East End Black Film Festival starts November 5 at Parrish Art Museum

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The fourth annual East End Black Film Festival hosted by the African-American Museum of the East End returns to the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton next week, with screenings on Saturday, November 7, starting at 1 p.m. Light refreshments will be served, including ethnic food by Gloria’s of the Hamptons; the cost for the entire day is $5.

A special opening night program will be offered on Thursday, November 5, at 7 p.m. at the Parrish with a screening of “Beyond the Bricks,” to be followed by a focused Q&A and audience discussion.

America’s public schools are graduating only 47 percent of black male students, who are dropping out at an alarming rate and are consistently the lowest performing students in 46 states. In spite of this crisis, the filmmakers who created “Beyond the Bricks” see signs of hope.

The short documentary from Washington Koen Media explores the issues that produce these dismal statistics, but the film focuses on solutions to the poor academic performance and low graduation rates of school-age black males in the United States.

Speakers and panelists for the discussion following the screening include: Dr. Regent Adelaide Sanford, vice chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents; Ouida Washington and Derek Koen, producer and director of “Beyond the Bricks”; Adam Fine, Southampton High School principal; George Williams, retired Southampton Middle School principal; Natasha Jeffries. teacher and parent advocate; and Phillip B. Johnson, parent advocate.

Both the filmmakers and the Black Film Festival organizers consider “Beyond the Bricks” a call to action and are encouraging all in the community to attend the screening and discussion.
The screening and discussion are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. To reserve seats, e-mail all guest names to: bonniemcannon@gmail.com. For more information, call Bonnie Cannon at 631-766-8642, Brenda Simmons at 631-283-5072, or the Parrish Art Museum at 631-283-2118, ext. 21.

On the Friday evening before the screenings on Saturday, film festival organizers are inviting the community to “Live Jazz and the Spoken Word,” an evening of exploration on Friday, November 6, at 7:15 p.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center in which “we voice our hopes, our lives, our loves, and our passions,” organizers said, “In ‘our’ words and from ‘our’ hearts.”

In addition to local poets sharing and expressing themselves, the evening will feature musical performances by R&B jazz band Touché and a special guest, jazz violinist Krystle Ford. Admission is by donation of $10; for more information or to purchase tickets, call Bonnie Cannon at 631-766-8642, Brenda Simmons at 631-283-5072, or Cheryl Buck at 631-897-0384. Some tickets may be available for purchase at the door.

Festival screenings on Saturday, November 7, will begin with a children’s selection at 1 p.m., “Adventures of Teddy P. Brain,” directed by Eugene Haynes and Joseph L. Lewis III. The film revolves around the adventures of 6-year-old Teddy, who waves a magical diploma given to him by his parents for graduating from kindergarten, resulting in the appearance of a slick spaceship, enabling Teddy, his cousin Tempest and his dog to travel in time and through space.

Next up will be a family selection, “The Wiz,” directed by Sidney Lumet, at 2:15 p.m. The film is an urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

The film follows the adventures of Dorothy, a shy schoolteacher from Harlem who finds herself magically transported to the wonderland of Oz. Dorothy travels through the world of Oz to seek an audience with the mysterious “Wiz,” who purportedly has the power to take her home.

A short film, director Karen Chapman’s “Beauty Lies,” will be screened at 5 p.m. This film tells the story of a black woman who shares her feelings about her natural hair in a media-driven world, revealing layers of insecurities.

At 5:45 p.m. the featured film will be a classic selection, “Carmen Jones,” a tale of love, passion, betrayal and tragedy directed by Otto Preminger.

“Carmen Jones” is an adaptation of Bizet’s legendary opera, “Carmen.” It tells the story of a young, free-spirited woman, Carmen Jones (played by Dorothy Dandridge), whose great beauty makes her the object of many men’s desires. When Carmen sets her sights on a young army officer, Joe, who is engaged to his sweetheart, Cindy Lou, Joe quickly succumbs to Carmen’s charms, forsaking his betrothed and setting in motion a tragic love story.

At 7:45 p.m., the festival’s feature presentations will be screened, Because of adult content, parental guidance is recommended for teens. First up will be “Breaking News,” a short film directed by Kmarie Walters about the tragedy of a young mother who gets overwhelmed by her daily responsibilities.