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Showing posts from 2020

MOMMAS Film Uses a Fresh Take to Tackle Police Brutality

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  Atlanta Actress/Writer Leslie Black Pens Powerful Social Drama (L - R) Taurean Cavins-Flores, Laketa Renee, Leslie Black, Beliria Sims, and Robin Antoinette ATLANTA, GA . Actress turned writer/producer  Leslie Black pens a powerful yet timely film examining the impact of police brutality on the heart and soul of African American homes. In the story, 4 Black mothers, whose sons were murdered through their interactions with police, take a vigilante approach to justice when the system fails them. The 30-minute film is raw, heart-wrenching, and unapologetic.  To direct this film and capture the essence of the story, Black selected Columbia, SC-based director Latasha Choe Johnson . A superb filmmaker with an activist spirit, Leslie knew she would be an ideal choice. “Latasha and I have worked together in the past so I’ve already witnessed her skill as a director and admired her passion for social justice. I love the fact that she's not afraid to speak her mind, especially as it relat

Jasmine Guy Directs Featurette American Leopard

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  JASMINE GUY DIRECTS FEATURETTE “AMERICAN LEOPARD” Based on a real experience, the film examines uncomfortable conversations about race. (Atlanta, GA) “American Leopard” is a short-feature film directed by veteran actress, singer, and dancer Jasmine Guy . Rising to fame as Whitley Gilbert in the hit TV series A Different World (1987 - 1993), Jasmine brought a variety of creative talents, decades of experience, and great creative vision to this socially-conscious work. In the film, a casual conversation leads to a confrontation between Angela—played by Tonia Jackson (Outer Banks, Greenleaf) and Ted—played by Hal Whiteside (Baby Driver, Black Lightning) —over race. Andrea Frye ( Queen Sugar, Law and Order SVU) —as their neighbor Ruby—attempts to bring balance to the discussion, but soon discovers that changing deep-seated views is not easy. Actor Hal Whiteside gets into character before a scene . Adam LeBow, the film's writer, shared the inspiration behind the film. "Am

Building Community Through Collaboration - - Blue Bistro Creative Teams Up with Lark Media on Dramatic Short Film: Remembering Momma

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Anthony R Page Writes and Directs a Film Centered on Early On-set Alzheimer's Disease Blue Bistro Creative, an Atlanta-based production company led by Anthony R. Page has enhanced its commitment to the community by working with a variety of up-and-coming creative enterprises and individuals, to share more of the depth, breadth, and complexity of Black People through film, television, and theater.  Page shared the motivation behind his latest initiative, “for so long others have controlled our narrative, which has led to global perceptions in many ways that have been inaccurate, inauthentic, and incomplete. Now that the barriers to telling stories via film & television have become much easier to surmount, we are seeing a rich renaissance of stories being told, representing more of the full scope and scale of who we really are." Coming out of this commitment Page has elected to work with Focused Fylmz , led by Jerard McKinzie, and Lark Media , led by Alahna Lark .  Jerard

The Covid Clarity

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This is a montage of moments including a promo shoot for The Blue Series with photographer Tim Roger (Upper Left); a screenshot from ARMED AND DANGEROUS (Lower Left) and a promo shoot by Lamar Moore (Right) I believe it is important to be clear about who you are and where you want to go so during this Covid 19 downtime, I have been reflective; purposefully pruning, fine-tuning, and setting a course for the next chapter in my life. A part of that is an exhaustive exploration of where I have been... As I move toward my next set of creative milestones, I wanted to share a few moments from some of my work as an actor...while putting all of this together, it reminded me how much I love to perform and I have been fortunate to work with some really gifted people. I count it all joy and have deep gratitude for every step of my journey. Where am I now?...well, deep inside of my soul, I know the best is yet to come...my creative spirit is alive; my focus is fine-tuned; my path is more

In a Show of Solidarity Atlanta Black Playwrights Take on The Don't Rush Challenge

