY SAFE HOUSE SCREENING

REBIRTH OF A NATION
Experimental - 94min
Director-Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky
Date: Sunday, February 8
Time: 2PM
Location: Seattle Art Museum
Pletscheeff Auditorium
1300 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101-2003
FREE

In honor of Black History Month, the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival and the Seattle Art Museum are partners in presenting a special free screening of the film Rebirth of a Nation by Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid).

The film is a 'remix' of D.W. Griffith's 1915 "Birth of a Nation" that was highly controversial due to its graphic portrayal of racism in the post-Civil War south. Miller's remix deconstructs one of the most influential and inflammatory movies ever made, while drawing striking parallels to present socio-political conflicts in America. The film includes Paul's original score, performed by Kronos Quartet.

Community post-screening discussion facilitated by Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Seattle Art Museum Kayla Skinner Deputy Director of Education + Public Programs/Adjunct Curator

Vancouver Pan African Film Festival (Canada), October 24-26!

http://www.vpaff.org

2nd ANNUAL VANCOUVER PAN-AFRICAN FILM & ARTS FESTIVAL (VPAFF)
OCTOBER 24 TO 26, 2008 PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

Vancouver, B.C. September 29, 2008 ... U. Ebony Johnson, a Nanaimo native has combined her award-winning talent - and personal tragedies - to communicate, with a passion for her African roots, and to produce the second annual Vancouver Pan-African Film and Arts Festival to be held October 24 to 26 in Vancouver. With cutting-edge films, a moving concert of African music, panel discussions, workshops and dance, Ms. Johnson plans to make this year's Festival the best yet. Actor and filmmaker Danny Glover will make a guest appearance.

"With the Province of British Columbia and both the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby declaring October 24 to 26 as "Kinship Day" and the generous support of our sponsors, my goal of breaking down barriers between cultures is closer than ever" said Ms. Johnson, who also speaks French and Japanese and hosts her own world beat music show on-line Afrobeat. "The purpose of the VPAFF is to promote Canada's cultural diversity and to build community through the arts".

Last year's inaugural VPAFF (held October 26 & 27) was a great success - and an historic event. It was endorsed by all levels of government, including Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada, Michaelle Jean. Moreover, the event attracted international attention to Vancouver, and included government delegates from Africa and the U.S., as well as distinguished guests, Ambassador Andrew Young and entourage, renowned American filmmaker Charles Burnett, and Government of Namibia officials.

The 2008 VPAFF runs from Friday October 24 (United Nations Day) through Sunday October 26. The program includes:

FRIDAY OCTOBER 24:

Opening Night Festivities. An exciting evening of fun, food, music, dance and film. Hollywood star and human rights activist Danny Glover is expected to introduce his new film, Poor Boy's Game. Other entertainment includes famous African dancer/choreographer Bheki Ndlovu and DJ Diallo.

Raffle items include trips, Translink passes, Whistler/Blackcomb tickets, shopping gift cards, a beautiful Zimbabwean sculpture donated by Stone Age Art and more. 5:30 PM to 10 pm, Gallery Gachet, 88 East Cordova St. Tickets $25 on-line via www.vpaff.com

SATURDAY OCTOBER 25: Harbour Centre Simon Fraser University, Downtown
11 am to 6 pm

* Films

- Senator Obama Goes to Africa – Directed by Bob Hercules and produced by Keith Walker.

- African Women Join Hands Against Domestic Violence, Produced and Directed by Steven Hunt

- Moving Pictures, Moving Lives

- The Reel PanAfriCAN SoundsCAPE Videos: Stunning, Canada-South Africa co-production combining interactive film, music, dance and dialogue with participating audiences in both Canada and South Africa to explore issues of migration, multiculturalism and the role of the artist in promoting cross-cultural understanding. Director Sarah Van Borek divides her time between Vancouver and Johannesburg on this unique project. Ebony Johnson is proud to present the Canadian premiere of these videos through the VPAFF platform she has founded.

* Paintings

- 7 intriguing new works on the topic of Kinship created specially for the festival by international artist Garett Campbell-Wilson.

