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YOUTH FILMMAKERS’ MOVIE BLIND WITH TEMPTATION SCREENING NOW ONLINE WITH EM …

LA youth joins 20 Black male directors from America, Canada, and Cameroon to share films with a global online audience.  BHERC curated this diverse selection of movies from a vast field of talented storytellers to discover exciting topics.

 

(Hollywood, CA) – The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC) 24th Annual BHERC Reel Black Men Film Festival (RBMFF) is proud to have selected a standout film by 17-year-old Karston C. Singleton, “Blind With Temptation.” Currently running online on www. BHERC.TV through Sunday, August 29, 2021, the BHERC RBMFS features  21 films selected from 500 semifinalists culled from 1700 entries submitted from across the globe.

 

BHERC remains committed to developing both youth and emerging filmmakers. “While we hold our BHERC Diversity Youth Film Festival in January of each year, we were elated to add this film from Karston,” stated John Forbes, BHERC Executive Director.  Karston is an 11th grader who attends Science Leadership Academy. He tries to live as complete a life as possible, joining many clubs and participating in many programs and is currently pursuing a CTE program for photography and filmography. He hopes his creations spur happiness and meaning to the lives of many.

 

Look for films by iconic and emerging filmmakers at BHERC RBMFF with new works by trailblazing filmmaker Charles Burnett, Director “Killer of Sheep,” and Academy award-nominated director David M. Massey. “Last Breeze of Summer.”

The BHERC Reel Black Men Film Showcase (BHERC RBMFS) made its online debut in 2020 due to COVID – 19 and continues the format for the 2021 festival. Featuring the short films from emerging and veteran Black filmmakers, BHERC takes pride in featuring these selected works created by Black male directors and producers. “I am excited about the selections for the 2021 festival.  They are great stories that include drama, horror, romantic comedy, documentary and event sci-fi.” elated John Forbes, Executive Director of BHERC. “The content is diverse and tells both historical and contemporary, fictional and non-fictional stories. They are compelling in many cases, including the issue of the COVID – 19 pandemic.  The film screenings and panels are opportunities for directors to showcase their skills – directorial skills in particular – talent and vision while giving the audience a chance to view and discuss important issues, the filmmaker’s artistry, passion, and sacrifice involved in the independent filmmaking process.

 

The BHERC RBMFScontinues its mission to promote and bring to the public outstanding films created by male emerging and veteran filmmakers of African and African American descent. This 24th year provides a global audience the opportunity to screen the movie online at www.BHERC.TV, a new streaming service launched in February 2020, offers short film content — from comedy to drama, narratives to docudrama — produced and directed by Black Filmmakers.

BHERC TV is a leading worldwide provider of narrative and documentary short films about the African American experience and content from across the diaspora and diverse populations.

 

Screenings take place at www.BHERC.TV August 7 through August 29, 2021, 11:59 PM.  Panels with the filmmakers are August 14th and 21st  at 2:00 PM PST. Log on to www.bherc.TV to register.  Admission to the festival is $10.00.  For general and festival information, please call 310-284-3170, email John Forbes at  [email protected], orvisit www.BHERC.org.  For more information about BHERC TV, log on to www.bherc.TV

 

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About the Host BHERC – Founded in 1996 by Sandra Evers-Manly, the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center is a nonprofit, public benefit organization designed to advocate, educate, research, develop, and preserve the history and future of Blacks in film and television.  Through film festivals, award ceremonies, book signings, script readings, contests, scholarships, other programs, and special events, BHERC recognizes the contributions of Black men and women in front of and behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.

 

