From Press Release
| Friday, November 4 at 7:30pm! Black Harvest Opening Night: A BLACK HARVEST FEAST 2021 – 2022 / Various directors / USA, Canada / 90 mins / In English and French with English subtitles / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival | Post-Screening Reception! Welcome to the 28th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival! Opening Night of Black Harvest is always a reunion of filmmakers, film lovers, and film supporters. Once again we will premiere a bounty of short films in a Black Harvest feast! This year’s Opening Night program will also include the presentation of Black Harvest Film Festival Legacy Award to Sharon King, and the announcement of the winners of The Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Black Harvest Film Festival Prize. $50 General Audiences / $25 Gene Siskel Film Center Members, includes post-screening reception. Evening Host – LeeAnn Trotter: LeeAnn Trotter is NBC5’s entertainment reporter, covering everything from celebrities to what’s happening around town. She’s also a regular contributor to NBC5’s “Making a Difference” segments.Opening Night Program: REDBIRD 2021 / dir. Dagmawi Abebe / USA / 15 min. / In English / Format: Digital A young, emerging African American rodeo rider living in a small town in Oklahoma must choose between his personal life or chasing after his dream of becoming a full-time rider in Dagmawi Abebe’s gorgeous exploration of home. FANMI 2021 / dirs. Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers, Carmine Pierre-Dufour / Canada / 15 min. / In French with English / Format: Digital Heart-broken following a break-up, Martine receives the unexpected visit of her mother, Monique. During this short stay, these two very different women will have one last chance of getting closer to one another before they run out of time. BERMUDA 2022 / dir. Lorenzo Leyva / USA / 22 min. / In English / Format: Digital In Lorenzo Leyva’s hilarious and heartfelt BERMUDA, Toni is turning 25 and still living with her controlling family, when she decides she needs to embrace her womanhood and her sexuality, and find her freedom. ALONE TOGETHER 2021 / dir. c. Craig / USA / 14 min. / In English / Format: Digital Isolated in an assisted living facility with only her caretaker, a grandmother battles her loneliness and fading memory as she searches for human connection through a series of family Zoom calls. |
| Saturday, November 5 at 8pm! THE INSPECTION 2022 / Elegance Bratton / USA / 95 mins / In English / Format: DigitalPart of: Black Harvest Film Festival | Director Elegance Bratton in attendance! In Elegance Bratton’s deeply moving film inspired by his own story, a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life. Director Elegance Bratton scheduled to attend. |
| November 5 & 19! JASMINE IS A STAR 2022 / Jo Rochelle / USA / 58 mins / In English / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival Director Jo Rochelle scheduled to attend Saturday, November 19. Available virtually Nov. 21-27. Jasmine is a sixteen-year-old with albinism (lack of pigment in the hair, skin, and eyes) who is determined to make it big as a professional model in her hometown of Minneapolis, while attempting to go unnoticed in every other aspect of her teenage life. As her family supports her best they can, Jasmine learns to untap her talents, embrace her identity, and find her voice. Director Jo Rochelle scheduled to attend Saturday, November 19. Order Tickets!Monday, November 7 at 6pm! CHI-RAQ 2015 / Spike Lee / USA / 127 mins / In English / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival & 50/50 Series “Astonishing. Up there with Lee’s very best.” – Adam Woodward, Little White Lies “This sprawling, blistering state-of-the-reunion-address is Spike Lee’s most vital movie in years.” – Justin Chang, Variety In this ambitious adaptation, Spike Lee reimagines Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata,” adapting the ancient Greek comedy to a musical set on the streets of Chicago. Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris), the girlfriend of gang leader Chi-Raq (Nick Cannon) persuades the women of the South Side to abstain from sex until their men agree to put down their weapons and end the senseless cycle of violence.Order Tickets! |