* Music & Dance – All Aboard the VPAFF Express on Sunday at 11 am – 12:30 pm

SUNDAY OCTOBER 26

Simultaneous Broadcast With South Africa 11 am to 3 pm

o Using Internet video technology, this event links Vancouver audience members directly with people in Cape Town, South Africa in a creative conversation. First there is a two-hour workshop of African song and dance staged on both continents going from 11 am to 12:30 pm. At 1 pm five short films will be screened and seen by both Vancouver and Cape Town audiences. These films were made by artists who emigrated from other parts of Africa and who experienced severe animosity as they attempted to make a new home.
o This two-hour ground breaking event will be led on each side by a vibrant MC to create an interactive expression of African unity, understanding and international cooperation.

Panel Discussion 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Say NO To Stigma: a discussion of refugee rights, resilience and reconciliation with panel members that include academics, diplomats, educator, activist s and filmmakers.

Feature Film: God Grew Tired Of Us - 5 pm to 7 pm

The winner of both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival – God Grew Tired of Us, the story features The Lost Boys of Sudan. This powerful documentary tells the story of four boys ages 3 to 13 orphaned by a civil war.

Fleeing their villages, they formed a surrogate family, protecting and providing for each other, traveling together for 5 years, over thousands of miles, against all odds reaching a UN refugee camp in Kenya. Eventually they were selected to settle in the United States by a humanitarian aid organization.

Tickets for the Vancouver Pan-African Film and Arts Festival are on sale now at www.vpaff.org.

Sponsors include: City Of Vancouver, Corus Entertainment TV Listings, Line One Computer Services, Simon Fraser University, Ethical Bean, the Law Courts Education Society of B.C.; Gallery Gachet, CBC Radio and TV, Omni Television, Shaw Multicultural Television, PublicityPlus and more.


FOR MORE INFORMATION: castyourself@vpaff.org, Festival Office 604-422-8438. www.vpaff.org

LHAAFF partners with the NW Film Forum to present two films about African American popular music

WATTSTAX

at the Northwest Film Forum, June 8-June 12. Showtimes at 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM.

1515 12th Ave, Seattle WA 98122
Phone: (206)329-2629
Fax: (206)329-1193
Located on Capitol Hill between Pike and Pine.

http://www.nwfilmforum.org/cinemas/calendar.php#wattstax

Co-presented by the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center African American Film Festival
Sponsored by Easy Street Records
(Mel Stuart, USA, 1973, 35mm, 98 min)

A legendary concert film, WATTSTAX documents the Woodstock of black America. The Stax label, along with Tamala Motown, was one of the greats of American soul, funk and R&B recording. With a lineup that included such greats as Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MGs, the Emotions and many more, the Stax label oozes cool. WATTSTAX represents both a fantastic timepiece and a prophetic look into the future. Held in 1972 to commemorate the 1965 Watts riots, the concert "drew an overwhelmingly African-American crowd of 100,000 and turned into a memorable black-pride event," according to the BALTIMORE CITY PAPER. Director Mel Stuart not only focuses on the big names on the Coliseum's stage but also takes his camera out into the community, watching and listening to Watts residents talk about everyday life in the inner city.

and
RESPECT YOURSELF: THE STAX RECORDS STORY
June 8-June 12. Showtimes at 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM.

Co-presented by the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center African American Film Festival
Sponsored by Easy Street Records
(Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon, 2007, USA, BETA, 115 min)

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stax Records, Morgan Neville (THE COOL SCHOOL) and Robert Gordon (MUDDY WATERS: CAN'T BE SATISFIED) made a chronicle of the rise of the Memphis soul label that changed the world. RESPECT YOURSELF is jammed with amazing archival rarities, live performances, forgotten TV appearances, home movies, news footage and lost recordings of all the legendary Stax artists -- from Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes to Booker T & the MG's, Sam & Dave and The Staples Singers. Their definitive film is also a story of the civil rights movement and how the music created at Stax mirrored the glories and pains of that struggle.

