RiverRun's free discussions,
panel events include black pros
Special to the chronicle
The RiverRun International Film
Festival will hold free tribute, discussion
and panel events during the upcoming fes
tival April 16-26, starting today, Thursday.
These free events featuring conversa
tions with renowned filmmakers and edu
cational panels include:
NC Filmmakers Panel, Sunday, April
19/1 p.m. / at a/perture 3
Sit down with some of the N.C. film
makers from RiverRun features $nd shorts
screened at this year's Festival to further
discuss their films and filmmaking in
North Carolina. Presented in conjunction
with the Made in Winston-Salem film
series coordinated by a/perture cinema.
New Winston Museum, and Piedmont
Triad Film Commission.
Spotlight Conversation with Charles
Burnett & Robert Townsend
Monday, April 20/6 p.m. / Milton
Rhodes Center for the Arts - Mountcastle
Forum
In conjunction with RiverRun's 2015
Spotlight on Black American Cinema
1971-1991, a six-film series exclusively
featuring cinematically significant films _
directed by black filmmakers. RiverRun
will also host a discussion with Charles
Burnett and Robert Townsend, two of the
Spotlight film selection directors.
Everything But the Burden: Black
Film & the Politics of Representation
Panel
Tuesday, April 21 / 7 p.m. / Winston
Salem State University - Diggs Gallery
As part of RiverRun's 2015 Spotlight
program on Black American Cinema, this
public conversation panel will bring
together artists and scholars to discuss the
complex issues around race and represen
tation in film and in filmmaking. Hosted
by Winston-Salem State University.
Pitch Fest & Panel
Friday, April 24 / 10 a.m. /
Hanesbrands Theatre
In an effort to further promote the
development of new filmmaking talent,
RiverRun is again partnering with univer
sities around the state to present the annual
Pitch Fest competition. Pre- selected stu
dent filmmakers will pitch their documen
tary shorts projects to a panel of industry
experts, receive advice on how to proceed,
and vie for the chance to win prizes and
industry recognition. This panel is free and
open to the public. Sponsored by Wells
Fargo.
Conversation with Stanley Nelson
(Master of Cinema Award)
Friday, April 24/2 Milton
Rhodes Center for the Arts - Mountcastle
Forum
RiverRun will host an on-stage moder
ated conversation and tribute to award
winning director Stanley Nelson, Jr.
(Freedom Summer, Freedom Riders, The
Murder Of Emmett Till) with a film clip
overview of his career following at a
Conversation with Stanley Nelson, follow
ing the screening of "Black Panthers:
Vanguard Of The Revolution."
Conversation with Heidi Ewing &
Rachel Grady (Emerging Masters
Awards)
April 25 / 1 pjn. / Milton Rhodes
Center for the Arts - Mountcastle Forum
Directing duo Rachel Grady and Heidi
Ewing of Loki Films will be honored with
RiverRun Emerging Masters Awards at the
Festival. RiverRun will host a tribute cere
mony, with an on-stage moderated conver
sation with the honorees and a film clip
overview of their accomplished careers.
Also, as part of its six-film Spotlight on
Black American Cinema from 1971-1991,
exclusively featuring films directed by
black filmmakers, RiverRun will feature
the following films (Tickets are required
for film screenings. Purchasing informa
tion is below):
"Shaft," 7:30 pjn. Friday,April 17 I
UNCSA Gold
Director: Gordon Parks
USA / 1971 / 100 MIN. / Rating: R /
35mm
Private detective John Shaft is a bad
mother-well, you know the rest-in this
touchstone of the blaxploitation genre by
director Gordon Parks, featuring a classic
score by Isaac Hayes. Hired by a Harlem
mobster to find his kidnapped daughter.
Shaft enlists the help of gangsters and
African nationals to get the job done.
Widely considered a prime example of the
Blaxploitation genre, Shaft was selected in
2000 for preservation in the National Film
Registry by the Library of Congress for
being "culturally, historically, or aestheti
cally significant."
"Killer of Sheep," 7 pjn. Saturday,
April 18 I UNCSA Gold
Director: Charles Burnett
Director Charles Burnett will attend
screening.
USA / 1979 / 83 + 10 MIN. / Rating:
MT / 35mm
In this standout work of neorealism
from Charles Burnett, a Watts, LA slaugh
terhouse worker must negotiate the neigh
borhood's retrograde influences and fight
his own personal demons in order to keep
from going under in the ghetto. Killer of
Sheep was one of the first 50 films to be
selected for the Library of Congress's
National Film Registry and listed as one of
the "100 Essential Films" by the National
Society of Film Critics. The UCLA Film &
Television Archives carefully restored the
film on 35mm.