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Atlanta-based playwrights Amina McIntyre and Tramaine Brathwaite lead the effort to do the Don't Rush Challenge featuring some of the city's most gifted voices writing for the stage. Their primary goal was to encourage increased solidarity throughout Atlanta's African American playwrights community. To date, the team has completed two volumes. Playwrights included in Volume 1 are: (in order of appearance) Jayme Alilaw - - @Sangmsjayme (IG) Tramaine Brathwaite - - @mainedramapro (IG) Candi Dugas - - @candigirlfreedom (IG) Marcus Hopkins-Turner - - @blackactordad (IG) Mark Kendall - - markokendall@gmail.com (email) Anterior Leverett - - @Theeanterior (IG) Amina McIntyre - - @ladylovesherpen (IG) Brittani Minnieweather - - @britminnieweather (IG) Gavin Gregory - - gavinsoul@gmail.com (email) To view, Volume 1 go to  Don't Rush Challenge - - Atlanta Playwrights Edition (Vol 1) Playwrights included in Volume 2 are: (in order of appearance)

Short Film: Love Found Me Makes it to the Top 6 Finalists

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Along with Nadine Bone and Cherrie McRae, I was fortunate enough to be one of the actors in a short film project titled: LOVE FOUND ME . It was written and produced by Shellie Stark and directed by T Mitch Goldsmith. The project was submitted to the Create The Writers Room (Write In Color) competition in Los Angeles and is now one of the top 6 finalists...the relentless pursuit continues. Create The Writer's Room is an incredibly valuable resource for burgeoning artists of diverse backgrounds. Rickey Castleberry has designed an environment that provides creatives with the resources, guidance, and opportunities necessary to move them closer to their goals. Its mission is to "mobilize a community of Creatives all while equipping Dreamers with essential tools and insight to tell their stories and continue pushing the narrative "Write in Color" making it a social norm, perpetuating diversity and inclusion." -------------------------------------------------

Intensely Reflective, This Experience Reminded Me...

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I was doing some location scouting a few weeks back for a project we have in development. I decided to step inside the cell and get a feel for the place. It was eerily claustrophobic and plays on your mental, especially when you close those gates. - - one of the crew members snapped a few shots while I was having a moment... Intensely reflective, the experience reminded me of several members of my family who have traveled down this road. My heart is always with them...Speechless...all in all this was/is a reminder about the choices we make in life and I am glad I decided not to make choices where I would end up in a place like this...one day at a time. Thank you Father for Grace, Mercy, and Discernment. Great location overall and I believe it will work for us in terms of production, but other than that...don't want no part of anything like this... ------------------------------------------------------------------ A Complete Look at Anthony's Background Short BIO Compre

With True Humility I Look Forward to Where The Spirit Shall Lead Me Next

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A couple of weeks ago at the Atlanta Creators Conference, we did a pop-up performance of SOMEWHERE IN SUMMERVILLE.  All in all the experience was fulfilling on so many levels. the actors Jesse Bingham and Aminah Williams were great to work with - - their focus, flexibility, and commitment open the door for me to lead them deeper into the work...and I believe I was able to open up some new things for them... With the time we had, we certainly hit a mark, however, the experience was so collaborative, enriching, and inspiring I know that we only scratched the surface...(good talent has a way of affirming that)... and even though we were all very satisfied with what we presented, we all knew that we weren't done yet...I am sure our collaboration in some capacity will continue... I ran across some photos that I grabbed during one of our rehearsals, I am reminded of how much I love working with and bringing out the best in people.  On the spiritual plane, it has become clear to me that d

The Important Part(s) Of Me - Updates and Anecdotes

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These are a series of clips from the short film THE IMPORTANT PARTS(s) OF ME..it's a project I've had in development for quite a while...we are finally seeing some traction so I wanted to share some of the moments we used as a proof of concept for the series. ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is a sizzle on one of the key characters from a film I began to develop a few years ago...at the time we didn't get the traction we needed to get it to where it needed to be...so the project has languished for awhile. Here lately we have some interest in the project and we are in the midst of remixing and re-imagining it as a TV series...so I wanted to share some of the footage we captured back then... NOTE: We had a really fantastic group of talent across the board...in front of and behind the camera. Some of the talent included in this sizzle are Beliria Sims, Dylan Bradley, Angel L Henderson, Raina