Join Reel Sisters #IGotYourBack Movement in 2020! Dear Friends, Welcome to the 22nd Annual Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival and Lecture Series. Thank you for supporting us throughout our journey! Congratulations to our honorees Nana Camille Yarbrough (Ancestor House), Sandra Guzmån (Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am) and Leslie Harris (Just Another Girl on the IRT) for their compassion, creativity and activism. Our honorees are pioneers who represent Reel Sisters #IGotYourBack message. We hope our honorees will activate your altruism. Women across the globe are leading us towards a movement that will create a safer place for our families to thrive. Reel Sisters will continue holding space with activities throughout 2020 that will nurture healing in our personal and professional lives. We are inviting you to join us. Commit to supporting 3 causes or friends experiencing challenges for 12 months. You can support local businesses or create a platform to share professional information. You can choose organizations working to save the environment, end domestic abuse or support artists. You commit support to local businesses or create a platform to share professional information. If you have a #IGotYourBack success story to share, please hit us up online. Small actions have ripple effects and over time can impact our communities. Your inspirational stories will energize the world. Join the Reel Sisters #IGotYourBack movement. Use the hashtag to share stories of people you support; we will repost them on our social media platforms! As always, I’m asking you to mobilize and pack our screenings at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn. Peace & blessings, Carolyn A. Butts Reel Sisters Founder/Festival Director Follow: @africanvoices + @reelsisters
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Greetings – Andrea Lewis, Mistress of Ceremonies Proclamations & Citations Council members Jumaane Williams and Farah Louis Presentation to Reel Sisters Award Winners & Honorees Trailblazer Award Presentation to Sandra Guzmán Presenter: Actress Rosie Perez Trailblazer Award to Leslie Harris Presenter: Rhonda Ross Remarks – Carolyn A. Butts, Reel Sisters Founder #IGotYourBack Festival Theme Billi Martin, Events Production Manager
Reel Sisters Hattie McDaniel Award Presentation to Nana Camille Yarbrough Presenters: April Silver and Bob Law Screening Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Film Conversation with Malaika Adero, Sandra Guzmán and OlaRonke Akinmowo Closing Remarks & Festival Highlights — Andrea Lewis, MC
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Best Short Narrative Award Tattoo Director/Writer: Farhad Delaram Producer/Writer: Dena Rassam
Best Cinematography Layla Director: Celine Cotran Writers: Celine Cotran, Oliver Sunley Producer: Oliver Sunley
Best Screenplay Award Paper Boats Director: Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo Writers: Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo, Abezash Tamerat Producers: Gonzalo Guajardo-Fajardo, Helana Papayanopulos, Bakyt Zhumadilova
Best Director A Love Song for Latasha Director: Sophia Nahli Allison Producers: Janice Duncan, Fam Udeorji, Sophia Nahli Allison Best Web Series Black Girls Guide to Fertility Director: Crystle Roberson Writer: Sonhara Eastman Producers: Carmen K. Jones, Sonhara Eastman, Ronald Eastman II
Best Animation Wash Day Director: Jaida Salmon Reel Sisters Spirit Award Finding ElÄłah Producer/Director: Yolonda JohnsonYoung
Best Experimental Award The Water Will Carry Us Home Producer/Director: Gabrielle Tesfaye
Best Documentary - TIED
Honorable Mention Shield Director/Writer: Danielle Eliska Lyle Producers: Danielle Eliska Lyle, Lauren Sowa, Tim Eliot
Redacted Director/Writer/Producer: Naeema Jamilah Torres The Changing Same Director: Joe Brewster, Michele Stephenson Writer: Joe Brewster Producer: Ayana Enomoto-Hurst
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CAMILLE YARBROUGH is an award-winning performance artist, author and cultural activist. With a career that spans over sixty years, several continents, countless awards and accolades, Nana Camille has earned legendary status. She continues to inspire audiences today via Ancestor House, a local, long-running television show of sixteen years, her popular music album (also entitled Ancestor House), and performances and lectures focusing on poetry, music, Black art, spirituality, and culture. She began her career as a dancer, singer, and actress touring with the Katherine Dunham Company. During this period she honed her performance and producing gifts and immersed herself in an independent study of African people throughout the Diaspora. Yarbrough was enstooled in New York by Abladei, Inc. (Ghanaian) as Naa Kuokor Agyman 1, founder of the Stool House of Harriet Tubman and was given the honorary title of “Nana.” Camille Yarbrough has been presented with the Lorraine Hansberry Award by the Goodman Theater in Chicago, the Unity Award in Media by Lincoln University of Missouri, the Parents Choice Award, and accolades from the National Endowment of the Arts. Her article, "Today I Feel Like I Am Somebody," was published in the drama section of The New York Times. Her three part article, "Black Dance In America," was published in The Black Collegian, while her photo essay, "Female Style And Beauty in Ancient Africa” was published in Black Women in Antiquity, edited by Ivan Van Sertima. She has written four critically acclaimed books for children. Her album The Iron Pot Cooker was critically acclaimed and from it, her song “Take Yo' Praise” was sampled by Fat Boy Slim and became an international hit. Camille Yarbrough was a faculty member of the Black Studies Department at City College in New York for twelve years. 5
SANDRA GUZMÁN is an Emmy-award winning journalist and documentarian whose work explores American identity at the intersection of culture, gender, race, sexuality, spirituality and ethnicity. Sandra was the last journalist to interview Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison for the acclaimed American Masters film, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am.
