Focuses on African American cinema and the African cultural diaspora by showcasing a diverse collection of films from emerging and established filmmakers.



ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO BLACK FILM FESTIVAL (SFBFF)


The San Francisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF) will celebrate its 14th anniversary June 15, 16, 17, 2012.

The San Francisco Black Film Festival was founded with the artistic vision to provide a platform for Black filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors to present their art. As a competitive film festival, SFBFF identifies filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors that are emerging as talents and established artists who are contributing to the cinematic legacy of African Americans. SFBFF conscientiously expands the notions of "Black film-making" to a global perspective. Hence, film submissions are accepted worldwide from filmmakers and screenwriters who are of African descent or feature actors representing the African Diaspora. SFBFF is managed by a dedicated advisory board of 10 artists, business people, film industry and other professionals

SFBFF has presented 14 annual festivals featuring over 1100 films including features, documentaries, and shorts. Audiences, film submissions, community and business support have steadily grown over the years. In 2002, the Urban Kidz Festival was added to provide young people between the ages of 5-12 the opportunity to view films created by African Americans geared toward young people and their families, and we are looking forward to presenting it again this year!

SAN FRANCISCO BLACK FILM FESTIVAL MISSION

The mission of the San Francisco Black Film Festival is to celebrate African American cinema and the African cultural Diaspora and to showcase a diverse collection of films - from emerging and established filmmakers. This is accomplished by presenting Black films, which reinforce positive images and dispel negative stereotypes, and providing film artists from the bay area in particular and around the world in general, a forum for their work to be viewed and discussed. SFBFF believes film can lead to a better understanding of and communication between, peoples of diverse cultures, races, and lifestyles, while simultaneously serving as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.

From its modest beginnings in 1998 with $3,000 in funding, SFBFF has grown from a one-day event with an audience of 300 to an five day multiple venue cultural celebration drawing thousands of people. Comprised of film screenings, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, the Urban Kidz film series, opening and closing programs, and the Melvin Van Peebles Award ceremony, which recognizes an emerging filmmaker for risk taking.

An early proponent of the global perspective, the festival has always been ahead of its time. Long before popular culture paid lip service to ‘going global', we were walking the walk, presenting global motifs and topics from filmmakers around the world.




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Here are the official selections and honorable mentions for 2012.

African

In the Hive
dir. by ROBERT TOWNSEND

"In the Hive" is a feature film based on an actual school, called the Hive. The film is set in a disadvantaged community and follows a group of at risk teenagers who have been expelled from their public school system. The school, which becomes a life changing environment, is run by a strong matriarch figure whose compassion and no-nonsense manner helps these young men from troubled, often violent backgrounds, greatly improve their educational outcomes, self-esteem and future.

The film stars: Michael Clarke Duncan (Green Mile, Armageddon, Daredevil), Loretta Devine (Grey's Anatomy, Glee, For Colored Girls) and Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill: Vol.1, Independence Day, Curb Your Enthusiasm).

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Fambul Tok (82m, U S A)
dir. by Sara Terry

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HomeGrown: HipLife in Ghana (58m, Ghana)
dir. by Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi

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African Drum: Beyond the Beat (48m, United Kingdom, South Africa)
dir. by Tariq Richards

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Documentaries

A Great Day in Gaming (56m, U S A)
dir. William HammonS

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Funk Jazz Kafe (135m, U S A)
dir. Jason Orr

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The Contradictions of Fair Hope (68m, U S A)
sub. by S. Epatha Merkerson & ROCKWELL METCALF
Narrarated by Whoopi Goldberg

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Doin' It In The Park : Pick-Up Basketball, NYC (75m, France, U S A)
dir. by Kevin Couliau, Robert Garcia

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In the Land of the Free... (84m, United Kingdom, U S A)
dir. by Vadim Jean
Narrarated by Samuel L. Jackson

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Oxygen for the Ears: Living Jazz (94m, U S A)
dir. by Stefan Immler

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Block Reportin 101 (80m, U S A)
dir. by S. C-ya Samura

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Faces of Sickle cell (12m, U S A)
dir. by Allum Ndiaye

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Who Are We (3m, Canada)
dir. by MIchael Rouse

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"Good hair" and other Dubious Distinctions (33m, U S A)
dir. by Camille DeBose

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Features

THE OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY (82m, U S A)
dir. by TERENCE NANCE

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ELZA (Le Bonheur d'Elza) (79m, France)
dir. by Mariette Monpierre

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Ghett'A LIfe (103m, U S A)
dir. by Chris Browne

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Dar He (70m, U S A)
dir. by Rob Underhill

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The Custom Mary (81m, U S A)
dir. by Matt Dunnerstick

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Englewood (The Growing Pains in Chicago) (96m, U S A)
dir. by William Cochran

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Generation Me (129m, U S A)
dir. by Ericka Marsalis-LaManna

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A Swingin' Trio (80m, U S A)
dir. by Kelvin Phillips

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Shorts

Elrus as the King (RTU, U S A)
DIR. BY ELRUS PEARSLEY

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Hearts Gamble (19m, U S A)
dir. by Jerry Digby

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Motherless (12m, U S A)
dir. by Katrina Mitchell