"She's Gotta Have It", 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 19 I UNCSA Gold
Director: Spike Lee
USA / 1986 / 84 MIN. / Rating: R /
35mm
An early Spike Lee joint, She's Gotta
Have It gets personal with Nola Darling,
who's having simultaneous sexual rela
tionships with three different men. All
three fellows want her to commit solely to
them, though Nola resists being "owned"
by a single partner. As Spike Lee's first
feature-length film as a writer and director,
this film was the catalyst for the beginning
of his influential career. It is also consid
ered a landmark film in independent
American cinema and was a welcome
change in the representation of African
Americans in cinema.
"Hollywood Shuffle," 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 24 I UNCSA Gold
Director: Robert Townsend
Director and star Robert Townsend will
attend screening. 1
USA / 1987 / 78 MIN. / Rating: R /
35mm
An actor limited to stereotypical roles 1
because of his ethnicity, dreams of making 1
it big as a highly respected performer. As
he makes his rounds, the film takes a satir- 1
ic look at African-American actors in 1
Hollywood. Through comedy this film was
able to shine a much needed light on the
lack of substantial roles for black actors
and the misrepresentation of people of
color in film and television ad was a
resounding independent success, grossing
more than $5 million in the first 10 months
of release.
"Daughters of the Dust," 7 pan.
Saturday, April 25 I UNCSA Gold I
Director: Julie Dash
USA /1991 / 112 MIN. / Rating: MT /
35mm
Set in 1902, this film takes a languid
look at the Gullah culture of the sea islands
off the coast of South Carolina and
Georgia. African folkways were main
tained well into the 20th Century in this
isolated region, and it was one of the last
bastions of these mores in America.
As the first feature film by an African
American woman distributed by
Hollywood theatrically in the United
States, this film opened to great critical
acclaim, played at Sundance and Toronto
film festivals, and in 2004 was added the
National Film Registry.
"Boyz n the Hood," 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 26 I UNCSA Main
Director: John Singleton
USA / 1991 / 112 MIN. / Rating: R /
35mm
The film debut for both Ice Cube and
Morris Chestnut, this life-in-the-hood
drama highlights a group of interrelated
subjects as they struggle to either accept or
deny the fate of their South Central Los
Angeles upbringing. Also starring Cuba
Gooding, Jr., Laurence Fishbume, Nia
Long and Angela Bassett. John Singleton
was the first African-American nominated
for an Academy Award for both Best
Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Also, "David's Reverie," a short film
by Neil Creque Williams, who is from
Winston-Salem, will be shown 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 19 at SECCA and 7:15 p.m.
Friday, April 24 at Hanesbrands Theatre.
In "David's Reverie," a jazz musician
struggles to prevent his epilepsy diagnosis
from derailing his emerging jazz career.
Tickets and information: RiverRun's
Ticket Samplers, which include 10 film
vouchers for the price of nine, are now on
sale at the Stevens Center Box Office.
General tickets can be purchased at the
Stevens Center Box Office via wwwxiver
runfilm.com or over the phone at 336-721
1945.
The RiverRun International Film
Festival is a non-profit cultural organiza
tion dedicated to the role of cinema as a
conduit of powerful ideas and diverse
viewpoints. Founded in 1998, RiverRun is
a competitive event that annually showcas
es new films from both established and
emerging filmmakers around the world.
Each spring, RiverRun screens new narra
tive, documentary, short, student and ani
mated films, offering both audience and
jury prizes in competition categories.
Photo from http://riverrunfilm.com/
Robert Townsend, right, starred in and directed "Hollywood Shuffle."
4,
DCCC's spring fling brings back memories of the 1970s
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
THOMASVILLE -
Davidson County
Community College stu
dents stepped back to the
1970s era of bellbottoms,
flower children and peace
signs during the annual
Spring Fling celebration
sponsored by the college's
Student Government
Association held
Wednesday, April 8, on the
Davidson Campus.
"We always try to do
something new for Spring
Fling and thought dressing
up for the '70s would be
fun," says SGA President
Yesika Zelaya. "We hold
these events for students to
show that DCCC is more
than just classrooms - it's a
community."
Students, faculty and
staff participated in activi
ties such as guessing '70s
television theme songs,
bouncing through the
inflatable Ironman obstacle
course, riding the self-pro
pelled G-Force Twin Spin
and mechanical bull, and
on a more serious note,
talking with representatives
of four-year colleges con
cerning transfer options.
"I love Spring Fling. It
gets more exciting every
year," said student Angela
Handy. "The best part
about the event is the
mechanical bull. I love that
bull!"
The Total Image
Cosmetic Arts Club was
one of the many student
clubs and organizations
raising funds for projects
and activities through sales
of food and other items.
The esthetics and cosme
tology students contributed
to the theme by selling flo
ral head wreaths and
bracelets that reflected the
flower power culture of the
decade.
Worst
from page A7
keeping struggling families
in their homes.