| Saturday, November 5 at 2pm! PROJECT RAINBOW at Black Harvest Film Festival 2022 / Various directors / USA / 90 mins / In English / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival | Free! Youth, students, and audiences of all ages are invited to attend this free, 90 minute program of family-friendly short films and stories, presented by Project Rainbow, a new Cook County-created, family-focused initiative, under the leadership of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, to address the educational barriers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A collection of films from the Black Harvest Film Festival lineup, as well as locally made short films by youth filmmakers, will be screened, includes complimentary popcorn and snacks . Select works in the program will also be available on Project Rainbow’s free app for families and audiences to enjoy at home. Presented as a collaborative program between Cook County, Urban Gateways, Free Spirit Media and the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Black Harvest Film Festival. Learn more about Project Rainbow at projectrainbow.cookcountyil.gov Free! Details hereSunday, November 6 at 2pm! WHAT’S YOUR STORY? The Community Film Workshop’s 50-Year Journey 2022 / Derek Grace / USA / 90 mins / In English / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival Director Derek Grace, subject Margaret Caples and special guests scheduled to attend. The origins and history of Chicago’s crucial Community Film Workshop are lovingly documented in this portrait of the South Side film training organization, now celebrating its 50th anniversary as a home where the careers of many underrepresented filmmakers have found their voice and gotten their start. Join the Black Harvest Film Festival for a celebration of CFW with this special film screening, followed by a discussion with director Grace, and Margaret Caples, CFW Executive Director. Director Derek Grace, subject Margaret Caples and special guests scheduled to attend.Order Tickets! |
| Sunday, November 6 at 6:15pm! MARIAN ANDERSON: THE WHOLE WORLD IN HER HANDS 2022 / Rita Coburn / USA / 64 mins / In English / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival Director Rita Coburn scheduled to attend. Available virtually November 21-27. In this inspiring documentary from Emmy winner, and BHFF alum Rita Coburn (MAYA ANGELOU: AND STILL I RISE), the life and legacy of Marian Anderson, the gifted American contralto, best known for her performance at the legendary Freedom Concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, is explored. With unprecedented access to the Marian Anderson Estate, the film draws on rare archival footage, audio recordings, and Anderson’s extensive personal correspondence to family and friends (including W.E.B. DeBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Shirley Chisholm) to reveal the woman behind the icon. Available virtually November 21-27. Director Rita Coburn scheduled to attend.Order Tickets!Wednesday, November 9 at 8:15! THE FIRST STEP 2021 / Brandon Kramer / USA, France / 90 mins / In English / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival Directors Brandon and Lance Kramer, composer Joshua Abrams and editor Leslie Zimmer scheduled to attend. Available virtually November 21-27. On election night 2020, progressive activist and political commentator Van Jones spoke boldly regarding Donald Trump’s victory, noting on CNN, “This was a whitelash against a changing country…against a Black president, and that’s the part where the pain comes.” Produced in association with Kartemquin Films, THE FIRST STEP intimately documents Jones as he faces a divided America (divided on politics, culture, and even what they think of Jones) to controversially work across party lines on landmark criminal justice reform and a more humane response to the addiction crisis. Attempting to be a bridge builder in a time of extreme polarization takes Van and a coalition of unlikely allies deep into the inner workings of a divisive administration, internal debates within both parties, and the lives of frontline activists fighting for their communities. Directors Brandon and Lance Kramer, composer Joshua Abrams and editor Leslie Zimmer scheduled to attend. Order Tickets! |
