GARY INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
FEBRUARY 11-13, 2011
GLEN THEATER 20 WEST RIDGE ROAD, GARY, IN
www.gibff.org
info@gibff
GIBFF FAST FACTS
MISSION - The Gary International Black Film Festival uses film as a catalyst for positive cultural
activity to enhance the 'cultural capital' of our hometown of Gary, IN. The mission of the festival is
to celebrate black culture through film and discussion. It is our goal to bring films of the highest
quality that are not seen at the local multiplex that reflect the depth and transcendence of black
people.
WHEN IS THE FESTIVAL?
The festival runs Friday, February 11, Saturday, February 12 and Sunday February 13
FILM SCHEDULE GRID – SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Time
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
3PM
MATINEE
Filmmaker’s
Death of Two Sons
Roundtable
Catastrophic
Magnitude
6PM
OPENING NIGHT
Froebel Night
Reception
Reception
Film
Filmmakers
“I Will Follow”
Roundtable
“Night Catches Us”
WHAT KIND OF FILMS?
Films are by and about Black people from around the world and right here in the U.S. Most films are
from emerging and established filmmakers that you won’t see at the local cinema.
Independent films include Narrative Fiction, Documentary, Experimental, and Animated works
WHY A FILM FESTIVAL?
Why not? We believe in Gary – its culture, its history, its people. Many cities of this size have a
variety of cultural events. The GIBFF is one event in the cultural ecology of our community.
CAN I BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE?
Absolutely – Tickets can be purchased from the Froebel Alumni Association (SATURDAY NIGH
ONLY), at the NW Indiana Urban League 3101 Broadway,
or online at
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/27299.
Or order via phone 24/7 Ticket Hotline: 1-800-838-3006
Or at the Door – Box office opens one hour before screening
age 1 of 6
HOW MUCH ARE TICKETS?
Tickets
$5 youth 16 and under – PURCHASED AT THE DOOR ONLY
$10 Senior 65+ - PURCHASED AT THE DOOR ONLY
$15 Adult – Evening screenings only
$10 Matinee – before 6pm
WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL?
www.gibff.org
I WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER. HOW DO I DO THIS?
Send an e-mail to [email protected]
Visit www.gibff.org and fill out our volunteer form
I WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO THE GIBFF. HOW DO I DO THIS?
Donations are made through our fiscal sponsor, FRACTURED ATLAS and are tax deductible. Visit
our website www.gibff.org for details and a donation link.
I WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR THE FILM FESTIVAL OR BUY ADVERTISING AT THE FILM
FESTIVAL
Visit our website for sponsorship kit and sponsor level details. Advertising in the festival program
book is also an economic way to be a part of the festival. Info is available on our website.
www.gibff.org
HOW DO I SEE PREVIEWS OF THE FILMS?
I Will Follow – www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3UMxpUm56w
Death of Two Sons - www.deathoftwosons.com/index.php
Chicago Heights - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRtVuy7ypI
Catastrophic Magnitude - www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2CaYNKLGyA
Night Catches Us - www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgtAhGOLC-Y
ALTERNATE: NOT FOR PUBLICATION
Nurse.Fighter.Boy. - www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyEm7A7Ez6w
GIBFF PARTNERS
URBAN LEAGUE OF NW INDIANA
FROEBEL ALUMNI
C&M LIQUORS
BEAUTIFUL THINGS GALLERY
BEAUTIFUL SOUL
EMERSON ALUMNI
age 2 of 6
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Ava Duvernay – DIR. I WILL FOLLOW
www.iwillfollowfilm.com
2011 NAACP Image Award nominee Ava DuVernay made her feature film directorial
debut with the critically-acclaimed 2008 hip hop documentary, “This is The Life.” Winner
of Audience Awards in Toronto, Los Angeles and Seattle, the film was released
theatrically and debuted on Showtime in April 2009. The Los Angeles Times raved,
“This Is the Life vaults into the upper echelons of must-see hip-hop documentaries.”
DuVernay wrote, produced and directed the narrative feature, “I Will Follow”, starring
Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Omari Hardwick and Beverly Todd. The family drama is
currently on the festival circuit as an Official Selection of AFI, Chicago and Urbanworld
film festivals.
On January 7, 2011 an article entitled "Building An Alliance To Aid Films By Blacks" by
Michael Cieply was published in the New York Times about DuVernay's venture to
organize African-American film festivals and orchestrate limited engagement theatrical
releases for black independent films. The collective is called the African-American Film
Festival Releasing Movement or AFFRM. "I Will Follow" is slated to be the first release
in March 2011.
Recently, she directed and produced two network music documentaries. “My Mic
Sounds Nice” is a definitive history of female hip hop artists and holds the distinction of
being BET Networks first original music documentary, while “Essence Music Festival
2010″ is a two-hour concert film for TV One chronicling the nation’s largest annual
African-American entertainment gathering. Both films made their network premieres in
August 2010.
She is currently in post-production on a documentary about women in New Orleans who
have reclaimed their lives after personal devastation during Hurricane Katrina.
DuVernay has worked in the world of film as a marketer and publicist for more than 14
years, forming DVA Media + Marketing in 1999. Her award-winning firm has provided
strategy and execution for more than 80 film and television campaigns for acclaimed
directors such as Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Mann, Robert Rodriguez,
Bill Condon, Raoul Peck, Gurinder Chadha and Reggie & Gina Bythewood.
