January 21, 2013
On the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it comes to mind that from day one our society and culture have been heavily influenced by film. The recent slavery-related films, “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg, and “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino, will have a social, economic and psychological impact.
July 12, 2012
San Francisco was well represented at Cannes this year. Native son Danny Glover sat on a panel about documentary filmmaking, while San Francisco’s Kevin Epps showed his film “Straight Outta Hunters Point 2” to its first international audience. The San Francisco Black Film Festival held a news conference with “Godfather of Independent Film” Robert Townsend.
February 8, 2012
“Red Tails,” the new George Lucas film depicting the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, is to the history of Black fighter pilots during WWII what a sunset is to a day: It’s pretty to watch but no illumination is forthcoming. However, “Red Tails” is surely a must see.