ARY G nternat ional IBLACK FILM FESTIVAL Get Inside Film. Get Outside Yourself. OCT. 13-15, 2017 INDIANA UNIVERSITY BERGLAND AUDITORIUM, GARY, IN WWW.GARYBLACKFILMFEST.ORG 2017 FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE WELCOME The Gary International Black Film Festi- val (GIBFF) is a Gary-born cultural event that brings independent Black film to Gary audiences providing rich,authen- tic opportunities to celebrate African American and diaspora heritage and culture through film and discussion. Our goal is to foster authentic discussion about our culture and history by using films that provide a counterbalance for widely distributed misaligned represen- tation of our heritage and contributions to American and global society. The 7th Annual Gary International Black Film Festival launches We are so honored by the relationships we are building with with a Pre-fest KICK OFF Evening featuring a special perfor- filmmakers, the commitment of our partners, the support of mance by acclaimed artist-poet Saul Williams, noted for his our sponsors and the beloved community to whom we are keen ability to incorporate music, from funk to punk with accountable. bracing social commentary, along with a screening of DREAM- STATES, a film by Anisia Uzeyman & Music by Saul Williams. FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS: Williams and Uzeyman will be on hand for a lively evening of film, music and words.. FUNK MEETS PUNK: AN EVENING WITH SAUL WILLIAMS | DREAMSTATES The GIBFF is proud to partner with ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen Thursday, October 12 @ 6pm to bring Saul Williams to kick off the 7th Annual GIBFF Thursday, ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen, 411 5th Ave E., Gary, IN October 12, 2017 at ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen 411 E 5th Ave, Gary, IN 46402 We want people to come out to see and hear this OPENING NIGHT: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK BRILLIANCE powerful artist and ethereal film. Tickets - Pay-What-You-Can Friday, October 13 | 6:00 PM Red Carpet Reception | 7:00 Film Indiana University Northwest, Bergland Auditorium 3400 Tickets are available online at Broadway, Gary, IN 46408 brownpapertickets.com/profile/27299 or Urban League of NWI 3101 Broadway, Gary, IN 46409 YOUTH FILM SHOWCASE Saturday, October 14, 12 Noon THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12 – FUNK MEETS PUNK: SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT FILM - Word is Bond - Dir. Sacha Jenkins AN EVENING WITH SAUL WILLIAMS Saturday, October 14 at 7pm ARTHOUSE: A SOCIAL KITCHEN – 411 5TH AVENUE 6:00 PM – Reception GARY DAY - Honoring Gary’s Best and Brightest Sunday, October 15 2pm and 5pm 7:00 PM Dreamstates Dir. Anisia Uzeyman, 2016, USA France Rawan- We would like to thank all of our collaborators, supporters, da, 74 Min sponsors and the individual and in-kind donors who believed Equal parts love story, road movie, and Americana, DREAM- enough in us to lend their support. We think this year is our STATES tells the haunting tale of two wayward souls (Saul best yet, but of course, we think every year is our best. Williams and Anisia Uzeyman) discovering their love for one another in their dreams and reality while touring the United States with some of the most pivotal figures of the Afro-Punk movement – Sultry, sensual, and quixotic, an underground por- trait of America: haunted and hollow. Filmmaker in attendance. Special performance by Saul Williams 2 2017 GARY INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL FESTIVAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDIVIDUAL DONORS Ijeoma Oluo FESTIVAL PHOTO IMAGE 2017 FILM SELECTION PANEL Rebecca Allen Kimberly Pasciuto Inye Wokoma Karen Toering John Bodin Giulia Pasciuto Walter Jones Alrick Brown Elena Perez GIBFF FESTIVAL TEAM Ludeen Kilgore Valerie Curtis-Newton Lola E Peters Kay Abraham Saidah Holt Magan Do Eleanor Poley Sydney Chatman Toni Simpson Ava DuVernay Uma Rao Pr. Lisette Celochia Sydney Chatman Carson Flora Stephen Silha Saidah Holt Lisa DeNeal Jill Freidberg Andrea Stuart-Lehalle Lester Lowe Fifi Locke Devin Glaser Deborah Vinsel Walter N. Jones Naomi Millender Kylie Gursky David Vogel Ludeen Kilgore Sewa Ade Akili Byron Hurt Eleanor Watts Toni Simpson Jeanette Riley Toshiye Ishisaka Honorary Team Member Shelice Tolbert Ashley & Lance Leasure GRAPHIC DESIGN Ancestor Kelechukwu Brnfre Kourtney Givens Sharon Levels Naomi Ishisaka Lester Lowe GIBFF ADVISORY COUNCIL Charles Murray Alyce Emory Lynne Nguyen Charles Murray Chris Olson Anthony Riddle FESTIVAL SPONSORS & PARTNERS 2017 GARY INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL 3 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13 – INDIANA UNIVERSITY NORTHWEST 6 PM RED CARPET RECEPTION FOOD | MUSIC | CASH BAR 7 PM CELEBRATING BLACK BRILLIANCE 90 Days Dir. Nathan Hale Williams, Jennia Fredrique Aponte, 2016, USA, 19 Min After ninety days of dating, Jessica (Teyonah Parris) tells her would-be fiancé that she is HIV positive, which forces the couple to confront the realities surrounding living and loving with HIV. Night