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Fight Night Legacy (23m, U S A)
sub. by Hisonni Johnson on 2012-05-13 14:26

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Docket 32357 (14m, U S A)
dir. by Randy Wilkins

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Corre (Run) (29m, U S A)
dir. by Eric Smith-Gunn

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The Donut Shop (27m, U S A)
dir. by Brad Mays

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One Decision Away (22m, U S A)
dir. by Allen Maldonado

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Play Pretend (5m, U S A)
dir. by Rashida McWilliams

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Big P (15m, U S A)
dir. by Kristina Thomas

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BUMP (19m, U S A)
dir. by Rodney Lee

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The Trial Of Ben Barry (33m, U S A)
dir. by Shea E. Butler
Starring RICHARD ROUNDTREE (SHAFT) and LAWRENCE GILLIARD, Jr. (THE WIRE)

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778 Bullets (18m, U S A)
dir. by Angela Aguayo

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Thugs, The Musical! (26m, U S A)
dir. by Liam Sullivan

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SOLACE (14m, U S A)
dir. by Tchaiko Omawale

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Just at Puppy Love (5m, U S A)
dir. by Bill Londen

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This Ain't Yo Movie (6m, U S A)
dir. by Derek Pretty Boy Dow

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PICTURE PERFECT (15m, U S A)
dir. by ADEKUNLE ILORI

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Directing Reality (10m, U S A)
dir. by Michael Blackman

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OakTowne (22m, U S A)
dir. by Lela Nicole on 2012-04-10 23:41

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The Photographs of Your Junk (will be Publicized!) (6m, U S A)
dir. by Ronnie Butler Jr.

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20 Years Later (11m, U S A)
dir. by Ulrich Que

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Raise My Hands (8m, Ireland)
dir. by Frank Kelly

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The Strangely Normal (21m, U S A)
dir. by Jerrika Hinton

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The Package (10m, U S A)
dir. by Natasha Parker

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The Lost One (10m, U S A)
dir. by Natasha Parker

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Color of Beauty (9m, U S A)
dir. by Shamara Cox

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Cast Iron Skillet An Edward Hunch Production (12m, U S A)
dir. by Dar'rell Edward Moore

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Our Rhineland (16m, U S A)
dir. by Faren Humes

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S A L A Y (44m, Sierra Leone)
dir. by Ali Kamanda

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Junior (11m, U S A)
dir. by Jeffrey Elmont

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I Was Her (22m, U S A)
dir. by Anthony Perkins

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Road Rage (6m, U S A)
dir. by Heather Donnell

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Brotherly Love (17m, U S A)
dir. by Choice Skinner

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The Last/First Kiss (16m, U S A)
dir. by Andrea Ashton

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High Card Trumps (6m, U S A)
dir. by Geoffrey Quan

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Junior and The Saint (15m, U S A)
dir. by Lamont Stephens

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Bring on the Magic (15m, U S A)
dir. by Marc Kornblatt

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Mikel's Faith (22m, U S A)
dir. by Alexander Etseyatse

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The Sealed Letter (8m 20s, U S A)
dir. by Sandra Smith

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Student

The Collegians (18m, U S A)
dir. by Bryan Lewis

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Out of Body (4m, U S A)
dir. by J. Christian Jensen

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Pickaninny (4m, U S A)
dir. by Eric Barstow

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e
Curveball (18m, U S A)
dir. by Jamaal Green

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Zane (21m, U S A)
dir. by ien chi
This film was made with a crew of 2 on a budget of $300.
Everything was shot on location in areas in or around Oakland, CA.

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Keeper of the Flame (RTU, U S A)Â
DIR. by BRIAN NELSON

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Animation

The Mark (7m, Canada)
dir. by Lucius Dechausay

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Eyes on the Stars (3m, U S A)
dir. by Mike Rauch, Tim Rauch

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Music Video


PARTY (OFFICIAL VIDEO) Jersey Parker (8m, U S A)
dir. by DeWaun Ragland

Muse (4m, U S A)
dir. by Donald Graham

Hello Andie (3m, U S A)
dir. by Paul M Wood

Whip My Mane (5m, U S A)
dir. by Michele Ervin


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Honorable Mention

L'affaire Chebeya, un crime d'Etat ? (96m, Belgium)
dir. by Thierry Michel

Documentaries

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Merritt College: Home of the Black Panthers (58m, U S A)
dir. by Jeffrey Heyman

Documentaries

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"A Highway Runs Through It..." A Community History of Darby Township (82m, U S A)
dir. by Valerie Harris

Documentaries

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Why Then and Not Now? (87m, U S A)
dir. by Dina Bey

Documentaries

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Deforce (86m, U S A)
dir. by Daniel Falconer

Documentaries

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interludes (134m, U S A)
dir. by christopher dorrah

Features

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Stories from lakka beach (76m, United Kingdom)
dir. by Daan Veldhuizen

DOCUMENTARIES

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BATHROOM RAPPER: THE MOVIE (82m, U S A)
SUB by LENNARD JAMES

Features

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WHITE SUGAR IN A BLACK POT (18m, U S A)
dir. by Rachel I. Johnson

Student

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If I Was Your Girl (91m, U S A)
dir. by Coquie Hughes

Lesbian/Gay