Line-up for Ninth Annual Black Film Festival Announced

Wilmington, North Carolina – February 17, 2010 - The Black Arts Alliance is pleased to present the North Carolina Black Film Festival, formerly the Cine Noir Festival of Black Film. In its ninth year, the four-day juried and invitational festival will be held March 18-21, 2010 at Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC. The festival spotlights features, shorts, documentaries and animation by and about African Americans, with cash prizes awarded to the best works in each genre. Tickets are $5 per screening block and $25 for festival passes. The film schedule will be posted at www.blackartsalliance.org by February 18, 2010.

The 2010 Distinguished Filmmaker honoree is Scott Sanders. Born in Elizabeth City, NC and raised in Washington, DC, Sanders is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Radio, TV, and Motion Pictures. He began his career as a television writer working on TV shows such as "A Different World", "Roc", and "The Wayans Brothers". His directorial debut came on the 1998 HBO film "Thick as Thieves". His latest film, "Black Dynamite", was released by Sony Pictures in October, 2009 and will be the Opening Night featured screening.

The opening ceremony, Thursday, March 18, 2010, at 6:00 p.m., will also mark the official opening of the Cameron Art Museum exhibition “Recollection: The Past is Present.” The exhibition, which will run through June 20, 2010, features the works of Amalia Amaki, Lillian Blades and Beverly as well as African American quilts on loan from the Mississippi Museum of Art.

The 2010 Emerging Filmmaker is Yasmin Shiraz. The nationally acclaimed author of Retaliation and The Blueprint for My Girls empowerment series was honored by the American Library Association as one of the 2009 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. She recently founded Still Eye Rise Pictures and filmed her first documentary on girl violence, Can She Be Saved?, which won a 2009 Indie Award for Merit from the Indie Fest. Yasmin holds masters and bachelors degrees in sociology from Hampton University and Morehead State University.

Other highlights include:

• A special screening of "Rescue Men: the Story of the Pea Island Surfmen," a new documentary about the all black crew who manned the Pea Island Lifesaving Station on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Due to the heroics and accomplishments of these brave men and others like them in the U.S. Lifesaving Service, we now have what is called "The United States Coast Guard."

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• "Going to the Show" documents the experience of moviegoing in North Carolina from the introduction of projected motion pictures (1896) to the end of the silent film era (1930). The interactive presentation features an in-depth case study of African-American moviegoing in Wilmington, including profiles of every known movie venue operating in the city from 1897 to 1950.

Arranged by film historian Robert Allen in association with the University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill through the Documenting the American South initiative.

• Visiting filmmakers can take arranged tours of Screen Gems Studios, Wilmington Camera, and other industry resources. Workshops on distribution and entertainment law are also scheduled.

• A workshop with Vince Paul, president of Talent-Link, one of Charlotte's top commercial agents. Vince has placed thousands of actors in movies, industrials, print ads and national touring theatrical productions, including Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, The Kings of Comedy, Remember The Titans & Drum Line.

Vince will also be available for one-on-one consultations. Headshot packages, including a photo CD and copyright release, will also be available. Fees apply.

The Black Arts Alliance was founded in August, 1998, by a group of artists and arts patrons. As a multidisciplinary vehicle for the advancement of African-American arts and culture, the Black Arts Alliance serves as an advocate for arts and artists, nurtures emerging and veteran artistic talent, and develops new works in the performing, visual, and literary arts.

Sponsors of the North Carolina Black Film Festival include the North Carolina Arts Council, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Screen Gems Studio, Ken Weeden & Associates, and Cumulus Broadcasting.