About the Filmmakers –

  • Dagmawi Abebe, Director/Writer The Ball Method – Alice Ball, a 23-year-old African American chemist living in 1915 Hawaii, fights against racial and gender barriers to find an effective treatment for leprosy.
  • Coyo Alexander, Director; Dakarai Akil, Writer AMERICA – Following events confront the personal livelihood of an African American cop after involvement in an all too familiar tragic shooting of an unarmed teen.
  • Muhammad Bilal, Director/Writer/Producer The Blue Cave – Ali, a troubled yet imaginative boy, has one dream in life: to become a screenwriter. Neglected by his mother, brutalized by his stepfather, and bullied by members of the neighborhood gang, he longs for a safe space to write screenplays and immerse himself in the world of his imagination. While searching for a haven, the boy discovers a magical cave. Nestled inside the cave, he must decide to either take a stand or lose his dream forever.
  • Charles Burnett, Director; Jonathan Burnett, Producer After The LockDown: Black Hollywood – Burnett explores how Blacks in Hollywood experienced COVID-19 and the social dynamics that make Blacks more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Via Zoom, Charles Burnett has hard-hitting conversations with Debbie Allen (actress, dancer, choreographer, director, producer), Bill Duke (actor, director, producer), Sheryl Lee Ralph (actress, singer, author, activist), Ayuko Babu (Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Pan African Film Festival) and others.
  • Andre` Campbell, Director Say My Name – A documentary on Kimberly MacLean’s artwork, “Say My Name.” Working for a year and a half, she paints over 33 thousand names of unrepresented people in their demise to a new world.
  • Thaddeus W. Jones, Jr., Director/Writer The Gazelle – A chance encounter with a stranger awakens a dormant secret that leads to a slow hunt.
  • Michael McNeil, Director/Writer/Producer; Khalief Kelly, Writer Track A Package –A customer wants to track his package using his phone number.
  • David M. Massey, Director Passage – In 1600, Gamba, a West African village leader, faces a new challenge to endanger his family and village.
  • Joshua Otis Miller, Director/Writer Something Beautiful – Something Beautiful, paints an inclusive picture and provoking discussion around the way people think about people of color through the eyes of a person who embodies all things of beauty, success, love, and freedom. But, unfortunately, that happens to be black.
  • Frankline Nwochuze, Director NWEH (a tree god) – Ngembing, the only daughter of her parents, became the village point of attraction after a situation that costs her her life. Secured by the great NWEH (a tree god) ignited Ngwetine to forcefully send her little daughter on this terrible adventure, hoping for a positive outcome.
  • Richard B. Pierre, Director/Writer/Producer An Uninvited Guest – Three White people and one Black man wordlessly enjoy dinner while police brutally assault a disheveled Black man in the front yard.
  • Jonathan Rowan, Director/Writer/Producer Man Down – In the aftermath of the racially charged shooting of an unarmed teenager, an officer of color must decide to stand on the side of the law or seek justice for his community.
  • Khalid Sena, Director; Ramesh, Writer Concrete Rose – Marcus, a recently released ex-con, has difficulties integrating into his ever-changing community. He quickly becomes enticed to return to his old life but meets an older woman who welcomes him to work in a garden where he finds redemption and peace.
  • Jordan Shanks, Director/Producer Never Again – Never Again, chronicles the dramatic removal of Confederate monuments in the former capital of the Confederacy during the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.
  • Kreston C. Singleton, Director/Writer/Producer Blind With Temptation – A short story about a boy who comes across a fantastic item with a glaring drawback: will he be able to resist using it, or will temptation blind him?
  • William H. Smith, Ed.D., Director/Writer/Producer The Preacher & The Rabbi – The moral and spiritual partnership of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired their own cultural and racial communities and others to advocate for access, equity, and social justice in America. Many view the serendipity of their collaboration as providential. Nevertheless, their story offers a powerful and meaningful road sign as America travels a divided highway regarding issues of race.
  • Mitchell Ugwuezi, Director; Joseph Filani, Producer/Writer The Message – A world-renowned speaker prepares to address his audience with a controversial speech. But will they listen, or will he lose them altogether, along with his advisers?
  • Larry Ulrich, Director/Writer/Producer I’m Not Special – An eleven-year-old with Down Syndrome has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to participate as an athlete in the Special Games. However, as his drug-dependent father struggles with addiction and the demands of fatherhood, his athletic future is placed in jeopardy.
  • Lawrence “LAW” Watford, Director/Writer/Producer CATHARSIS – A Black woman in mourning confronts the ambitious District Attorney that refused to prosecute the NYPD officer responsible for her son’s death.
  • Gerald Webb, Director/Writer/Producer – $TACK$ – Unprecedented times force two fierce rivals to come face to face for the first time in over a decade to close a deal for the most valuable substance on earth. The film features the Daytime Emmy-nominated performance of Mark Christopher Lawrence as Hector.