Overview

The fourth annual Acapulco Black Film Festival in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco will showcase 18 new independent feature films and shorts by filmmakers of African descent, as well as works-in-progress, for an expected 1,000 guests and participants, most of whom are part of Hollywood's black elite.

In addition to the screenings there will also be daily panel discussions, Producer's Workshops, an Actor's Boot Camp, parties and special events.

The festival will host two major competitions - the feature film competition, which offers four awards - the Lincoln Filmmakers Trophy, Best USA Film, Best International Film, and Best Work-in-Progress; and the HBO Short Film competition, which offers one award to recognize artistic excellence in Black filmmaking.

The opening night World Premiere film, which is not in competition, is Monteria Ivey and Stefan Sweck's Field Guide to White People, about three international anthropologists who come to New York to study the habits and habitats of the White man. This digitally shot film is from the authors of a series of best-selling SNAPS books.

The four competing U.S. feature films are director-writer Reggie Bythewood's Dancing in September (his wife Gina Bythewood directed the newly released Love and Basketball), the World Premiere of Charlie Jordan's Something to Sing About, the World Premiere of Carl Seaton's One Week, and Oz Scott's Spanish Judges.

The international competition spotlights three features including Melvin Van Peebles' Bellyful (which premiered in the International Critic's Week at Cannes 2000, and is one of the first films produced in post-apartheid South Africa); Ntshavheni Wa Luruli's Chikin Biznis: The Whole Story; and French Martiniquese filmmaker Euzhan Palcy's Simeon. (Palcy was the first black woman to direct a film for a major Hollywood studio in 1989 with A Dry White Season).

Festival curator Warrington Hudlin, President of the Black Filmmaker Foundation and producer of the hit movies Boomerang and House Party says "the festival's most unique feature is the Work-in-Progress section which allows directors to receive feedback from the audience before making final editorial decisions." Directors offering sneak previews of their work at this year's festival are Barry Bowles with Nothing to Lose, a romantic comedy described as Friday meets Four Weddings and A Funeral; comedian Pierre's ghetto-centric comedy For Da Luv of Money, about stolen cash; Don Mays and Roderick Giles Same Difference, a drama about a street hustler and his roommate; and Jeff Byrd's 17 Again, about a second chance for love.

The HBO Short Film Award, a $20,000 prize, will go to one of the five finalists. The films Da Sixth Sense, Are You Cinderella, Manifested Intent, Details, and My Father's Hand, will be judged by a panel of African American directors and an HBO programming executive.

"This year's film selections are a great testament to the cinematic talent in the independent Black film community," says festival producer Jeff Friday. "We are providing filmmakers with a forum that offers both critical feedback and often yields financial backing."

This year's seminar topics include "Alternative Theatrical Film Distribution," "Digital Filmmaking," "The Best Man: A Success Story," and "Hip-Hop Empowerment in Hollywood. Among the panelists scheduled to appear are Malcolm D. Lee, Andre Harrell of Bay Boy Records, Master P, and DJ Pooh. The Producer's Workshops, which run for three days, will include Carl Craig (Hollywood Shuffle, Player's Club), Robert Teitel (Soul Food, Navy Diver), Ralph Farquhar (Moesha, The Parkers), and Paul Hall (Higher Learning, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Shaft).

Celebrities who have attended the festival are Debbie Allen, Morgan Freeman, Isaac Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Larenz Tate, Regina King, Pam Grier, John Singleton, Reginald Hudlin, and Carl Franklin.

Most of the festival events are scheduled to take place at the Acapulco Convention Center, the Cinemark theaters, and the Hyatt Regency Acapulco Hotel.

The Acapulco Black Film Festival is presented by UniWorld Films (a division of UniWorld Group Inc., one of the largest, independently owned multicultural communications companies in the world, and also a producer of BlackFilmFestAmerica), the Black Filmmaker Foundation, and cable company HBO.

>>

Wrap-Up

The 4th Annual Acapulco Black Film Festival, celebrating black films and black filmmakers from around the world, ended on a high note Saturday evening June 10 with record-breaking attendance, up almost double from last year, and a festive awards ceremony and dinner at the Acapulco Convention Center in Acapulco, Mexico.

Last year around there were around 1200 registered black film industry professionals, black filmmakers and non-industry festival supporters, this year the number increased to almost 2200.

The Best USA Film Award went to director-writer Carl Seaton for his Chicago set One Week, a contemporary drama about HIV (AIDS). The Best International Film Award went to legendary director-writer Melvin Van Peebles for his French language film Bellyful, a digitally shot comedy about racism and the power of living nobly and truthfully which premiered at Cannes 2000 in the International Critic's Week. The Best Work-in-Progress Award went to filmmaker Jeff Bryd's Seventeen Again, a comedy about an estranged 50-something couple reverting to their youth in order to get along. And the $20,000 prize in the HBO Short Film Competition went to Toronto-based filmmaker David Sutherland for his powerful story about a father and son who confront their differences in the aftermath of a brutal robbery. As a surprise addition, HBO decided to award $5,000 to each of the other four finalists for their work. The Lincoln Filmmakers Trophy, went to Carl Seaton for his film One Week. The prize included a one-year lease on a Lincoln Navigator car.

The Black Star Awards were as follows - the Star of the Year Award to actress Nia Long who is pregnant and was unable to attend (her acceptance had been pre-recorded on video and was played for the audience); the Film Entrepreneur Award to music artist Master P who flew in at the 11th hour in order to attend; and the Byron E. Lewis Trailblazer Award, which went to director Melvin Van Peebles.

Among Hollywood's black elite in attendance were director Reginald Hudlin, his brother producer Warrington Hudlin who is also a founder of the festival and director of the Black Filmmakers Foundation, actor-producer Morgan Freeman, director Euzhan Palcy, actress CCH Pounder, director Michael Schultz, director Oz Scott, director John Singleton, director Robert Townsend, director Melvin van Peebles, actor Mario Van Peebles, and Young and the Restless star Tonya Lee Williams.

A last minute addition to the program was the appearance earlier in the day of revered actor Morgan Freeman who hosted two screenings of his new film Under Suspicion which he executive produced and starred in with Gene Hackman and Italian model turned actress Monica Bellucci. The drama, produced by Revelations Films and France's TF1, and directed by Stephen Hopkins, is a remake of French filmmaker Claude Miller's Garde a Vue.

Contributor/festival specialist
Wendy Carrel