Have you heard of Will Gorham? If you haven’t, you will. He is the director of the highly anticipated independent documentary “Clean Mic” about stereotypes in comedy starring Dick Gregory and the famous Oakland-raised comedy writer Paul Mooney that is making the independent film festival circuit – and is being screened here in San Francisco on Feb. 15.
The San Francisco Black Independent Film Festival will screen three films – “Clean Mic” plus the short “Distractions” by Kevin Craig West and the feature length “The Candy Shop” by Alton Glass, a parody about an egocentric airbrush artist who runs a lingerie shop that specializes in edible body art. The festival will be held in Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Main Public Library, 101 Larkin St., San Francisco, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 1-6 p.m. Admission is free.
After a low-key production season in 2008, Iconoclast Productions, a San Francisco based media arts nonprofit, is back on the scene this year, kicking off a revitalized February and June 2009 program season with a strong offering of films by independent Black directors at the Koret Auditorium on Feb. 15. “We traditionally begin our Black History Month programming season on Martin Luther King Day in January,” said Board Secretary Sumiko California, “but with America’s first Black president coming into office the very next day, we decided to start a little later this year.”
Another new development for Iconoclast is the nonprofit’s sponsorship of the African American Media Arts Association at City College of San Francisco. The Inter Club Council recognized club encourages both student film and student audio producers, and the Fillmore’s own native born celebrity Rappin 4-Tay has committed to a February fundraiser on campus. “I always have supported the young up and comers, but with my oldest child now being college aged, this issue has really come to the forefront in my mind,” said Mr. Forte, proud father of Lil 4-Tay, who along with Roach Gigz performs in the group B.I.G.
For more information on the fundraiser, contact Rappin4Tay@Rappin4Tay.com or Krishna@Rappin4Tay.com. For more on the festival, contact Sumiko Saulson at (415) 573-4112 or sumikoska@yahoo.com.
