Narrative Feature Films

CIGARETTES FOR BREAKFAST
Directed by: Daniel Williams

Sirus Hawthorne, a young novelist and creative writing professor, is clandestinely involved with three different women: his wife, his mistress, and his exotic dancer girlfriend.

Over a three day period, he attempts to satisfy the needs of all three women while trying desperately to work on his novel. Along the way, the lines between reality, fantasy, dream and memory slowly fade.

CIGARETTES FOR BREAKFAST (New York Premiere)
USA/2008/72min/BETA/COLOR & B&W
DIRECTOR: d.e. williams
WRITER: d.e. williams
PRODUCER: Daniel Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bradford Young
FEATURING: Daron Ross, N. LaQuis Harkins, Tanya Johnson, Cherie Price

I USED TO LOVE HER
Directed by: Mark Harris

I USED TO LOVE HER tells the tale of Simee Smith (Turner) a pop singer who has lost her morals in the music industry. Fed up with what her life has turned into, she heads back to her hometown of Chicago. While seeking to restore her sense of self–worth and self–respect, Simee falls in love with an unlikely match, Ramadan El–Amin (Roberson), who in turn plays a crucial role in her growth and development as a “new woman.” Life gets better and better, but you cannot run from your past forever. Everything comes to light. Will Simee’s history ruin her future?

I USED TO LOVE HER (East Coast Premiere)
USA/2008/90min/BETACAM/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Mark Harris
WRITER: Mark Harris
PRODUCER:Mark Harris
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ricardo Islas
FEATURING: Mel Roberson, Toya Turner, Simeon Henderson, Sheree Bynum, Dori King, Tiffany J. Curtis, Lil Rel, Lorenzo Hunt

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JAZZ IN THE DIAMOND DISTRICT
Directed by: Lindsey Christian

When Jasmine ‘Jazz’ Morgan loses her mother to cancer, she can only focus on one thing: pursuing her dream of becoming a singer. Defying the wishes of her father, who prefers that she return to college, Jazz spends the summer entrenched in the D.C. underground music scene. One night, after an impromptu audition, Jazz is invited to join a go–go band. With ease she falls in love with the stage and together she and the band reach new heights of popularity. But just as quickly as her success builds, so does the pressure, and Jazz desperately tries to maintain control of her increasingly chaotic life.

JAZZ IN THE DIAMOND DISTRICT (New York Premiere)
USA/2007/79min/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Lindsey Christian
WRITER: Lindsey Christian, Sia Barnes
PRODUCER: Lindsey Christian
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Christopher McGuire
FEATURING: Wood Harris, Monique Cameron, Erica Chamblee, Andre’ Strong, and Clifton Powell

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SECOND CHANCE
Directed by: Iris Huey

It’s been five years since Omar walked out on the Nia, the woman he loved, and Micah, their newborn son. When he returns to ask for a second chance at being a father, Nia initially refuses to welcome him back into their lives. Eventually, however, she decides to do what is best for Micah and takes Omar back in.

The three quickly grow close. But soon after Nia re-opens her heart, Omar makes a poor decision that threatens to destroy all he has worked to build. Now, Nia and Omar are forced to decide if their dream for a family is worth the fight.

SECOND CHANCE (East Coast Premiere)
USA/2008/98min/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Iris Huey
WRITER: Iris Huey
PRODUCER: Iris Huey
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anthony Simuel
FEATURING: Marcel A. Williams, Divine Muhammad, Duane Miller

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SISTER’S KEEPER
Directed by: Kent Faulcon

SISTER’S KEEPER is an action-drama about a military–trained assassin, Jacob Tate (Kent Faulcon), who is sent by his handler (Eric Roberts) to a small Southern town with orders to eliminate a beautiful English teacher, Diane Shaw (Denise Boutté). When Diane mistakes Jacob for her long-lost brother, he uses the guise to find the perfect moment to kill her, but soon finds himself drawn into her frank and colorful family. The professional killer is left to choose between executing what should be an easy murder–for–hire and trying to solve the mystery of who would want the innocent teacher dead.

SISTER’S KEEPER
USA/2007/141min/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Kent Faulcon
WRITER: Kent Faulcon
PRODUCERS: Kyle Schickner, kent Faulcon, & Gary Hooker
CINEMATOGRAPHER: David T. Oye
FEATURING: Eric Roberts, Kent Faulcon, Denise Boutte, Esther Scott, & Tico Wells

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SOMETHING IS KILLING TATE
Directed by: Leon Lozano

Tate Bradley, a 25–year–old African American man, attempts to commit suicide. After surviving the ordeal, he hides from the world by isolating himself in his apartment. The significant players in his troubled life come to check on him. With each visit, Tate is forced to face his demons. The film offers a psychological portrait of the enduring scars left by child abuse and familial disintegration. But this is not a story of defeat and hopelessness. Rather, it is the story of hope and of an individual gathering the courage to face his reality and begin the process of healing. It is never too late!