American Ethnic Cleansing Explored in “Banished”, November 2nd

Groups Work Together to Host Seattle Premiere of Critically Acclaimed Film

Seattle, WA – Filmmaker Marco Williams will be on hand to discuss his widely acclaimed documentary, “Banished” as part of the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Underground Railroad Film Series in partnership with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights and the Seattle Art Museum. The film will screen for the community Friday, November 2^nd at 1PM at the Seattle Art Museum and 7pm at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. Williams will also participate as guest speaker in the Seattle Race Conference held on Saturday, November 3 at the Seattle Center. Both events are open to the public.

BANISHED chronicles both the history and legacy of three southern Counties who practiced violent eviction of Black communities, burning their homes, lynching the men and appropriating their land.

New York Times writer Manhola Dargis describes this infamous period in history as a time when “Reconstruction died, and Jim Crow moved right in.” Director Marco Williams’ film patiently addresses this American tragedy with an unflinching and thoughtful investigation of racism, responsibility and land ownership.

The film not only reflects on the past, but also explores the impact on the descendants of these communities whose combination of silence and shame beg the questions of history, memory and contemporary justice। Throughout the film, Williams searches the recollections of current and past residents whose stories reveal the resident’s myopic sensibility, which keeps these towns mostly white today. Williams’ film delves into the impact of these violent expulsions and reframes the notion of reparations, providing thoughtful context to this complex subject.

The three counties studied, Forsyth County (Georgia), Pierce City (Missouri) and Harrison (Arkansas) remain virtually all white and their victims’ descendants remain uncompensated.
Filmmaker Marco Williams interviews both groups. Described as handsome, soft-spoken, articulate and unfailingly polite, critics site Williams as the perfect foil for drawing out KKK members and guilty liberals alike. He takes an incendiary subject and through force of personality weaves a thoughtful investigation of racism, responsibility and real estate.

Williams will be on hand Friday evening to introduce the film. The screening will be followed with discussion hosted by the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival and partners at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. On Saturday, Williams will participate in the Seattle Race Conference, bringing excerpts of the film and inviting the conference's 300 participants to reflect on the work. Williams and co producers Working Films and the Center for Investigative Reporting have launched a national outreach program to discuss the issues raised in the film.

The Race Conference keynote will be presented by Dr. James Gregory, Director of the University of Washington Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project with presentation titled, "Remembering Segregated Seattle and the Civil Rights Movements that Changed Our City. This screening, community discussion and connection to the Seattle Race Conference will provide a powerful platform for Seattle and King County audiences to address our history and provide context for the issues of racism faced yet today across the country and in our own back yard.

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival and Underground Railroad Film Series are programs of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. The Seattle Race Conference is presented by a coalition of community groups in partnership with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and the Seattle Center. The Seattle Art Museum is the Pacific Northwest’s premiere venue for art, with more than 23,000 objects from across cultures, exploring the connections between past and present, connecting people to art.

Screening Date/Time/Location

Date: Friday, November 2, 2007

Time: 1PM City of Seattle Staff & 7PM Public Screening Doors at 6:30 ($5 suggested donation)

Location: 1PM Seattle Art Museum ; 7PM Rainier Valley Cultural Center

For info on the Langston Hughes Underground Railroad Film Series- www.langstonblackfilmfest.org

To register for the Race Conference visit www.seattleraceconference.org

For info on SAM, visit www.seattleartmuseum.org

Film Facts:

(USA 2007) 87 Minutes Official Website www.banishedthefilm.com

Director/Producer : Marco Williams

Co-Producer: Maia Harris

Editors: Kathryn Barnier, Sandra Christie

Camera: Stephen McCarthy

Sound: J.T. Takagi

Music Composed by: David Murray

Awards:

BANISHED won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Miami International Film Festival, the Spectrum Award at the Full Frame Film Festival, and the Nashville Film Festival's Best Documentary Award.

