Black Film Festival Brings Movies, Jazz, Poetry

The Hamptons Black Film Festival, celebrating African-American filmmakers and movies that explore the African-American experience, returns to Southampton this week for its sixth year, bringing two nights of special events and a day of contemporary and classic features and shorts.

The festival kicks off Thursday at the with a screening of "Dear Daddy," an acclaimed docu-drama on growing up without a father at home, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Janks Morton with single parents, educators and others. Admission to the film and panel are free, though donations will be accepted.

The festival continues Friday at 7 p.m. at the cultural center with a night of spoken word and live jazz and R&B. Touche and Sypha and special guest flutist/vocalist Argarita Johnson will perform.

Then on Saturday, AAMEE and the present a day of films at the Parrish theater beginning at 12:30 p.m. A day-pass is $10, including refreshments and admission to all movies. Parrish members are admitted free.

Saturday line-up:

"Whitewash" (1994).
In Michael Sporn’s animated short film, a young girl named Helene is walking home from school with her brother when they are confronted by a street gang that paints her face with whitewash. 26 minutes.

"Trouble in the Water" (2009).
Writer-director Roger Lee Edwards, Jr. considers self-mockery within the African American community. 17 minutes.

"Hallelujah!" (1929)
An MGM Musical by King Vidor, it was one of the first all-black films and aimed to present a non-stereotyped view of African-American life. 100 minutes.

"DNR" (2010).
Written, directed by, and starring David Martyn Conley, "DNR" is a harrowing short film about a man who returns from the front lines in Iraq to discover his wife is having an affair. 37 minutes.

"Hairpiece" (1984)
A short film, Ayoka Chenzira’s animated satire examines the question of self image for African-American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind. 10 minutes.

"Cooley High" (1975)
Set in the mid-'60s in Chicago, two high school friends are falsely arrested for a car theft. Directed by Michael Schultz, the film is often called the Black "American Graffiti." 107 minutes.

"Night Catches Us" (2010)
Feature film directed by Tanya Hamilton and featuring a score by The Roots. From the film's website: In 1976, after years of mysterious absence, Marcus returns to the Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age in the midst of the Black Power movement. While his arrival raises suspicion among his family and former neighbors, he finds acceptance from his old friend Patricia and her daughter. However, Marcus quickly finds himself at odds with the organization he once embraced, whose members suspect he orchestrated the slaying of their former comrade-in-arms. In a startling sequence of events, Marcus must protect a secret that could shatter everyone’s beliefs, as he rediscovers his forbidden passion for Patricia. 90 minutes.

For more information on the festival, email info@aamee.org or call Brenda Simmons at 631-873-7362.