Langston Hughes African American Film Festival 2008

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.