| October 31, 2002 |
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QUEEN PUBLICITY 550 W. REGENT STREET, #341 Telephone: (310) 674-1776 / Facsimile
(310) 674-1776 NEWS |
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INTERNATIONAL BLACK WOMEN'S FILM FESTIVAL DRAWS AWARD-WINNING THESPIAN, ADILAH BARNES TO DISCUSSON PANEL Nov. 8 - 10th New and Classic Films! Free Workshops! Panel Discussions! Networking! Speakers! (San Francisco, Calif.) - The International Black Women's Film Festival ("IBWFF") has invited Los Angeles-based motion picture, television and stage actor, Adilah Barnes (Lifetime T.V.'s For the People, Erin Brockovich, Murder By Numbers, Little John) to sit on their November 9th acting panel (3:00-4:30 p.m.). The IBWFF is being presented at the Delancey Street Theatre located at 600 Embarcadero Street in San Francisco and is slated for three days, November 8th - November 10, 2002. Barnes, a native of Oroville, California was the very first African American to teach full time at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco in its highly selective Advanced Training Program. She has lived in Oakland, San Pablo, Richmond and Berkeley and was one of the founding members of the Oakland Ensemble Theatre Company and the Bay Area Black Artists Connection. Barnes recently completed filming in Virginia on the coveted character role of "Ida B. Wells" in HBO's upcoming movie Iron Jawed Women, also starring Angelica Houston and Hilary Swank (slated to air May, 2003). As to being asked to sit on this informative panel, Barnes states "I feel very honored to have been invited by my longtime Bay Area industry friend, Jacquie Taliaferro. I'm looking forward to returning to the Bay Area where I cut my teeth and honed my craft over the seventeen years I resided there. Serving on this panel is once again my way of giving back to the Bay Area." Barnes is the co-founder of the Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival (10th Anniversary Festival, March 26 - 30, 2003 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center) and also teaches acting, having coached some of Hollywood's most successful stars including Toni Braxton (Play'd and Kingdom Come), Jada Pinkett-Smith (Set It Off), Benjamin Bratt (Law & Order), Don "DC" Curry, Kym Whitley and many others. "This festival is a vanguard event and serves as testament to the achievements, strength and creativity of Black women in film and Black women filmmakers. Everyone will identify their humanity, emotion and spirit in these films, while recognizing their own heart and soul in the art of these filmmakers" states Adrienne Anderson, festival organizer. The International Black Women's Film Festival was established by Adrienne Anderson in 2001 to provide a wider audience for Black women filmmakers from around the world, while also sharing a glimpse into their world. Festival organizer Adrienne Anderson found herself fed up with how African American women were being portrayed in movies. She felt they were rarely seen as lead characters and they were mostly represented as appendages and peripheral characters with no real motivation or character development. In her conversations with friends and colleagues, she heard the same issues from other women… and men. From these concerns, the IBWFF was born. In collaboration with Café de la Soul's CEO Robin Bates and her business partner Constance Bryan, these three women started a grassroots movement to bring films by and about Black women to venues and audiences that are worthy of their efforts, art, profession and perseverance. The festival has received films from all over the world, including, Haiti, France, Cuba, Brazil and, of course the United States. Shown according to "themes," in the music line up is Rachel Raimist's Nobody Knows My Name (1999), a documentary exploring the hip-hop phenomenon and how women are addressing the conflicting messages in much of the urban-bred music. The festival will feature documentaries, feature length films, shorts, digital films, animation and experimental films. Unlike such African American filmmakers as Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, 1991; the Summer of Can, 1999), the Hughes Brothers (From Hell, 2002; Menace to Society, 1995) or John Singleton (Baby Boy, 2001; Boyz N the Hood, 1991), very few people can name Black women filmmakers other than the likes of Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust, 1991; Funny Valentines, 1991), Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou, 1997; Caveman's Valentine, 2001), Rarely known outside of their communities, these women have directed beautifully written films and have had nominal success among the independent film industry. General Admission: Seniors/Youth/Disabled/Students $25.00 Gala Opening; $10.00 Program; $8.00 Panel Discussion; Free-$25.00 Workshops. Tickets available online at TicketWeb.com or call Toll-Free: 1.866.468.3399. For additional information about the International Black Women's Film Festival, contact Jacquie Taliaferro at (415) 821-1111 or check out http://ibwff.filmfestivals.net. For additional information on Adilah Barnes contact Allison Queen at (310) 674-1776 or log on to www.adilahbarnes.com. |