A UCLA graduate, DuVernay is a member of the Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences. She is based in Los Angeles.
age 3 of 6
Alrick Brown – DIR. Death of Two Sons
www.alricksporch.com
(Alrick’s film, Kninyarwanda just screened at Sundance)
Alrick Brown has a MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. A filmmaker and teacher,
he has found his calling writing, directing and producing narrative films and
documentaries often focusing on social issues affecting the world at large. For over two
years he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cote d’Ivoire. The interactions with the
people of his village and his overall experiences in West Africa have informed his
creative expression; an expression first fostered by his birth in Kingston, Jamaica and
migration to, and upbringing in Plainfield, New Jersey. A fluent French speaker, he
graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English and a Masters in Education.
Since then he has devoted his energy to changing the world by giving a voice to the
voiceless and telling stories that otherwise would not be told.
Alrick’s collective work has screened in over forty film festivals, national and
international, and received numerous awards. He and his Co-producer, received the
HBO Life Through Your Lens Emerging Filmmaker Award to produce their critically
acclaimed documentary DEATH OF TWO SONS. In 2004 he was one of four NYU
students featured in the IFC Documentary series Film School, produced by Academy
award nominee Nannette Burstein. In 2007 he addressed the Motion Picture
Association of America on C-SPAN. KINYARWANDA marks Brown’s feature film
directorial debut.
Calvin Standifer – DIR. Catastrophic Magnitude: Hope and Healing in Hati
http://catastrophicmagnitude.com/default.asp
Gary Filmmaker, Calvin Standifer, travels to Haiti to capture images its people in the
aftermath of the earthquake. As he journeys through the countryside, he provides
thought provoking insights on Haitian lifestyle, culture, poverty, and the struggle for
hope. This essay film focuses on the inherent destitution of the land that existed prior to
the cataclysmic quake. Standifer puts forth the idea that the earthquake was a “cursed
blessing”. While it may have cost the lives of thousands of people, it has inspired the
rest of the world to take a second look at Haiti.
age 4 of 6
Tanya Hamilton –DIR. NIGHT CATCHES US
www.nightcatchesus.com
Sundance Fellow Tanya Hamilton has received numerous individual artist grants in
recent years, including a prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts Grant for Night Catches
Us (the only screenwriter to ever receive the award), the Gordon Parks Screenwriting
Award, the Urban World Film Festival Screenwriting Award, a 5-County Arts Grant of
the Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship.
Her short film The Killers was awarded best short film at the 1996 Berlin International
Film Festival and the 1997 New Line Cinema award. In the same year she also
received the Director’s Guild of America Award for Best Female Director. Tanya and
the script for Night Catches Us also participated in the Sundance Screenwriter and
Filmmaker Labs. Hamilton is a graduate of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of
Science and Art as well as the Columbia Film Schoo
Daniel Nearing DIR. CHICAGO HEIGHTS
www.923Films.com
Director and Co-Writer DANIEL NEARING was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.
He holds an MA in English from the University of Toronto, where he studied under
Northrop Frye, one of the most influential literary theorists of the 20th Century. He also
holds a a BA from the University of Calgary, an MFA in Film from York University, and
was a resident at the Canadian Film Centre in 1997. He currently lives in Chicago,
Illinois. He has done a range of documentary and dramatic work for television, including
the CBC, TSN, TMN, The Discovery Channel and Bravo, with subjects ranging from
juvenile homicide to the National Hockey League. CHICAGO HEIGHTS is his first
festival feature.
age 5 of 6
2011 FESTIVAL
HIGHLIGHTS
OPENING NIGHT – FEBRUARY 11, 2011
I WILL FOLLOW
Starring Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Omari Hardwick, Beverly Todd and Blair Underwood
Doors @ 5:30PM
Reception 6-7PM– featuring light bites, libations and music
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay in attendance for post screening discussion.
SATURDAY EVENING – FEBRUARY 12, 2011
NIGHT CATCHES US
www.nightcatchesus.com
4 NAACP Image Award Nominations for NIGHT CATCHES US for Best Director, Best
Independent Feature, Best Actor and Best Actress.
Staring Kerry Washington, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Hector, Wendell Pierce, Amari Cheatom
Doors @ 5:30 PM
Reception 6-7PM – featuring dessert, libations and coffee. Music by Beautiful Soul
Presenting partners – Froebel Alumni Association
Post screening discussion with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr
Fred Hampton, Jr. (born 1969) is an African American political activist and the son of Fred
Hampton, Sr.. His father was a Black Panther who was shot to death while sleeping by the
Chicago Police in 1969. Hampton's mother, Deborah Johnson, was eight-and-a-half months
pregnant with him when Hampton, Sr. was killed in her presence during the pre-dawn police
raid. Hampton, Sr. was 21 at the time of his death; Johnson was 19. She was also shot.
Hampton, Jr. has followed his father's legacy, becoming prominent in black nationalist politics.
SUNDAY 3PM FEBRUARY 13, 2011
FILMMAKERS ROUNDTABLE FOLLOWED BY CATASTROPHIC MAGNITUDE
FILMMAKERS ROUNDTABLE
Get up close and personal on the ins and outs of the industry from those who have won
acclaim. We have invited Emmy Award w inning filmmaker Barbara Allen (Dusable to Obama:
Blacks in Chicago), Calvin Standifer–(Catastrophic Magnitude), Raymond A. Thomas "Son of
America"
CATASTROPHIC MAGNITUDE
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Filmmaker Calvin Standifer joins for post screening discussion
age 6 of 6