Multicultural Arts and Entertainment News

The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) today announced ten promising new film projects selected for the 11th annual Tribeca All Access (TAA) program. The TAA program supports filmmakers from statistically underrepresented communities and will grant each project $15,000, as well as offer year-round support, guidance, and resources to help filmmakers complete them.  This year’s winners boast an especially diverse collection of stories, including:   Read more >>

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces the lineup for the 21st edition of “Spanish Cinema Now”, December 7-16, featuring the latest films from Spain, as well as a salute to surrealist master, Luis Buñuel. Kicking off this year’s series is Spain’s official Foreign Language Oscar submission, Pablo Berger’s “Blancanieves”, a silent retelling of Snow White, complete with a traveling troupe of bullfighting dwarves. Closing out the festival is director Alvaro Longoria’s “Sons of the Clouds”, the newest film featuring Academy Award-winning actor Javier Bardem who takes audiences on a journey to the Western Sahara, where the Sahawai people wait for permission to return to their ancestral lands. Spanish Cinema Now will feature a selection of films celebrating the director, producer and screenwriter, Luis Buñuel. The sidebar includes “Tristana”, starring young screen siren Catherine Deneuve. The Film Society of Lincoln Center will also present a one-week theatrical run of Buñuel’s 1972 hit, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” to celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary. The Instituto Cervantes New York will also be hosting lectures and special screenings to celebrate Buñuel on December 11-14. Tickets are now on sale both at the box office and online at www.filmlinc.com.   Read more >>

Harlem Stage announced highlights of its 30th Anniversary season, including world-premiere performances commissioned through its WaterWorks program by well-known artists of color working in dance, music, opera and more.  A national leader in producing and presenting, Harlem Stage will premiere the commissioned works this fall and next spring, along with its ongoing mix of diverse and intriguing artistic programs in various disciplines. “These exciting premieres showcase what’s wonderful about providing new opportunities of artistic expression by artists of color who may not otherwise have had a chance to fully realize and present  their ideas on  stage,” says Harlem Stage Executive Director Patricia Cruz.  Premieres in Harlem Stage’s 2012/2013 season year include  “Holding It Down: The Veterans Dreams Project” and “Sleep Songs”, a two-part musical and poetic distillation of the dreams and nightmares of veterans of color from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts on the one hand and the response from those affected by the conflict in Iraq; “Pavement”, a dance/theater work inspired by the seminal 1980s John Singleton film “Boyz N The Hood” by choreographer Kyle Abraham, who says the work “examines the state of Black males and the communities that have shaped them”; “We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite”, a new dance/music work conceived by Alexa Birdsong and choreographed by Ayo Jackson that reinterprets the 1963 Max Roach jazz suite on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.; “Makandal”, an ambitious new contemporary opera produced by Harlem Stage presented in English, Creole and Spanish inspired by the life of the revolutionary 18th Century Haitian leader and the relentless pursuit of freedom by the generations that followed him. Harlem Stage dedicates resources from its WaterWorks program to develop groundbreaking new work, or “art that reverberates,” as its current season theme indicates. For more information, visit www.harlemstage.org.   Read more >>

The Apollo Theater and the Manhattan School of Music in New York collaborated and announced the first show of “Ask Your Mama” crafted by Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman and Grammy winner Jessye Norman will be on March 23, 2013 for Apollo’s 2012-13 season. “Ask Your Mama” is a 90-minute sonic tapestry of music, film, and spoken word by EmmyAward- winning composer Laura Karpman based on Langston Hughes’s “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz” that bursts the boundaries of time, place, and verbal expression to trace the currents and tributaries of cultural diasporas. This is the first time the work is being performed at the Apollo stage, a  fitting home for the piece as it is just blocks away from the Harlem home of Langston Hughes, one of the foremost figures in the Harlem Renaissance. The performance will feature the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia conducted by George Manahan, who also conducted the sold-out world premiere at Carnegie Hall and a subsequent performance at the Hollywood Bowl. The Apollo is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. Tickets are $35, $55, $75 and $125 (VIP Tickets) and will go on sale Monday, Nov 19th at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster. Visit www.apollotheater.org.  Read more >>

The 13th Annual New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF), the premier Latino film festival in the country, runs from Monday, August 13 through Sunday, August 19, 2012 at the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas, NYC. The festival features U.S. and International features, documentaries and shorts.  Panels, red carpet premieres, celebrity appearances and free outdoor screenings. Launched in 1999, the New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) mission is to showcase the works of the hottest emerging Latino filmmaking talent in the U.S. and Latin America, offer expansive images of the Latino experience, and celebrate the diversity and spirit of the Latino community. NYILFF presented by HBO™, is the only film event to have had the endorsement of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s NYC Latin Media and Entertainment Commission since its formation in 2003. For tickets and more information, visit nylatinofilm.com.    Read more >>

In recognition of Black Music Month in June 2012, the Apollo Theater’s Cultural Exchange Series will celebrate over 50 years of reggae music with a special concert starring African Reggae icon Tiken Jah Fakoly on Saturday, June 16th at 8pm. Known for his politically charged lyrics, Tiken Jah Fakoly is the premier artist in African reggae and has often been called the African Bob Marley, drawing comparisons to the reggae legend for his soulful vocals, the revolutionary messages in his music, and his mastery of roots-reggae. The world music star has sold out stadiums and venues all over Europe and Africa and will now make a rare trip to the United States for his first ever appearance on the legendary Apollo stage, where he will perform classics and material from his latest album, the critically acclaimed  African Revolution. This special Cross Cultural concert coincides with the 50thanniversary of Jamaica’s independence, a milestone that has brought international attention to reggae music’s evolution, its impact on popular culture around the world, and the international sub-genres it has inspired, including African reggae. The Apollo’s Cross Cultural Exchange presentations focus on music, artists, or projects representing diverse cultures that may be U.S. or internationally-based.  Many of the artists presented represent cultural communities in Harlem and Upper Manhattan, including artists of Dominican, Puerto Rican, Senegalese, Ivorian and Malian cultural heritage. This show will also feature popular New York City based reggae outfit The Cannabis Cup Band. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tickets are on sale ($25 to $55) at the Apollo Theater Box Office. The Apollo in New York City is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.  Read more >>