The 21st annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival opens tonight with Vipaka (its LA premiere) – the Southern, gothic, psychological thriller that stars Forest Whitaker, Anthony Mackie, Sanaa Lathan, Nicole Ari Parker and Mike Epps. Directed by French/Lebanese Philippe Caland, the film centers on an earnest life-coach and author who is mysteriously abducted by a deranged client, who then uses the author’s spiritual messages of karma [...]
Vin Diesel Looks Beaten Down in Photo From New ‘Riddick’ Movie
February 2, 2013 | Posted by
It’s strange to think how long fans have been waiting to see Riddick, the upcoming sequel to Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick. Not only will it be the first movie in the franchise since 2004, the project started shooting way back in January 2012. But our time without the Alpha Furyan is almost over. Universal will be releasing [...]
Black Female Film Directors Flying Under the Radar
December 4, 2012 | Posted by
The demise of independent film labels has made it more challenging for new talent—especially nonwhite filmmakers—to tell their stories and gain entry into major studios. Over the past two years, a series of vital, powerful and reflective films directed by African-American women have been humming along under the radar of mainstream Hollywood, struggling to get [...]
Black Female Film Directors Making Their Marks in Hollywood
December 1, 2012 | Posted by
Indiewire.com posted an article by Melissa Silverstein “What Bigelow Effect? Number of Women Directors in Hollywood Falls to 5 Percent” on Woman and Hollywood citing a study by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, Executive Director, Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, on the fall in women directors at the helm of feature [...]
Cast of ‘Middle of Nowhere’ Reached Beyond Stereotypes
November 22, 2012 | Posted by
When the black actors in “Middle of Nowhere” read the film’s script, they were shocked to find they could actually relate to the characters. Director Ava DuVernay’s depiction of a Compton woman struggling while her husband is incarcerated resonated with her cast of actors. Before joining the cast, actor David Oyelowo had been shooting “Lincoln,” [...]
‘Nairobi Half Life’: Well-Done Retread of Country Boy in the Big City Motif
November 19, 2012 | Posted by
The old story of a naïve country bumpkin’s rude awakening upon arrival in the big city is shot through with fresh social and stylistic energy in Nairobi Half Life, a dynamic crime drama set in parts of Kenya’s capital that visitors would generally choose to avoid. This first film by young former assistant director David [...]
Epic Drama ‘Toussaint L’Ouverture’ to Premiere at NY African Diaspora International Film Festival
November 13, 2012 | Posted by
Starting November 23rd, the 20th Annual New York African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will showcase 54 films from 30 countries, including gala screenings of Philippe Niang’s historical drama Toussaint L’Ouverture. Among the films set to premiere are The Pirogue by Moussa Touré (US Premiere, Senegal) and La Playa D.C. by Juan Andres Arango (NY [...]
Top Earning African-American Film Actors
November 1, 2012 | Posted by
It’s quite obvious how African American actors have taken a prominent place in mainstream Hollywood movies over the recent decade. Quality films with meaty-roles are now casted to African American actors that have proven to draw hordes of fans to the box-office. Gone are the 50’s and 60’s era when motion pictures where limited to [...]
Director Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ U.S. Distribution Rights Acquired by FilmDistrict
October 28, 2012 | Posted by
FilmDistrict has acquired USA distribution rights to Antoine Fuqua’s White House thriller Olympus Has Fallen, which stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett. FilmDistrict will release the film wide on April 5, 2013. In the film, Butler stars as an unlikely Secret Service agent trying to stop North Korean terrorists who have [...]
Zoe Saldana Spotted in Makeup as Nina Simone
October 24, 2012 | Posted by
Zoe Saldana was spotted in makeup as songstress Nina Simone yesterday for her unauthorized biopic. Saldana has remained relatively quiet about taking on the role of the icon but that hasn’t stopped others from voicing their disappointment, namely Simone’s own daughter Lisa Celeste Stroud – she now goes by the name Simone. During an interview in [...]