*New assaults on
reproductive freedom -
Will Pat McCrory get
another chance to equivo
cate and waffle on his
seemingly iron-clad 2012
campaign promise to sup
port no further restrictions
on a woman's right to
obtain a safe, legal abor
tion? He will, if lawmakers
move forward with recent
ly introduced legislation to
radically alter state law in a
way that would make abor
tions almost completely
inaccessible.
Go to
http: I /pulse .nc policy
watch .org/2015/04/02/new
-legislation-would-all-but
end-access-to-safe-legal
abortions-in-north-caroli
na/ to read the list of "hor
ribles" in the new legisla
tion.
'Further degrading
the environment - On the
"regulatory reform" front,
there's the "Regulatory
Reform Act of 2015." As
the good folks at the North
Carolina League of
Conservation Voters point
out, this 34-page measure
includes provisions:
??"... abolishing the
Sedimentation Control
Commission: requiring the
Coastal Resources
Commission to relax its
rules on those huge beach
front "sandbag" walls;
repealing university energy
audit requirements; creat
ing a new loophole for pol
luters to get out of paying
penalties by reporting their
own violations; and other
creative tools for fun, pol
lution, and profit."
?
?Reversing a 150
year-old ban on garnish
ing wages - Quick: What's
the best way to dramatical
ly increase the number of
North Carolinians who file
bankruptcy each year? If
you answered "allow credit
card companies and preda
tory national 'debt buyer'
outfits to garnish the wages i
of average people" give
yourself a gold star.
As veteran Raleigh
bankruptcy lawyer William I
Brewer explained in this
essay yesterday, a huge
spike in bankruptcies is
exactly what will happen if
state lawmakers repeal a
150-year-old law that
allows North Carolina fam
ilies to avoid garnishment
by run-of-the-mill creditors
if the money in their bank
accounts is necessary to
meet basic family needs.
"Jacking up rates yet
again on small, high
interest loans - And
speaking of vulnerable
consumers who stand to
fall even further behind if
some in the General
Assembly get their way,
don't forget the recent
Senate proposal described
in this Raleigh News &
Observer article that would
send already absurd inter
est rates on small loans into
the stratosphere.
The proposal - which
would drive the effective
interest rates on some loans
to 60 percent or more - is
enough to make a body
wonder how the bottom
feeding usurers behind it
Find the courage to look in
the mirror each morning.
?Rewriting the UJS.
Constitution - Every time
you start to think that the
state's Tea Partying far
right has been tamed by the
corporate-funded politicos
calling the shots in Raleigh,
you're brought back to
reality by proposals like the
one detailed in this recent
Greensboro News &
Record editorial. As the
paper explained earlier last
week:
"We thought the state
legislature convened in
Raleigh. Last week, it
apparently met in Fantasy
Land." How else to explain
the House Judiciary I com
mittee debating for an hour
whether North Carolina
should join the call for a
'Convention of the States'
to discuss amendments to
the U.S. Constitution that
would limit the federal
government's power?"
?Meddling in US. for
eign policy - And speaking
of extreme, fringe ideas,
one can always count on
Lt. Governor Dan Forest
and his friends to weigh in
to keep things interesting.
Three weeks ago. Forest
co-announced the introduc
tion of legislation in the
Senate (along with Senator
Rick Gunn) that is billed as
the "Iran Divestment Act."
The proposal was clearly
pushed forward as part of
the far right's ongoing and
often improper national
resistance to the President's
authority to conduct for
eign policy in dealings with
Iran. It's good to know that
local conservative pols are
still taking their marching
orders from Fox News.
?Guns, guns and more
guns! - And in case you
thought state leaders had
succeeded in putting killing
machines into every con
ceivable nook and cranny
of the state, think again. A
House proposal would
make sure that guns could
be lawfully brought to a
host of new places by
numerous people currently
barred from doing so.
*Denying health care
to hundreds of thousands
of people - And finally, no
list of dreadful General
Assembly actions and pro
posals would be close to
complete without the
year's most obvious and
destructive policy omission
- the ongoing failure to
close the Medicaid gap that
is preventing hundreds of
thousands of working peo
ple from securing decent
and affordable health cov
erage. As was explained in
a recent excellent article
(http://www.newsobserv
er.com/opinionleditorialsla
rticlel7346896.html),
North Carolina's stubborn
and ideologically based
decision to turn down bil
lions of federal dollars is
literally costing us tens of
thousands of jobs and
bringing on the early
deaths of thousands of peo
ple each year.
Send your suggestions
for ideas and proposals
that should have been
included in this list to
http .//pulse .ncpolicy
watch.org/. We'll publish a
supplemental list on The
Progressive Pulse blog in
the near future.
Rob Schofield is policy
director for N.C. Policy
Watch. Find his columns at
http .//pulse .nc policy
watch.org/.