Langston Hughes African American Film Festival 2008

Adopted tells the story of Whitney Ward, an orphan who never expected that the love and acceptance she seeks would come from outer space. Filmmakers Shawnee and Shawnelle Gibbs will discuss filmmaking and Flash animation in an introductory workshop on Saturday, April 19 at 12:00 noon.

Seattle Premiere - Adrift in the Heartland is the story of two women who weather the initial clash of their Palestinian and African American identities to share an intimate friendship. Aysha, a young Palestinian woman, is floundering in a new country that is not the land of opportunity for minorities she’d hoped. Meanwhile her new husband, a childhood friend she married when he returned for a summer to Palestine, has grown into a man trapped between his perceptions of Muslim identity and American culture. Jasmine is a social worker who must deal daily with the difficulties of the urban poor. Her relationship with Jamal, a manager in a Palestinian-owned store, exposes tension of race relations in the Chicago setting. Aysha and Jasmine meet one morning when Jasmine crashes her car near Aysha’s apartment. Misunderstandings riddle their first meeting, but they form a tenuous friendship through their mutual love of jazz.

- Framed by the events of September 11th, All Our Sons – Fallen Heroes of 9/11 is the story of the twelve black firefighters who died at the World Trade Center. It is a story about their courage, what they meant to their community and what they will inspire for the future. On that fateful day, September 11, 2001, the nation lost its certainty, NY Firefighters lost their brethren, the African American community lost a legacy, and twelve families lost a son. Oscar-nominated and three-time Emmy award-winning actress Alfre Woodard narrates. Known for her nuanced portrayals of complicated women on stage and screen, Woodard lends her voice to that of the mothers and creates a lasting tribute to these brave men. “All our Sons” Producer/Writer and Franklin High School graduate Shannon Gee, co-produced Conscience and the Constitution, an award-winning documentary on the Heart Mountain internment camp draft resisters, which debuted on PBS in the fall of 2000. She was the Producer/Director of If Tired Hands Could Talk, the story of Seattle's Asian American garment workers, and producer/writer for Finding Home In China town, a documentary on Seattle's Chinatown. She also served as Associate Producer on the PBS documentary Vaudeville and Smothered, a two-hour special on the Smothers Brothers for Bravo. Shannon is also a freelance journalist whose writing has appeared in The Seattle Times, The Seattle Weekly, and The Independent Film and Video Monthly .

In a high profile capital murder case, an African American Studies professor is accused of murdering one of his students, a White woman with whom he had been having an affair. A jury of his peers is led behind closed doors to judge, and ultimately, to be judged. But in this case, the jury gets personal, especially to African American jurors who turn this case into a bitter one-on-one dispute about racial authenticity. The LHAAFF is pleased to welcome back one of Seattle’s talented local filmmakers, Eddie Smith for a screening of two of his newest films and discussion . The screening will be followed by a filmmaker talkback Q&A session.

THE BLACK AND THE GREEN - This rarely-seen, somewhat controversial 1982 film documents the visit of five African American community activists to West Belfast, Northern Ireland. THE BLACK AND THE GREEN explores parallels between Northern Irish Catholics and African Americans in the Civil Rights movement as the delegation members observe “crushed tenements, graffiti-stained walls and heavily armed law officers," as Richard Harrington wrote in the Washington Post. The delegation and their Irish hosts try to find out what they have in common in the areas of human rights and social change. The film was originally made for PBS but was withdrawn before it could be aired. This is rare film, and we were unable to get prints directly from the master. Please bear with us, the content is outstanding.

Seattle Premiere - The story of Black Panther George Jackson's life through to his death in 1971 at the hands of San Quentin Prison guards. Inmate activist George Lester Jackson’s (CSI's Gary Dourdan) short life became a flashpoint for revolution igniting the bloodiest riot in San Quentin’s history. Black August tells the story of the last event-filled months of Jackson’s journey from street tough to political martyr. After moving with his family from Chicago to Los Angeles, Jackson was arrested for a $70 gas station robbery and received a sentence of one year to life. During his eleven years in prison, Jackson studied Marx, Mao and other revolutionary thinkers. He channeled the explosive rage of an oppressed and exploited community into a powerful indictment of the racial status quo in a series of passionate and poetic letters that were collected and published in the volume Soledad Brother. Part of a legacy that includes Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton and Angela Davis, Jackson’s writings made him both a best-selling author and a lightning rod for controversy in one of America’s most politically polarized eras. Post screening discussion with Seattle Black Panther Party Alumni.

Seattle Premiere - On August 14, 2003, the largest blackout in American history- known as the Northeast Blackout of 2003-was widely reported as peaceful. But in Brooklyn's forgotten East Flatbush neighborhood, mayhem unfolded when the power shut down. This is the untold story of the blackout, based on true incidents. The action focuses on a handful of neighbors: James (Sean Blakemore), the young professional who witnessed the September 11 terrorist attack and who is so traumatized he's hardly left his apartment in two years; his anguished girlfriend Claudine (Zoe Saldana), who doesn't know how to help James and is on the verge of giving up on him; three ladies who hang around outside an apartment building and gossip in front of the sign that says ""No Hanging Out""; the barbershop crowd (led by Jeffrey Wright in a gem of a performance); George (Melvin Van Peebles), the black building super and the building's white owner (Saul Rubinek), who are thrown together by the emergency; the street prophet; and C.J. (Michael B. Jordan), the young man who represents not only what is most hopeful about all of us, but also what could be the fate of hope itself. Director Jerry Lamothe smartly weaves together this dynamic ensemble cast that plays out a forgotten story of a time when, as night fell in a corner of Brooklyn, looters emerged, violence surfaced, and residents feared for their lives.

Are people always asking you where you come from? Are you often compared to someone who looks “just like you”? Do you ever get a sense of genetic déjà vu? A candid video collage dedicated to all the 'brothers from other mothers' in search of their true selves.

Produced by the youth of Downtown Community Television (DCTV), New York City: Terry Jones, Jr., Kendra Dennis, Amanda Rodriguez, Tiffany Vanderpool, Latel Bethea. A look into the culture, style, and spirit of Caribbean dancehall music.