Reviews-

“Williams plays on a distinctly American sense of decency by appealing to his audience's notion of property rather than justice: "We wanted to reintroduce the thought of reparation or reconciliation around an idea that's perhaps more tangible to people than solely reparation for slavery."” Charlie Olsky, Indie Wire

“Williams's very presence in the all-white communities he documents is a canny litmus test ... It doesn't matter that Williams is Harvard-educated, or that he's articulate and hip. As our director sits at a kitchen table in Harrison, Arkansas, listening to the local Klan leader matter-of-factly disclose his disdain for blacks, it's painfully clear that in many small (and large) towns throughout America, the legacy of banishment remains: Black people are not only unwelcome, but unsafe. Just ask the Jena 6.” Lisa Katzman, Village Voice

“It’s stunning how loudly the dead can speak, and with such eloquence.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Goes the extra mile by confronting the descendants of the perpetrators.”
– Time Out NY

“With a forceful and disturbing, and at the same time emotionally resonant sense of investigative inquiry, Williams fearlessly burrows into the depths of this hidden history with brave, unrelenting determination. A rare treasure in the annals of cinema.”
– Prairie Miller, WBAI Radio

“Investigates the distressing and awkward situation that arises when African-American families
return to land where their ancestors were forced to retreat in the face of domineering racism.
Rather than following an activist agenda, Williams’s intelligent personal narrative raises
monumental questions surrounding ownership and retribution.”
– Eric Kohn, New York Press

“A deft drilling down into a little-known or consciously forgotten-about piece of American history.
An important film that renegotiates the issue of reparations.”
– Williams Cole, The Brooklyn Rail

August 2nd post-show discussion: legal issues raised in the film THE TRIALS OF DARYL HUNT

Join the LHAAFF at the NW Film Forum on Thursday, August 2nd for a post-screening discussion with the following panelists:

JEFF ELLIS
Jeff Ellis is a criminal defense attorney, law professor, and the president of the Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

JEFFERY P. ROBINSON
Jeff Robinson, a shareholder at Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender, is a criminal defense attorney in Seattle, Washington. After graduation from Harvard Law School in 1981, he worked as a Seattle-King County Public Defender and Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington before joining Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender in 1988. He teaches Trial Advocacy at the UW Law School, and is also a member of the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Jeff is also a past president of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.


SILJA TALVI
Silja Talvi is an investigative journalist and essayist, and a senior editor for the political monthly magazine, In These Times. Her book, Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System, will be out November 1, 2007, reflecting hundreds of interviews and nearly two years of national and international travel to women's jails and prisons.

Talvi's articles on social issues--with a particular emphasis on criminal justice, ethnicity and gender--have garnered 12 Society of Professional Journalists regional awards in the Pacific Northwest, as well as four consecutive PASS awards from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for excellence in magazine journalism, and a 2006 national New American Media award for immigration-related reporting. Her work appears in numerous book anthologies including: Body Outlaws, The W Effect: Bush's War on Women, Prison Nation, as well as the forthcoming books, Prison Profiteers and It's So You, celebrating the intersection of feminism and fashion.

JULY 27 - AUGUST 2, Fri - Thurs at 7 & 9:15 PM (plus Sat & Sun at 3 & 5 PM)

The Northwest film Forum & The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival present in partnership:

THE TRIALS OF DARYL HUNT

*Sponsored by the ACLU of Washington and the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival

DARYL HUNT'S ATTORNEY MARK RABIL IN ATTENDANCE FRI & SAT!

(Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, USA, 2006,35mm, 106 min)

NW FILM FORUM

1515 12th Avenue

Seattle, WA 98122

www.nwfilmforum.org

General $8.50 senior $6.00 member $5.00

Tickets available at the box office or on the NW Film Forum website

THE TRIALS OF DARYL HUNT

JULY 27 - AUGUST 2, Fri - Thurs at 7 & 9:15 PM (plus Sat & Sun at 3 &
5 PM)
The Northwest film Forum & The Langston Hughes African American Film
Festival present in partnership:
THE TRIALS OF DARYL HUNT
*Sponsored by the ACLU of Washington and the Langston Hughes African
American Film Festival

DARYL HUNT'S ATTORNEY MARK RABIL IN ATTENDANCE FRI July 28 & SAT July 29!

(Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, USA, 2006,35mm, 106 min)

NW FILM FORUM
1515 12th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
www.nwfilmforum.org
General $8.50 senior $6.00 member $5.00
Tickets available at the box office or on the NW Film Forum website
===============

THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT documents a brutal rape/murder case in the

American South. It offers a deeply personal story of a wrongfully

convicted man, Darryl Hunt, who spent twenty years in prison for a crime

he did not commit. In 1984, a young white newspaper reporter, Deborah

Sykes, was raped, sodomized and stabbed to death just blocks from where

she worked in Winston-Salem, NC. Based on an identification made by a

former Ku Klux Klan member, a 19-year-old black man, Darryl Hunt, was

charged. Although no physical evidence linked him to the crime, Hunt was

convicted by an all white jury, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The

film chronicles this capital case from 1984 through 2004. With personal

narratives and exclusive footage from two decades, the directors frame

the judicial and emotional responses to this chilling crime -- and the

implications surrounding Hunt's conviction -- against a backdrop of

class and racial bias in America. This unique look at one man's loss and

redemption challenges the assumption that all Americans have the right

to unbiased justice.

KILLER OF SHEEP special theatrical run - partnership with the NW Film Forum

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival is pleased to partner with the Northwest Film Forum for a special anniversary presentation of African American filmmaker Charles Burnett's classic film, KILLER OF SHEEP.

Special thanks to our June 23rd guest panelists, who conducted a lively and interesting post-screening discussion:

• Dr. Angela Gilliam - anthropologist, author, and professor at Evergreen State College
• Eddie Hill - filmmaker and producer
• Sandra D. Jackson-Dumont - Deputy Director of Education and Public Programs, Seattle Art Museum

JUNE 29-JULY 1, Fri - Sun at 9:15 PM and JULY 2, 3, 5 (Mon, Tues, Thurs) at 7 & 9:15 PM

30th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING / NEW 35MM PRINT

NWFF and Langston Hughes African American Film Festival present

KILLER OF SHEEP

(Charles Burnett, USA, 1977, 35mm, 96min)

At last, one of the most important independent and African-American films of the 20th Century has found a distributor. This underground gem, by director Charles Burnett, was placed among the first fifty films entered in the National Film Registry and declared a national treasure. In 2002, the National Society of Film Critics selected the film as one of the "100 Essential Films" of all time. Due to music licensing complications, the film was rarely screened and even then on worn 16mm prints. KILLER OF SHEEP has now been fully restored for its 30th anniversary. Witness its frank, neo-realistic depiction of black life in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood in the mid-70s as the film follows Stan from his job at a slaughterhouse to his life at home. Constantly frustrated by money troubles, he manages to find solace in simple pleasures fixing up an old car, slow dancing with his wife in the kitchen, or quietly holding his daughter.

"The highest example of contemporary black life put on cinema." -Armond White, Film Comment

"The film of the season, if not the year, is a Southern California slice-of-life from 1977 that hasn't aged a day... A stirring and sophisticated evocation of working-class Watts." -Nathan Lee, The Village Voice

"Free of ghetto cliches that fill the movies made by people who have never lived in one, KILLER OF SHEEP is a strongly individual portrait of black, working class America." -Seattle P-I

"Burnett uses the film language of experimental documentaries for his urban pastoral--an episodic series of scenes that are sweet, sardonic, deeply sad, and very funny." -Seattle Weekly

You may watch a video of the discussion panel here. Special thanks to Paul Jackson, videographer for this event!

On another note...our belated, but deeply sincere, thanks to everyone who attended this year's LHAAFF! We appreciate our audiences and look forward to welcoming you in 2008 for our 5th anniversary. We're planning more workshops for aspiring and experienced filmmakers, more repeat screenings of hard-to-find films, and a special 5th anniversary opening night event. Ticket and pass prices will remain affordable. We want the LHAAFF to remain an accessible, welcoming community events. Thank you, audiences and friends, for your support and enthusiasm!

Join us again at the the NW Film Forum in August 2007 for THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT, a gripping documentary about the death penalty, justice, and perceptions of race and crime in America.