Yearly Archives: 2009

Nominations for Tressie Awards Now Open!

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Tressies Promotional Ad

San Francisco, CA, January 31, 2009 –The Tressie Souders Awards honors and recognizes the achievements of Black women in film, television and media. Individuals in the film, television and media industries are nominated by peers and the general public.

Black women have excelled in the film, television and media industries, but rarely are their achievements noted. The Tressies recognizes those women who have used their craft to combat negative stereotyping of Black women.

Hollywood has its awards like the SAG, Golden Globes and Academy Awards, but Black women barely break the ranks to be nominated, or even to win. The Tressies gives these women the opportunity to show their craft, network, and be honored by their peers and fans!

Join us in nominating such luminaries as Queen Latifah, Angela Bassett, Sophie Okonedo, Thandie Newton, and many others!

Nominations end on March 31, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be picked by April 30, 2009.

The deadline for choosing a winner will coincide with the award host’s call for films deadline.

The Tressie Souders Awards are hosted by the International Black Women’s Film Festival.

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THE TRESSIE SOUDERS AWARD NOMINEES

FILM
Nominations – Best Movie (2007-2008)

Things We Lost in the Fire – Halle Berry
The Secret Life of Bees – Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo, & Jennifer Hudson
Grindhouse – Rosario Dawson
Seven Pounds – Rosario Dawson
Vantage Point – Zoe Saldana
W – Thandie Newton
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – Naomie Harris
Cadillac Records – Beyonce Knowles
Perfect Stranger – Halle Berry
Hairspray – Queen Latifah
Meet the Browns – Angela Bassett
Run, Fat Boy, Run – Thandie Newton
Balls of Fury – Aisha Tyler
How She Move – Rutina Wesley
The Great Debaters – Jurnee Smollett

Nominations – Best Director for a Movie

Julie Dash – Daughters of the Dust
Maya Angelou – Down in the Delta
Ayoka Chenzira – Alma’s Rainbow
Gina Prince-Bythewood – Secret Life of Bees
Hanelle Culpepper – Within
Cheryl Dunye – Watermelon Woman
Sanaa Hamri – Something New
Leslie Harris – Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.
Kasi Lemmons – Eve’s Bayou
Shelia Norman – Reunion

Nominations – Best Movie Actress

Angela Bassett
Alicia Keys
Queen Latifah
Halle Berry
Sophie Okonedo
Beyonce Knowles
Jennifer Hudson
Rosario Dawson
Taraji P. Henson
Joy Bryant
Kerri Washington
Meagan Goode
Jurnee Smollett
Thandie Newton

Nominations – Best Supporting Actress in a Movie

Sophie Okonedo – Martian Child
Meagan Good – The Unborn
Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Meagan Goode – Saw V
Beyonce Knowles – Cadillac Records
Jennifer Hudson – Sex and the City
Angela Bassett – Notorious
Rosario Dawson – Seven Pounds
Jada Pinkett Smith – The Women
Jurnee Smollett – The Great Debaters

Nominations – Best Comedy (Movie)

Mad Money – Queen Latifah
Meet the Browns – Angela Bassett
Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins – Mo’Nique
Madagascar 2 – Jada Pinkett Smith
Balls of Fury – Aisha Tyler
Run, Fat Boy, Run – Thandie Newton
Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins – Joy Bryant
Talk to Me – Taraji P. Henson
Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins – Mo’Nique

PUBLICATIONS
Nominations – Best Online Magazine

Clutch Magazine – http://clutchmagonline.com
Lady Caprice Magazine – http://ladycapricemagazine.ning.com
Africana Pop – http://www.popafricana.com/
Trace Magazine – http://www.trace212.com

 
PREMIUM & BASIC CABLE
Nominations – Best Actress in a Cable Series

Salli Richardson – Eureka (SciFi)
Sonja Sohn – The Wire (HBO)
CCH Pounder – The Shield (F/X)
Freema Agyeman – Doctor Who (BBC)
Lauren Velez – Dexter (HBO)
Rutina Wesley – True Blood (HBO)
Adina Porter – True Blood (HBO)

Nominations – Favorite Cable Reality Series Featuring a Black Woman

“Project Runway” – BRAVO
“America’s Next Top Model” – UPN
“I Love New York” – VH1
“I Want to Work for Diddy” – VH1
“The Way It Is” – BET

