The Sidney Poitier Apple TV+ Doc Is A Beautiful Tapestry Of A Life Well Lived (TIFF Review)

If you are lucky, you will live a good life. The days and years of your story will be filled with more triumphs than trials. Perhaps you will even have some successes, but most importantly, there will be love and peace. However, some people get a little bit more than that, which will reward and cost them simultaneously.

Sidney Poitier was a giant, but as the late actor relays to the audience in Reginald Hudlin’s Sidney opens, he was never supposed to live. Born two months premature on a tiny island in the Bahamas to tomato farmers, the Academy Award winner had little more than a third-grade education when he stepped off a boat in Miami at age 15.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Pahokee' Has A Levity and Warmth Often Lost In Documentaries Depicting Black Rural Life [Sundance Review]

For years, inner city Black life has been a focus in cinema in both the narrative and documentary sectors. Movies like Menace II Society and Hoop Dreams were marketed as the sole depictions of the African American experience. However, in recent years—particularly in documentaries like the Oscar-nominated Hale County, This Morning, This Evening —there have been numerous illustrations of rural Black life. With their film Pahokee— directors Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan join a new class filmmakers including RaMell Ross, Amman Abbasi, and Margaret Byrn in examining present-day Black life in some of the country’s most rural areas.

Located on the shore of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County, Florida and boasting a population of just under 6,000 people Lucas and Bresnan turn their lens on the town of Pahokee. The audience is given a front row seat as the tiny, close-knit community experiences the highs and lows of the 2016-2017 school year. Out of a class of 103 seniors at the Pahokee Middle-High School, Pahokee follows four students, Na’Kerria Nelson, Jocabed Martinez, BJ Crawford and Junior Wallace who are all navigating their way through their final days of adolescence.

Unlike many documentary films that examine impoverished people of color like Phantom Cowboys or Quest, Pahokee does not peel back the layers of the students' personal lives. Instead, the documentary centers the high school, its numerous extracurricular activities, and the frenzy of Homecoming, the Football State Championship, college acceptance, signing day and graduation.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

'Phantom Cowboys' Beautifully Twists and Bends The Coming-Of-Age Genre (Tribeca Review)

Coming of age documentaries certainly aren't new territory. Recent films like Quest and Raising Bertie are stellar projects that document the transformative years of their subjects as they embark on the journey from their teen years to adulthood. Daniel Patrick Carbone's Phantom Cowboys uses that same model but twists it into something we've never seen before. Following three different young men -- Larry, Nick and Tyler from Pahokee, Florida; Trona, California; and Parkersburg, West Virginia -- Carbone introduces us to these young teens just as they are stepping into themselves. All three are on the cusp of shedding the wistful naivete of childhood, but instead of following them, Carbone breaks away, re-entering their lives seven years later to see where they’ve ended up. Pahokee, Trona and Parkersburg are all very particular places in the United States. Almost frozen in time, except for the glimpses of technology that Carbone hints at throughout the film, there is minimal opportunity for the people in these towns. When we first meet Larry at 13 years old, he spends his days running through sugarcane crops and shooting rabbits with his best friends. At 20, he’s taller, broader and newly released from prison after a 3-year bid for aggravated battery. Despite his circumstances, his spirit is not completely worn down, but his innocence and excitement about the world have long since disappeared.

In Trone, Nick's life plays out very differently. At 17, he lives for football, and his identity is deeply ingrained in his community. In Trone, the chemical plant seems to be the only way of life; Nick's father has worked there for decades. As a teen, Nick seems weary of a certain future at the plant, but at 23 with a 4 a.m. wakeup call, he’s thankful for the steady income and the familiarity the plant provides. In fact, he’s turned down a college football scholarship to remain close to his family, teaching his little brother to fix things and to ride a motorbike.

For Tyler, Parkersburg represents one thing, dirt racing. At 18, he spends his days with his father at a garage, making money to support his daughter. But at night, it's all about racing. When we meet Tyler again at 25, his obsession has begun to pay off. With four little girls and a wife to support, he’s starting to win races while making a name for himself in the racing community. When Tyler's not working or behind the wheel, he’s taking his daughters to and from school and tucking them in at night. He's completely cloaked in adulthood.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Visionary Filmmaker Khalik Allah On His Transformative Second Feature, 'Black Mother'

Black women reign in Black Mother, the second feature from filmmaker and photographer Khalik Allah. The Jamaican-Iranian artist returned to his motherland, Jamaica, for the intimate, poetic feature. Framed in three trimesters of a woman's pregnancy, Black Mother follows numerous island natives -- everyone from Kingston prostitutes and Rastafarians to the holy women who have peculiar ties to Christianity. Allah never intended to make this feature. He went to Jamaica to explore and capture the scenery and its people through his lens. "The story just came step by step," he reflected on a chilly April day in New York City. "I didn't even know it was going to be focused on black women in Jamaica originally. My sensibility as an artist, as a photographer, was just more or less like, ‘Yo, let's just go create beautiful images. Let's just start shootin' stuff.’ My mother is Jamaican. She is a black mother. However, the film itself, that title represents so much more than just my mom. It's not really about my mom although she's in the film; it also represents a play on that term "dark matter." As far as the universe -- it's relating the universe to the womb. I started finding my different themes such as food, herbs, the land, water, all of those things represent the Earth. The Earth is the woman."