SOMETHING IS KILLING TATE
USA/2007/78min/BETACAM/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Leon Lozano
WRITER: Leon Lozano
PRODUCER: Jessica L. Funches
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Max Gutierrez
FEATURING: Jocko Sims, Kevin Nichols, Robin Dionne, Aliza Pearl, Luz Beato, Tyrone Caprice, Myron Davis, Chantel Valdivieso, Joshua Curls

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STREETBALLERS
Directed by: Matthew Scott Krentz

STREETBALLERS is an urban drama exploring the lives of two junior–college basketball players and their struggles within a divided city, broken homes, and the demands of collegiate-level athletics. Both players are drawn into an underground world of gambling and crime on the courts of Saint Louis City’s tough Northside.

Constantly searching for sanity in the midst of alcoholism, racism, and drugs, John Hogan and Jacob Whitmore find release and therapy while competing at one of the most competitive street courts in the U.S. Both men must spend an entire summer helping one another overcome adversity.

STREETBALLERS (East Coast Premiere)
USA/2008/117min/DIGIBETA/COLO
DIRECTOR: Matthew Scott Krentz
WRITER: Matthew Scott Krentz
PRODUCERS: Matt Krentz, Vernon Whitlock, Patrick Rooney, & Craig Thomas
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Nick Gartner

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SEAL TEAM VI
Directed by: Mark C. Andrews

Based on actual events, this heroic saga depicts an elite counter–terrorism team’s black ops mission during Operation: Desert Storm and the harrowing consequences its members faced when their covert mission was compromised.

SEAL TEAM VI (World Premiere)
USA/2008/97min/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Mark C. Andrews
WRITER: Mark C. Andrews
PRODUCERS: Ken Gamble & Mark C. Andrews
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Chia-Yu Chen
FEATURING: Ken Gamble, Jeremy Davis, Zach McGowan, Kristoffer Garrisson, Neto DePaula, Amol Shah, & Jes Meza

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THE HEART SPECIALIST
Directed by Dennis Cooper, MD

Wood Harris transports the street genius of THE WIRE's Avon Barksdale to this modern comedy about the Chief Resident at a South Florida Hospital - who also happens to be a stand-up comedian. Charged with teaching medical skills to the largely English-as-a-second language trainees, his biggest challenge turns out to be the unexpected arrival of a ladies' man from Harvard Medical School (STOMP THE YARD's Brian White). What unfolds is a portrait of a teacher trying to find humor in some of life's hardest lessons while hiding a desperate secret of his own. Also starring GUESS WHO's Zoe Saldana, and Mya.

USA/2007/84min/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Dennis Cooper
WRITER: Dennis Cooper
PRODUCER: David Getachew Smith
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Yasu Tanida
FEATURING: Wood Harris, Brian White, Zoe Saldana, Mya

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TRUTH HALL
Directed by: Jade Jenise Dixon

WAITING TO EXHALE meets THE BEST MAN meets THE BIG CHILL... TRUTH HALL is a dramedy that examines the bonds of friendship between five women who were inseparable in college. Many years after graduation, they reunite for their best friend’s wedding, only to discover that each woman has a secret that originates in a place all too familiar: the dorms of Truth Hall. Those lost years after college seem to have woven a separation between the girls they were at Truth Hall and the women they have become today... Or perhaps they are one and the same.

TRUTH HALL (East Coast Premiere)
USA/2008/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Jade Jenise Dixon
WRITER: Jade Jenise Dixon
PRODUCER: Jade Jenise Dixon
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Pierre Chemaly
FEATURING: Jade Jenise Dixon, Tamara L.Curry, Celeste A. Sullivan, Karimah Westbrook, Nicole Prescott, Nicholas Demps

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UP WITH ME
Directed by: Greg Takoudes

When Francisco, a teenager from Harlem, is admitted to an upstate boarding school on scholarship, he is torn between his life at home and the new environment. But when his best friend puts his own life in danger as a loyalty test to Francisco, Francisco is forced to become the one thing in boarding school that he resisted becoming in Harlem: a drug dealer.

UP WITH ME is a creative collaboration between Greg Takoudes and non-professional teenagers from Harlem. The screenplay is based on months–long writing workshops with the teenagers, who also star in the movie.

UP WITH ME
USA/2008/76min/DIGIBETA/COLOR
DIRECTOR: Greg Takoudes
WRITERS: Maeve McQuillan & Greg Takoudes
PRODUCERS: Christopher Roberts & Greg Takoudes
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matt Timms
FEATURING : Francisco Vicioso, Erika Rivera, Brandon Thorpe

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WHITE LIES BLACK SHEEP
Directed by: James Spooner

A.J.'s real name is Ajamu Talib. His dislike for his African name is the least of his problems, but it says a lot about him. Brooklyn-born and outcast by his peers, his only escape is music.

Tight clothes, straightened hair, popular with girls and partying every night, he is fully entrenched in the debaucherous New York nightlife. For once, he feels like everyone else. Well, almost.

He begins to find that his chosen community only seems to run smoothly for white rockers. Black, but not “really black”. What's a young black rocker to do?

URSULA RUCKER: WHITE LIES BLACK SHEEP
DIRECTOR: James Spooner
WRITER: James Spooner
PRODUCERS: Mathew Morgan, James Spooner, Sam Harnanr
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bradford Young
FEATURING: Ayinde Howell, Jeremy Bobb

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