This past weekend the 2011 Urbanworld Film Festival brought celebs to the AMC theaters in NYC. The 15th annual event was founded back in 1997 by Stacy Spikes (pictured above). It is now, the largest internationally competitive festival dedicated to the exhibition of independent ciinema by and about people of color. The five day event featured 59 films this year, 17 of which were world premieres. Here is a recap of the films, pics and awards…
Thursday – Opening Night:
Spike Lee; Chris Rock; Chris w/ Mario Van Peebles; Diane Paragas (Brooklyn Boheme, director); Nelson George (Brooklyn Boheme, director); Qasim Basir (Mooz-lum, director 2010 Urbanworld premiere); theater crowd; Nelson George & Spike Lee in the crowd
Friday:
50 Cent (All Things Fall Apart); 50 Cent w/ Mario Van Peebles (All Things Fall Apart, director); Hassan Johnson; Kel Mitchell; Luis Guzman (How To Make It In America); Lynn Whitfield (All Things Fall Apart); Mario Van Peebles, Melvin Van Peebles; Phyllis Yvonne Stickley w/ Sonia Sanchez; Stephen Hill (BET); Sugar Hill Gang; Victor Rasuk (How To Make It In America)
Saturday:
Alrick Brown (Kinyarwanda, director); Cast of Life, Love, Soul; Egypt Sherrod w/ husband Mike Jackson; Egypt Sherrod (Life, Love, Soul); Victoria Mahoney (Yelling To The Sky, director); Zoe Kravitz (Yelling To The Sky); Zoe Kravitz w/ Victoria Mahoney; Noel Calloway (Life, Love, Soul, director); Nelson George w/ Yolonda Ross
Images by Stephen Knight
The 15th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival winners are:
Best Narrative Feature:
MAMITAS
Written and Directed by Nicholas Ozeki;
Produced by Adam Renehan, Andrew Daniel Wells
Honorable Mention:
Make a Movie Like Spike
(Written and Directed by Jamil Walker Smith)
Restless City
(for Cinematography – Bradford Young; Directed by Andrew Dosunmu)
Best Narrative Short
WAKE
Written and Directed by Bree Newsome;
Produced by Valerie Champagne, Bree Newsome
Honorable Mention:
Counterfeit
(Written and Directed by Geoff Bailey)
The Man in the Glass Case
(Written and Directed by Maxwell Addae)
Best Documentary Feature
ZERO PERCENT
Written and Directed by Tim Skousen;
Produced by Robert Fernandez, Tim Skousen
Best Documentary Short
LOVE LOCKDOWN
Directed by Nadia Hallgren;
Produced by Jamie-James Medina
Honorable Mention:
Common Ground
(for cinematography – Eduard Jakaj, Stephen Dwight; Directed by Hollie Fifer)
Best Screenplay
AFTER THE STORM
Written by Cole Wiley
Honorable Mention:
Blackbird
(Written by David Polk)
The Divide
(Written by Rashmi Singh)
Best Teleplay
WHITEHALL
Written by Dawn M. Green and Aliza Pearl Kennerly
Audience Award
LIFE LOVE SOUL
Written and Directed by Noel Calloway;
Produced by Allen J. West, Benny Pough, Dedra N. Tate
Honorable Mention:
Brooklyn Boheme
(Directed by Diane Paragas and Nelson George)
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