Photo Credit: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Sandra’s work in documentary explores American identity — The Women’s List, The Latino List, and The Boomer List — and has aired on Netflix, HBO, and PBS for the American Masters portfolio. She was Associate Editor at The New York Post, where she created and edited a dozen feature sections focusing on New York’s religious, racial, and ethnic communities. Sandra is the former editor of Latina magazine and author of The New Latina’s Bible, a non-fiction book examining critical issues of contemporary Latinx women. She is a frequent contributor to NBC News and writes thought pieces for CNN and other platforms.
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LESLIE HARRIS, an award-winning writer/director/producer, is currently working on several features including a sequel to Just Another Girl on the I.R.T., and a documentary based on her experiences as one of the first African-American women to fiPhoto Credit: Erwin Wilson nance, produce and sell a feature directly to a major studio through her own production company. Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. was released in 1993 on over 200 screens in the US and 20 countries worldwide. The feature won the Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize and was an official selection at the Tokyo, Toronto and Deauville film festivals. Leslie is the recipient of the IFP Gotham Open Palm Award, AFI Filmmaker Award, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. She wrote, directed and produced the award-winning short Bessie Coleman’s Dream to Fly for Showtime Networks. Coleman was the first African-American to receive a pilot’s license, two years before Amelia Earhart. Leslie’s new feature, I Love Cinema, a satire about sex, race and the alt-right media, is still looking for financing.
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ANDREA LEWIS’ artistic talents emerged at an early age. Before celebrating her 16th birthday, this Toronto born entertainer had already acted alongside Hollywood heavyweights such as Diahann Carroll in The Natalie Cole Story, and Wesley Snipes and Dr. Maya Angelou, in her critically acclaimed directorial debut, Down in the Delta. After wrapping up on the Disney movie Cadet Kelly alongside Hilary Duff, Lewis soon spent 6 seasons on the hit show Degrassi: The Next Generation and became known around the world as "Hazel." Millions of North Americans tuned in each week to watch Andrea in the award-winning drama, which is ranked No. 1 in Canada and the US. Lewis has garnered international attention from Degrassi, which landed her in the pages of Teen People, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. Taking her career to another level, Lewis started Jungle Wild Productions, where she created the hit web series Black Actress, written by and starring Lewis. Black Actress can be seen alongside the relationship drama, Beyond Complicated, on YouTube at youtube.com/AndreaLewisChannel.
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An Oscar-, Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actress and choreographer, ROSIE PEREZ has been a cultural mainstay since her breakout performances in such classic films as Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Ron Shelton’s White Men Can’t Jump, and Peter Weir’s Fearless. Perez will next be seen in The Last Thing He Wanted, opposite Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck for Netflix and Birds of Prey, opposite Margot Robbie for Warner Brothers. Her other film credits include: Bergman’s It Could Happen to You, Untamed Heart and The Take, in which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Perez has also made her mark on the stage. She received strong reviews for her performance in The Ritz and made her Broadway debut in the hit revival of Terence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Perez returned to Broadway in 2015 for the highly successful Fish in the Dark with Larry David. Throughout her career, Perez has been a vocal activist for a number of causes and serves as the Artistic Board Chair for Urban Arts Partnership. She details her childhood upbringing and career in her book, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair).
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Photo credit: Solwazi Afi Olusola
April R. Silver is a nationally respected cultural arts advocate, published writer, and founder and CEO of AKILA WORKSONGS. Established in 1993, the communications and marketing agency was established to broadly and honorably communicate the extraordinary visions of progressive artists, activists, organizations, and distinguished programs. April's achievements have led her to be covered in The Washington Post, Ms., ESSENCE, EBONY; on CNN, and in many other outlets globally. Her first book, an anthology (Be a Father to Your Child; Counterpoint/SoftSkull), was published to critical acclaim. Her second book on Black women artists, activists, and healers is due late 2020.