With no distinct narrative, Allah allows his heavy visual style and his subjects to speak for themselves. Separating hs audio from the footage, the people of Jamaica provide their testimonies in place of a soundtrack. Allah also refused to use subtitles. "I was happy to hear from the audience like, ‘Yo, I'm glad you didn't put subtitles there,'" he recalled. "The parts that people weren't able to get is okay too because it's not the type of film that you gotta be stuck to every detail. The film is really intended to take you inward, this is a film that encourages you to close your eyes. You know, certain people came back to me after seeing this and were like, ‘Yo, this made me want to get in touch with my family. I don't really speak to my Mom that much. I don't speak to my family at all. I don't have a good relationship with them; I want to get tighter with my family now.' That was like the best comment that I could get."

Allah's journey with Black Mother began in 2015, just as his first feature Field Niggas began blowing up. The Harlem native returned to Jamaica to observe the island and examine how his relationship with his mother’s homeland had shifted and changed since his childhood and after the death of his beloved grandfather. "Some of my deepest impressions of life were in Jamaica," Allah explained. "I've been going since 1988 when I was three. Just going back and forth all my life, definitely I've seen the good and the bad. I've seen the opulence, Jamaica has some amazing places, but in the film, I really wanted to show the underbelly. I didn't want to make it seem like this paradise island where tourists go to kick back, and it's all good. Jamaica is an island that has been raped by the British in the form of colonialism and slavery. Then it became a service economy where all the economics is based off the tourism and providing service and stuff like that. In that way, (the island) has become a prostitute in a way. That's just my analysis of lookin' at it through history."

Continue to read at Shadow and Act.

HBO 'King In the Wilderness' Executive Producer On The Film And Examining Dr. King's Final Years

It’s been fifty-years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated leaving an unfulfilled dream, a blueprint for humanity, a turbulent country, and a furious race of people behind. In these past five decades, Dr. King has been immortalized; hoisted up as an almost mythical being – a martyr of the Civil Right's Movement. Though history has painted Dr. King in a certain light, his closest friends and allies haven’t forgotten the last few years of his life – years that were full of confliction and uncertainty. In his searing HBO film, King in the Wilderness director Peter Kunhardt chronicles the last few years of the Civil Right’s pioneer's life – a time where even his beliefs and doctrine toward peace and non-violence were tested. A week before the film’s premiere I chatted with novelist, screenwriter, and professor Trey Ellis who served as an executive producer and interviewer for the project. For Ellis, it was essential to look back at Dr. King’s life and legacy through the memories of those who stood by his side day after day. King in the Wilderness gives an alternative view of a man who stood in the midst of an increasingly unstable country, rallying for the end of racism, war, and poverty.

Ellis had been yearning for a project on Dr. King’s life for some time, so when he heard that Kuhardt was putting something together at HBO, he jumped at the chance to get involved. "I talked to HBO a long time ago, but then around January of 2017 Peter approached me about this new take on Dr. King to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his assassination," Ellis explained. "We all decided that the later King, King in the Wilderness was the least told and also the most important for what we're going through today. So I was really excited, to come on board to do most of the interviews. Taylor (Branch) interviewed Harry Belafonte, Andy Young, and Reverend C.T. Vivian and I had the pleasure of interviewing the rest of them. We spent a year traveling around the country talking to real-life heroes for two to four hours at a time. Some of them were heroes that I knew, like John Lewis, or Jesse Jackson and others like Cleveland Sellers or Bernard Lafayette were people that I’d never heard of before, but once I got to speak with them, I was just so amazed by their strength."

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

Interview: Soul Singer Sharon Jones Talks Fighting Cancer, ‘Miss Sharon Jones!’ & Letting the Music Speak for Itself

For twenty years, soul singer Sharon Jones has cultivated a world-wide audience with her sensational albums, performances and stunning voice. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings have been heard in everything from FitBit commercials, to Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf Of Wall Street” soundtrack. Though her career took off later in life, it’s clear that Ms. Jones has always belonged onstage. At the height of her career in 2013, Ms. Jones was soaring, until a devastating cancer diagnosis forced her to pause. During one of the toughest years of her life, Academy Award winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple followed Ms. Jones and The Dap-Kings in the stunning and captivating “Miss Sharon Jones!”.

Recently, I got the opportunity to chat with Ms. Jones about the documentary, her remarkable career, and her ongoing battle with cancer. Dedicated to the Dap Kings and to her sound, it was clear to me right away, that Sharon Jones wasn’t going to miss a beat.

