New Black film festival premieres in Rock Island

The Azubuike African American Council for The Arts will present the Rock Island premiere of the Pulling Focus Black Film Festival Winners Showcase, on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the MLK Center, 630 9th St., Rock Island.

The free event is part of the MLK annual “Family Fun Day” and the 9th-annual Bill Bell Jazz & Heritage Festival coming together for the first time. This unique combination celebrates culture, as Azubuike also partners with Polyrhythms and the MLK Center for the first time.

The centerpiece of the Pulling Focus Black Film Festival of the Quad Cities is the showing of exceptional films from the Juneteenth Festival’s winning selections. This showcase celebrates the brilliance and creativity of independent Black filmmakers, said Azubuike president Gaye Shannon Burnett.

The new festival is a partnership among the Putnam Museum, Figge Art Museum, The TMBC Lincoln Center, Friends of MLK Center, Steam on Wheels, and the Urban Exposure Independent Film Project.

After several years of holding the Urban Exposure Independent Film Project Summer Film Program, which teaches filmmaking to underrepresented and at-risk young people in our community, Azubuike identified the need for a regional film festival that celebrates and promotes Black filmmakers.

The festival will be held annually near the Juneteenth federal holiday to commemorate and celebrate, in our region, the struggles and triumphs of the Black Diaspora. 

Winners from June entries

After advertising the Pulling Focus festival on the Film Freeway website (for short films under 35 minutes), there were 35 entries from around the world, in several categories, shown in the QC in mid-June, as part of Juneteenth weekend celebrations.

Burnett said they had preliminary judges from the community and from the Azubuike board submit nominations for winners, and then they had celebrity judges make the final decisions.

These Pulling Focus “esteem judges” were:

• Jonathan Burnett — Independent Filmmaker/Educator, head of film production for See Trouble Films.
• Merawi Gerima — A filmmaker from Washington, D.C.
• Charles Burnett — An American filmmaker who gained critical acclaim for his realistic and intimate portrayals of African-American families. Burnett’s films, most of which he wrote as well as directed, were revered by critics. Two of his movies were added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry: “Killer of Sheep” (1977) in 1990 and “To Sleep with Anger” (1990) in 2017.
• Daniel De Boulay — Film Acquisitions Executive / Manager Film Acquisitions Executive / Manager, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
• Stephen James Taylor — An American composer best known for his film and TV scores. He has earned four Emmy nominations, two Annie nominations, and a DVD-X Award for Best Original Score.
• Joy Shannon is a versatile artist, filmmaker, and educator in Los Angeles.

The name of the new festival comes from a film term, to bring things into focus and its mission is to support Black filmmakers, and encourage more in the area, Gaye Burnett said recently.

“We wanted to see what Black creators are doing and the subject matter,” she said. “And a lot of times even though they weren’t shot here, it was things that resonated with the Black community and I think it’s good for anyone to see.”

The Pulling Focus event allows younger people and up-and-coming future filmmakers “to let them know they can do it,” Burnett said. “They can see images like themselves, they can see films that reflect issues they care about.”

“I think everything was really strong and the films were real rich and spoke to the Black experience,” she said.

The film fest aims to be an annual event in Davenport and Rock Island, with submissions shown before Juneteenth celebrations (possibly the first weekend of June 2024), and then winners at the August Bill Bell festival at the MLK Center, Burnett said.

The qualifying films were required to be less than 35 minutes long, but one of the winners – “Faith in Blackness” – is about 40 minutes. It’s been a featured selection in many film festivals nationwide.

“I thought it was really important…It is a film that talks about the connection between all Black people and they shot it mostly in the Caribbean,” Burnett said. “You have to see this film. It’s just remarkable.”

2023 winners

The first-year winners, to be shown here on Aug. 19, are:

• Best Short — “Us,” written and directed By David Fortune.
• Best Inspirational Short — “Faith in Blackness,” directed by Charles Reynoso.
• Best First-Time Filmmaker — “Fishing Her, Women of Salt,” written and directed By Ana Maria Jessie Serna.
• Best Student Short Film — “Because I Know How Beautiful My Being Is,” written and directed By Ana María Jessie Serna
• Best In The Midwest Short Film — “The Wait We Carry,” by Eugene Valentino McKinney.

2023 Runner-Up Winners

• Best Short Runner-up — “African. American,” written and directed by Morgen Whiteman
• Best Inspirational Short Runner-up — “Interception: Jayne Kennedy • American Sportscaster,” directed by Safiya Songhai.
• Best In The Midwest Short Film Runner-up — “We Live,” written and directed by Caleb Gordon-Kilgore.
• Best First-Time Filmmaker Runner-up — “Redemption,” directed by Kamaloni Senay.
• Best Student Short Film Runner-up — “Man Down,” written and directed by Jonathan Rowan.

“Faith in Blackness”

The “Faith in Blackness” film is about Black Latine people around the world who practice a myriad of faith traditions. This short-form documentary explores dynamic identities of these AfroLatine people and their journey for a home, a faith in Blackness, according to the film website.

It highlights the lived experiences of AfroLatines of different faith traditions by sharing their stories and how their Blackness plays a role in their spirituality and vice-versa.

The director, Charles Reynoso, is the director of education at New York-based Reel Works. He’s been an educator, musician, and multimedia artist for over two decades. As a teacher with the Department of Education, he and his history students created short films with historical narratives in order to connect modern day injustices and inequalities to American history, according to his bio.

As a media producer, Reynoso collaborates with several nonprofit organizations to bring awareness to issues surrounding the AfroLatino community.

Of “Faith in Blackness,” he wrote: “Like the people in this film, I discovered that embracing my Blackness connected me to all people whose healing journeys are redefining their spiritualities and faith traditions. Humanity is dynamic and ‘religion’ can shrink the divine and the believer.

“Through interviews and poetic imagery, this documentary puts into conversation the stories of eight Black Latine people who are shaping their faith traditions to ensure the inclusion of their whole selves, and others like them,” Reynoso wrote. “I believe this documentary can provide other intersectional people with a place of exploration that helps them decolonize their spirituality and remain rooted in justice and the memory of our ancestors.”

Comments from film participants

Participating in the Pulling Focus festival was “an inspiring and honorable experience for me,” wrote Natasha C. Smith on the Film Freeway site. “This year marks my first time being part of the film festival circuit with one of my films, and the opportunity to showcase my work fills me with profound gratitude. Words cannot express how thankful I am for this chance to share my film with such an appreciative audience.”

“I have been accepted into numerous festivals over the years, but few are as good as Pulling Focus!” wrote Joy Shannon. “This fest honestly cares about the filmmakers. They not only go one extra mile, but they go TEN extra miles to give filmmakers the best experience possible. Extremely professional. Extremely caring. And extremely good! I will submit films as often as I can.”

“This festival is a historic first for the region and it has opened the door for creatives to discover the opportunities available in the Quad Cities,” wrote Safiya Songhai. “The organizers were so generous, kind, thorough, and celebratory. The films were screened on a stunning ‘IMAX’ screen, known as the ‘Giant Screen’ as a beautiful museum (at the Putnam in Davenport).

“All of the venues were exquisite and accommodating,” she said. “The film selection was varied, technically strong, motivating, and covered a range of topics. I met life-long friends at the Pulling Focus festival, and it was worth driving 20 hours to this festival to experience the community.”

For more informaton, visit the Pulling Focus site HERE.