The Film Center’s Black Harvest International Festival of Film and Video marks its tenth year Aug. 7- 19 with an unprecedented six local productions making their Chicago debut, among a selection of work by black filmmakers from around the globe.
“We’ve always tried to put an emphasis on made- in-Chicago work, but most years we’ve been lucky to include one short and one feature,” said Film Center program director Barbara Scharres, founder and organizer of Black Harvest.
“There seems to be a really vibrant and growing African American film movement in Chicago. Just the fact that so many independent filmmakers were able to complete features in the same year is a terrific development.”
Love stories hold a particularly prominent place in this year’s program. “There was an incredible emphasis on romantic comedy, not just among the films we invited but among those we didn’t select,” Scharres said. “It’s interesting to program them alongside each other – we have films from a woman’s point of view and satirical films from a man’s point of view. It makes a nice counterpoint. The films are very funny and fresh, with some wonderful performances by young actors.”
Scharres established Black Harvest ten years ago to fill the void left by the discontinuation of the Blacklight Film Festival. “Our philosophy then was the same as it is now, to present films of the African Diaspora, not only new films from Africa, but the strongest selection we can assemble of international black films as well as African American films.”
The six Chicago pictures enjoying their local premieres at Black Harvest are:
Steven Foley’s Chicago- and Minneapolis-shot feature “Strange as Angels,” in which a fiercely independent woman is drawn into a star-crossed romance with a divorc?e. Screening Sunday, Aug. 8 at 5:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m.
Kirby Ashley’s 22-minute noir thriller “Blast On,” on which this writer was line producer, plays Tuesday, Aug. 10 at 8:15 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 16 at 6:15 p.m. in the “Secrets and Shadows” shorts program.
Jonothon Woods’ feature “Love Shorts” shifts between the stories of eight relationships in transition. Written and produced by Ytasha Womack, a writer/ producer of Sean Long’s 2001 feature doc “Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake?” “Love Shorts” plays Friday Aug. 13 at 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 6 p.m.
Greg Samata’s 54 minute doc “Island” about Chicago Housing Authority commissioner Mike Ivers’ time as the white pastor of St. Agatha’s Church in the South Lawndale Neighborhood plays Sunday, Aug. 14 at 3:15 p.m. and Thursday, Aug. 19 at 8:30 p.m.
Mike Merrill’s crime drama feature “Even Trade” screens Sunday, Aug. 15 at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Aug. 18 at 7:45 p.m.
Eldridge Valentine and Elliott V. Porter’s comedy feature “Player In Training,” a selection of Russell Simmons’ New Def Filmmakers project, follows two men learning the ways of love from their womanizing friend. Monday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. and Thursday, Aug. 19 at 8 p.m.
The Gene Siskel Film Center is at 164 N. State. Call 312/846-2000 or see www.siskelfilmcenter.org.
? by Ed M. Koziarski, edk@homesickblues.com