Aramide Tinubu: Hi Ms. Jones how are you doing?

Sharon Jones: I’m doing alright thanks.

AT: Wonderful, well I just screened “Miss Sharon Jones!” and I’m so excited to chat with you about the film, your career and how things are going for you.

SJ: OK that sounds good.

AT: What was your first memory of singing?

SJ: When I was a child in church, I did a Christmas play where I got to play an angel and I sang “Silent Night”, so that was my first memory of singing.

AT: Wonderful. Well I know that James Brown has been such a huge inspiration for you, and you got the opportunity to meet him back in 2006 before he passed away. I know your mother actually knew him because they were both from Augusta, Georgia. How do you feel about being called the “The female James Brown”?

SJ: Well, that is such an honor to even get that thrown at me. I didn’t even realize it. He represented so much, coming from Augusta especially. In Augusta his name means so much. You can’t bring up Augusta without bringing up James Brown. They’ve also taken to me like that. In the museum, they have a little exhibit of me. I’ve also met with his daughter Deanna Brown and the James Brown Academy of Music pupils. It’s a school where the children are taught how to read music and play instruments. For me to be called the female James Brown, and to see how these kids look up to me, it’s just been so good.

AT: That’s incredible. In “Miss Sharon Jones!” you said that everything in your life has just taken a little longer. I know that your singing career didn’t really launch until you were in your early forties, but what has this journey been like for you? Did you ever think you were going to be Grammy nominated or begin a record label? Did you ever think you would be where you are today?

SJ: Well, maybe at one point back in the day I didn’t think I would, but once we started going at at this and I went to Gabe [Roth] and said, “Gabe you guys have to get serious about this. This is the last job I’m going to do; this record label.” I told him I wanted this to be a real label and focus on that. We got the building and I started painting and helping with that, so we knew then. The first three years we struggled. People think that we got together when our first album was out in 2000, but, [The Dap-Kings and I] got together around ’95 or ’96. It’s been twenty years now since I’ve known Gabe and some of The Dap-Kings

AT: Wow, it has truly been a journey then.

SJ: So over the last twenty years we’ve built ourselves to where we are now. It didn’t happen overnight. We put a lot of work and energy into it. To get that far, and then to be stopped in your tracks with the cancer; it was a blow. It still is a struggle right now, it’s a very big struggle right now for me.

AT: I’m sure, but you’ve been so courageous.

SJ: I’ve got to keep going. I’m not ready to give up yet.

Continue reading at Shadow and Act.

I had the absolute most amazing experience yesterday moderating a "Meet The Filmmaker" Apple Talk with Sharon Jones of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Academy Award winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. I can't wait for you all to hear it! 🎧🎬🎹🎤 (More info in the bio👸🏿) . . . Uplifting, inspiring, and energizing. @TheSharonMovie opens in theaters on 7/29 in NYC & nationwide in August. gwi.io/MissSharonJones #MissSharonJones #chocolategirlmoderates

A photo posted by Chocolate Girl In The City (@midnightrami) on Jul 27, 2016 at 10:35am PDT

Review: 'Sneakerheadz' is a Love Letter to Sneaker Fanatics (In Theaters Friday, August 7)

Though I have never personally owned a pair of Air Jordan shoes, I once scoured all of the MAC Cosmetic stores in New York City for a limited edition Rihanna lipstick; so I understand the obsession with wanting a special product. Everyone has their vices and though sneakers aren’t mine, I appreciate the motivation that drives sneaker enthusiasts and collectors. “Sneakerheadz” is a film about desire, consumption, style and nostalgia. The documentary is a sneaker novice’s introduction into the world of sneaker culture that simultaneously pays homage to the sneakerheads of the world.

The film opens with the history of sneakers, which coincided with the growth of hip-hop, as well as a fascination with popular athletes. From RUN-DMC’s historic Adidas contract, to the debut of the first Air Jordans in 1984, sneakers have been a significant component of popular culture for quite some time. In order to give the audience a chronological timeline, “Sneaekerheadz” makes use of old commercials starring huge sports figures like Magic Johnson, as well as childhood photographs from street cultural figures, like Mike Epps and Frank the Butcher. The set up was reminiscent of Rick Famuyiwa’s opening sequence from 2002’s “Brown Sugar”, where hip-hop artists recounted how they fell in love with hip-hop.

Despite the numerous historical facts in the film, “Sneakerheadz” doesn’t get bogged down in the past; it stretches and expands (literally) across the globe. From California to Tokyo, the film gives its audience a glimpse into how urban street wear and sneaker culture has influenced many facets of the world. The film boats snippets of vast personal collections that number into the thousands, a glossary breakdown of words like “colorway” and “deadstock”, and it carefully immerses its viewers into an environment that can feel very perplexing to those of us who don’t have the same passion for sneakers.

Continue Reading at Shadow and Act.

Image: Sneakerheadz Film Poster