Langston Hughes African American Film Festival 2009

Mother. Daughter. Activist. Friend. Poet Ursula Rucker is best known for her diverse musical collaborations with artists such as King Britt, The Roots and 4Hero. Having appeared multiple times on Def Poetry Jam and toured the world countless times, she has the gift of using words to translate the rawest of pain into art, always finding love in the balance.We discover, though interviews with peers and mentors-including Saul Williams, Sonia Sanchez, King Briitt, Wadud, Stephanie Renee, Lyrispect and the Roots-the difference between "spoken word" and "poetry" as we trace the path that led Ms. Rucker to become one of the most acclaimed artists of her generation. Philadelphia filmmaker Mike Dennis in attendance. For Mature Audiences, due to language and graphic descriptions

Filmmaker Alrick Brown makes a return apperance at LHAAFF with the haunting film, "US:A Love Story. This haunting film explores impact and consequences of a union consecrated in blood. One couple's love story is a metaphor for the history of white/black race relations in the USA. Filmmaker Alrick Brown makes a return appearance to this year's festival. Brown continues to reveal himself as a "filmmaker to watch". Previous films by Brown include "Death of Two Sons", based on the lives of Amadou Diallo and Jesse Thyne (Peace corps volunteers from Pasadena CA who was living in Diallo's village at the time of his death), "Familiar Fruit" a modern day Greek tragedy that leaves the audience holding the torch, and "The Adventures of SuperNigger" , an allegory about the shooting death of Amadou Diallo.