| Wednesday, November 9 at 6pm! BUCK AND THE PREACHER 1972 / Sidney Poitier / USA / 102 mins / In English / Format: 4K Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival Well established as an actor (he had won the Best Actor Academy Award for LILIES IN THE FIELD six years prior), Sidney Poitier marked his directorial debut with this spirited and affecting homage/revisioning of the classic Western. Poitier stars as the sturdy and serious Buck, a soldier-turned-trail-guide, helping emancipated slaves find settlements in the West following the end of the Civil War. Alongside him is actor-producer Harry Belafonte as the mischievous Preacher, who joins forces with Buck to thwart a gang of bounty hunters attempting to bring the freed slaves back to Louisiana. BUCK AND THE PREACHER’s savvy political commentary is woven into every frame of Poitier’s vision, presenting a film that 50 years on is a rallying cry of Black liberation.Order Tickets!November 6 & 17! Shorts Program: SISTERS IN SCENE 2021 – 2022 / Various directors / USA, Burkina Faso / 92 mins / In English and French with English subtitles / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival | Filmmaker Q&A! Six stories of culture, Black femininity, self-expression, and survival, SISTERS IN SCENE is a powerful program made by Black female filmmakers. In CURRENCY, Lucretia Stinnette compassionately deptics stability and survival in sex work (13 min.). When the condom breaks in Halima Lucas’ charming PLAN LMNOP, Jo and Rashaad unpack their anxieties (6 min.). In Shayla Racquel’s darkly comedic thriller THE LIFTED , rescue meets revenge when two girlfriends tail a suspicious Lyft driver (24 min.). Akilah Walker glimpses into the psyche and isolation of a Black woman living in Hollywood with IVAR TUNNEL: SHOOK ONES (10 min.). From Burkina Faso, filmmaker Leslie TÔ portrays a father and daughter relationship from the point of view of young Miriam in EN ROUTE (9 min.). And in LITTLE TRUMPET, Megan Trufant Tillman powerfully explores boyhood and the Black coming-of-age story in a new light (30 min.). Content consideration: mature language and imagery, sexual assault. Available virtually November 21-27. Select filmmakers scheduled to attend.Order Tickets! |
| November 8 & 12! Shorts Program: FIGURES & GUARDIANS 2020 – 2022 / Various directors / USA, Kenya, Senegal, Canada / 112 mins / In English and Swahili, French and Haitian Kreyòl with English subtitles / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival | Filmmaker Q&A! The figures, guardians, mothers, and fathers that have raised us to be who we are today are celebrated in this powerful and emotional program of short films. Chicago filmmaker Donald Conley documents the lives and legacies of his grandmothers in MATRIARCH (30 min.). In JOY’S GARDEN, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo proves that a home where love can grow takes time, and comes in many forms (14 min.). A young girl observes her father’s traditions and comes of age in Ramata-Toulaye SY’s ASTEL (24 min.). Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers and Carmine Pierre-Dufour explore a mother and daughter who have one last chance of getting closer to one another before they run out of time (15 min.). In Brandon McKnight’s ROADMARKS, Kory turns back to street-fighting to raise cash for his daughter’s music school (15 min.). And in C. Craig Patterson’s ALONE TOGETHER, a grandmother battles her loneliness and fading memory as she searches for human connection through a series of family Zooms during lockdown (14 min.). Available virtually November 21-27. Select filmmakers scheduled to attend.Order Tickets!November 10 & 15! Shorts Program: CINE LADO A LADO 2020 – 2022 / Various directors / USA, Canada / 103 mins / In English and Spanish, French, Haitian Kreyòl with English subtitles / Format: Digital Part of: Black Harvest Film Festival | Filmmaker Q&A! With common threads, spiritual voyages, and music to our ears, the power of community and cultural preservation allows for new paths in storytelling with CINE LADO A LADO (“CINEMA SIDE BY SIDE”), presenting voices and stories that express longing for a faraway land and the complexities of a multi-faceted African identity from Latine-identifying perspectives and artists. In RED VELVET (19 min.) Danielle Gibson presents a quirky and stylized twist on mixed cultures and identities. The language of music breaks boundaries of communication in Christine Rodriguez’s FUEGO (16 min.). In Dwayne LeBlanc’s CIVIC (19 min.) Booker takes his first trip back home L.A., returning to the place that holds his origins and the people who shaped him. Cultural traditionalism, family and gender expression are explored in Ley Comas’ personal documentary NI AQUÍ / NI ALLÁ (16 min.) A teen visits his aunt’s horse ranch and learns about more than just his roots in Casiano Roman Hamer’s BERROS (20 min.); and a dream of dancing meets the hardships of strenuous labor in Stacy Pascal Gaspard’s magical SOÑADORA (13 min.). Available virtually November 21-27. Select filmmakers scheduled to attend.Order Tickets! |