PUBLIC TELEVISION
Nominations – Best Documentary on Public Television Featuring a Black Woman

“Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory”
“Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun”
“Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice”
“Shirley Chisholm: Unbought & Unbossed”

TELEVISION
Nominations – Best Actress in a Comedy on Television
“Ugly Betty” (ABC) – Vanessa Williams
“New Adventures of Old Christine” (CBS) – Wanda Sykes
“The Game” (CW) – Tia Mowry
“Everybody Hates Chris” (CW) – Tichina Arnold
“The Office” (NBC) – Mindy Kaling
“The Office” (NBC) – Rashida Jones
“30 Rock” (NBC) – Sherri Shepard
 
At-a-Glance
Most Nominated
Most Nominated Overall

Angela Bassett
The Great Debaters
CBS

2 Categories

CBS
NBC

1 Category

VH1
BBC America
Black Entertainment Television
F/X
HBO
UPN/CW

Obituary: Marpessa Dawn (1934 – 2008)

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I don’t know how I missed this obituary, especially considering that BLACK ORPHEUS is one of my all time favorite films!

The beautiful, and exquisite Marpessa Dawn passed away of a heart attack last August (August 25, 2008) in her home, in Paris, France. A magnificent, multilingual actress, Ms. Dawn played the lead role of Eurydice in Marcel Camus’ film, BLACK ORPHEUS.

Unusual for its time because it featured African Brazilians in the most un-glamorous of locations –a favela– as the actors recreated the ancient Greek story of Orpheus’ and Eurydice’s undying love. Her co-star in the film, Breno Mello, was a gorgeous, African Brazilian man, who defiantly played the lead in an ageless love story, when few Black love stories were being presented on film. Sadly, Mr. Mello also passed away just 41 days before Ms. Dawn.

BLACK ORPHEUS was filmed in Brazil, and was sub-titled for international audiences because it was entirely in Portuguese. Ahead of its time, BLACK ORPHEUS spring boarded Marpessa Dawn into the movie spotlight. Many thought she was an “exotic” beauty from Brazil, but she was American born, specifically, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her original name was Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Meno.

Ms. Dawn was an amazingly “global” woman before the average American barely knew what was outside of their town’s borders. She was fluent in many languages, including, French and Portuguese. She raised eyebrows in the late-1950′s by marrying a white, European man, and lived as an expatriat in Paris, France.

Ms. Dawn will always be remembered in the hearts of movie lovers everywhere. She is survived by her daughter Dhyana Kluth.

More: NY Times

The Netflix Find Your Voice Film Competition

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The Netflix FIND Your Voice Film Competition

$150,000 Feature Film Cash Production Grant + $250,000 worth
of resources including film stock, processing, camera rental, Film Independent
mentorship, exposure to a Blue Ribbon judging panel, Screening at The
Los Angeles Film Festival + Netflix Distribution to 8 million member audience.

Deadline: February 9, 2009 – No Entry Fee Open to first time feature
filmmakers residing in the U.S.

Netflix and Film Independent have joined efforts to create the Netflix FIND
YOUR VOICE Film Competition in order to discover the next great film talent.
In addition to the cash production grant, 35,000 feet of Kodak Color Film,
film processing, camera rental, and post production services, the contest
winner will receive mentorship and resources from Film Independent, a
non-profit organization dedicated to helping independent filmmakers get
their films made, building the audience for independent film, and increasing
diversity in the film industry.

The competition will be judged by a panel of major independent filmmakers,
producers and actors, including Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, Milk,
W), Dustin Lance Black (Big Love, Milk), and Bruce Cohen & Dan Jinks
(American Beauty, The Forgotten, Big Fish, Milk)

First-time filmmakers who are legal residents of the U.S. who have not yet
created and publicly screened a full-length narrative feature film of 70
minutes or more are eligible to enter the competition. There is no fee to
apply but a maximum of only 2,000 submissions will be accepted between
January 9th and February 9th, 2009.