Shift Dir. Marshall Tyler, 2017, USA, 16 Min OLLY JEFFRIES, an on-again off-again actor whose career has stagnated over the years and ends up gigging as a bathroom attendant in a LA nightclub, called “The Fix”. Working in such intimate close quarters with random strangers provides a window for him to study human be- havior, something he can use in creating believable per- formances if ever casted in something again, at least that’s what he tells himself. Tales From Shaolin: Pt 1 “Shakey Dog” Louis A. Moore, 2017, USA, 15 Min Tales From Shaolin reinterprets the works of the Wu Tang Clan as a Shakespeare-meets-Tarantino, crime-filled action dark comedy! Using the lyrics from the song “Shakey Dog” by Ghostface Killah, Part One: “Shakey Dog” stars Stephen Hill as our narrator “Ghost” and Dominique Spencer as the 90 Days quiet yet eager Frank in this tale of a stick up gone wrong. See You Yesterday Stefon Bristol, 2016, USA, 16 Min Presented by Spike Lee, two Brooklyn teenage prodigies, C.J. Walker and Sebastian Thomas - determined to outwit fate and role- play as God - build make-shift time machines to save CJ’s brother, Calvin, from being wrongfully killed by a police officer. They Charge for the Sun Dir. Terence Nance, 2016, USA, 16 Min In a dystopian future where people live nocturnally to avoid the harmful rays of the sun, a young black girl unravels the lie that has kept her and her sister in the dark. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 12 PM YOUTH AND STUDENT FILM SHOWCASE Agent Hollywood Dir. Anthony Michael Hobbs, Michael Forstner, 2017, USA, 13 Min Agent Hollywood is a kid actor who is also a secret agent. His days are filled with Hollywood, homework, and henchmen. All Kids Go to Hell Chaz Bottoms, 2017, USA, 7 Min Two orphaned siblings, unknowingly using a ouija board, accidentally ask the devil to adopt them. Unplugged Malik Bolton, 2017, USA, 6 Min An introverted kid uses his headphones to detach from the world. But when they break, he has to deal with what he most fears: human interaction. A Senior Capstone Film Written, Directed, and Fully Animated By: Malik Bolton 4 2017 GARY INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL THE CHICAGO BOYZ Tiara Epps, 2015, USA, 11 Min Tim Shaw is the founder of the Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team. He’s giving young boys an opportunity of a life time to escape the violence in their community. While they may have issues in their neighborhood, they don’t let that stop them from traveling to perform on one of the most popular shows in America. Colour Me Pretty Jacolby Percy, 2017, USA, 15 Min A young girl begins to question her self-image after moving to a new school where she is not wanted. 2 PM DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASE I - The Cost of the American Dream Blueprint for Bronzeville Tristan Hanson, 2017, USA, 41 Min When the City of Chicago decides that its legendary African-American neighborhood Bronzeville will be the host community for a doomed Olympics Bid, housing activists swing into action. But with an international spotlight upon them, can they get a real commitment to affordable homeownership from City Hall? Against All Odds -The Fight for a Black Middle Class with Bob Herbert Bob Herbert, 2016, USA, 76 Min A documentary about the extraordinary difficulty African-Americans have faced in their efforts to establish and maintain a middle class standard of living. With a compelling narrative, dramatic historical footage and a series of deeply personal interviews, Bob Herbert shows why middle class inequity is still the case a half century after the heyday of the civil rights movement. 3:30 PM DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASE II - Revolution and Resistance Whose Streets Sabaah Folayan, Damon Davis, 2016, USA, 76 Min A documentary about the extraordinary difficulty African-Americans have faced in their efforts to establish and maintain a middle class standard of living. With a compelling narrative, dramatic historical footage and a series of personal nter- views, Bob Herbert shows why middle class inequity is still the case a half cen- tury after the heyday of the civil rights movement. 5:30 PM SHORTS SHOWCASE I - Living while Black The Talk Emily M. Blake, 2017, USA, 7 Min For African Americans, The Talk, is about more than just the birds and the bees. On his way to a big date, seventeen year old J.J. has a talk with his dad, but Dad couldn’t prepare him for this. Whose Streets Conversation With Change michael taylor, 2017, USA, 12 Min Both father and son grapple with change after son decides to change his career goals away from the family tradition of ivy league- trained Black male doctors to pursue acting. Drive Slow Terrence Thompson, 2017, USA, 14 Min “Drive Slow” follows a teenager from the South-Side of Chicago attempting to finish his college essays. As he struggles to boil 2017 GARY INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL 5 down his complex surroundings in 500 words, his friends’ disparate opinions, racist news narratives, and the threat of lingering danger only complicate the process.