GARRETT SCOTT DOCUMENTARY DEVELOPMENT GRANT

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GARRETT SCOTT DOCUMENTARY DEVELOPMENT GRANT
(sent by Leau Fille — Thank you!)
=========================================================
WHAT – This grant funds first time documentary makers for travel and accommodations at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, April 2-5, 2009. For four days, grant recipients will be given access to films, participate in master classes and be mentored by experienced filmmakers. TWO filmmakers will be chosen for the grant in its third year.

DEADLINE – Applications must be RECEIVED BY February 6, 2009. Applicants will be notified by email in early March.

ABOUT THE GRANT – Garrett Scott made a distinctive mark in documentary during his short career. Without any formal training in film, he directed Cul De Sac: A Suburban War Story, examining the case of a methamphetamine addict who stole a tank from an armory and went on a rampage through the San Diego suburbs. The film prompted Filmmaker Magazine to cite Scott as one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film. He went on to make Occupation: Dreamland, co-directed with Ian Olds, about U.S. soldiers in Falluja, Iraq. It won prizes at Full Frame and the Independent Spirit Awards. Both films were broadcast by the Sundance Channel. In 2006, Scott died of a heart attack at age 37.

Scott’s work examined how the forces of state power and economics impact individuals. Stylistically, his films broke convention, giving audiences new perspectives on familiar milieus like suburbia or war torn Iraq. He was a beloved member of film communities in San Francisco and New York City and several points in between.

His friends, family and colleagues established this development grant to help other emerging filmmakers reach their potential. The grants selection committee looks especially for filmmakers who somehow fulfill Scott’s example, by bringing a unique vision to the content and style of contemporary documentary making.

Previous grant recipients include Rebecca Richman Cohen, Nathan Fisher and Mai Iskander in 2008 and Robin Hessman and Lee Lynch in 2007.

CRITERIA – Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or green card holder and live in the continental United States; any age 18 or older. By “first time filmmaker,” we mean someone who is in the early stage of their documentary career and has not yet received significant recognition (such as major festival play or broadcast). All applicants should anticipate finishing their first project by March 2010. You still qualify as a “first time filmmaker” if you’ve made shorts or student projects, worked professionally as a crew member on other people’s films, or if you’ve recently completed a documentary that hasn’t been released yet. The grant is open to students and non-students alike.

HOW – Applicants should send a 2 page letter addressing these areas:

1) Project summary: Describe the documentary you’re working on. It doesn’t matter whether the film is a short or a feature, though the judging tends to favor more ambitious projects. Describe the characters, structure, visual approach and what stage you’re at.

2) Director’s statement: Describe how you came to filmmaking and how you’ve trained as a filmmaker. It doesn’t matter whether you went to film school or are self-taught. Describe what you want audiences to take from your film.

Work sample: Applicants must send a 5-10 minute DVD sample of a work-in-progress or a past work. You may send a longer work sample, but judges may only review the opening minutes.

Submit TWO COPIES of both the letter and DVD along with your…

Name:
Address:
Phone:
E-mail:

Send to:
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
ATTN: Garrett Scott Documentary Grant
324 Blackwell Street. Suite 500
Washington Building, Bay 5
Durham, NC 27701

Question or comment? e-mail us submissions@fullframefest.org

Late Date Registration – Tribeca Call for Films

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Due January 12, 2009 (Arrive By)

2009 Tribeca Film Festival Dates and Submissions

Tribeca Film Festival is still accepting feature length submissions for our Late Deadline. This deadline is for Feature length Works-In-Progress and Films completed after the official deadline. 
Click Here for Rules and Regulations
Click Here to Submit a Film
Got Questions? Get the Scoop from Programmers
Submissions FAQ

Screenwriter Seeking Executive Producers

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I’m a black, female screenwriter looking for executive producers that are
interested in changing the “slanted face” of filmmaking by putting dark-skinned
black women in LEAD roles. A great foray into that endeavor would be my
project below:

Title: “Bla’ Volt” (Short for “Black Girls’ Revolt”)
Genre: Crime/Caper/Action/Satire
Logline: A secret society of innovative, ebony-toned bombshells mastermind
a plan to rob from a corrupt government agency to save downtrodden residents
at a local homeless shelter.

(Think “Ocean’s Eleven” meets “Cleopatra Jones”.)

Marjorie J. Frazier
_mjfwrites2u@aol.com_ (mailto:mjfwrites2u@aol.com)