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Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Screening & Talk Reel Sisters Awards presents an intimate conversation on Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. Malaika Adero, former VP/Senior Editor of Atria (Simon & Sch uster), will moderate a conversation with Sandra Guzmán and artist/sch olar/cultural worker OlaRonke Akinmowo, founder of The Free Black Women's Library. BIOS Malaika Adero A writer and editor, Malaika Adero, has enjoyed a celebrated career in publishing. Her experience as an acquiring editor includes eighteen years at Simon & Schuster, where she was a Vice President and Senior Editor for its Atria division and Executive Editor at Amistad Press in its early years as an independent company. Among wide range of bestselling and critically acclaimed authors on her roster were Miles Davis, Quincy Troupe, Susan L. Taylor, Maryse Conde, Kanye West, Sheila Weller, Pearl Cleage, Common, and George Clinton. She launched her career as a book author and writer with the anthology Up South: Stories, Studies, Letters of This Century’s African American Migrations (New Press 1993). Henry L. Gates, Jr. wrote that it was “splendidly edited.” The Boston Globe review described it as “overwhelming poignant.” She ghost wrote Speak, So You Can Speak Again: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston for author by Dr. Lucy Hurston (Doubleday 2003) which was also well received by critics and readers. Since leaving corporate life in 2014, the former librarian has published a paper, Black Dance Narratives, commissioned by the New York Public Library Performing Arts Division (2015). And again collaborated to write the memoir of actress Jenifer Lewis, The Mother of Black Hollywood (Amistad 2016). OlaRonke Akinmowo is a Bed-Stuy born visual artist, cultural scholar, yoga teacher, set decorator, and mom. She creates interactive installations, performances, altars, paper works, and collages that center and celebrate Black woman-
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hood. Her art practice is based in an inquiry and an exploration of the deep and beautiful connections between race, culture, and gender. In 2015 she started The Free Black Women’s Library, an interactive Black Feminist mobile trading library and interactive biblio installation that features a collection of 1000 books written by Black women. The library is committed to centering and celebrating the voices of Black Women in literature. This mobile library pops up monthly in unique and radical spaces throughout Brooklyn, NYC and has also been to Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Sandra Guzmán is an Emmy-award winning journalist and documentarian whose work explores American identity at th e intersection of culture, gender, race, sexuality, spirituality and ethnicity. Sandra was th e last journalist to interview Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison for th e acclaimed American Masters film, “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am.” Sandra’s work in documentaries exploring American identity — The Women’s List, The Latino List, and The Boomer List — have aired on Netflix, HBO, and PBS, for the American Masters portfolio. She was Associate Editor at the New York Post where she created and edited a dozen feature sections focusing on New York’s religious, racial and ethnic communities.
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African Voices Board Carolyn A. Butts, Publisher/Editor Jeannette Curtis-Rideau, Board Chairperson Kenneth Meeks, Board Treasurer Vera Sims, Member Ebonee Tinker, Esq. Reel Sisters Film Festival Committee 2019 Carolyn A. Butts, Founder/Festival Director Iman Childs, Assistant Festival Manager Andrea Lewis, Curator Jennifer Heslop, Film Festival Submissions Director Onika Washington, Festival Coordinator Billi Martin, Stage & Production Manager Naim Vann, Technical Production Manager Kosi Harris, Publicist Lauren La Melle, Volunteer Coordinator & Film Submissions Assistant Andrea Tangelo, Volunteer Coordinator Pittershawn Palmer, Webmaster Jacquelyn Ackeifi, Program/Vendor Coordinator Dominique Evans, Marketing & Outreach Intern Yasmeen Purvis, Festival Operations Intern Joleen Small, Social Media Team Melissa Zuniga, Social Media Team Shannon Chamblee, Social Media Team Zhe Chen, Screening Volunteer Reel Sisters Advisory Board Members Kojo Ade, Kim Singleton and Nicole Franklin Media Sponsors & Community Partners ImageNation Cinema Foundation, Akila Worksongs, Walk Tall Girl Productions, Black Public Media, Black Documentary Collective, BRIC Media, Kumble Theater, Third World Newsreel, LIU Media Arts Dept., Stephens College MFA in TV & Screenwriting, HBO and and LIU TV Writers Studio. Volunteers 2019 Special thanks to all our volunteers! LaZette McCants & Volunteer Divas & Divos Plus, Volunteers for Arts & Culture & Community.
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Reel Sisters & Stephens College MFA in TV & Screenwriting Present Skin On October 20, 2019, 4 pm, Reel Sisters and Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting will host the closing night film, Skin, produced by Beverly Naya and directed by Daniel Etim Effiong. A documentary set in Lagos, Nollywood actress Beverly defines Black beauty and explores the practice of skin bleaching in African culture. Emmy-nominated writer Dawn Comer Jefferson will lead the post-screening discussion. This screening is free and sponsored by Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting. Seating is limited, RSVP online: www.reelsisters.org. Venue: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 445 Albee Square West, 4th Floor.
Skin Director: Daniel Etim Effiong Writers: Daniel Etim Effiong, Beverly Naya Producer: Beverly Naya 76 min, Documentary Skin explores through identity the meaning of beauty in all the different shades of black. It is set in present day Lagos, where Nollywood actress Beverly Naya goes on a journey to learn about contrasting perceptions of beauty.
Dawn Comer Jefferson Dawn Comer Jefferson is an Emmy-nominated, award-winning writer. On television, Comer Jefferson wrote on the CBS family drama Judging Amy, served as writer/consulting producer on MTV's teen drama, South of Nowhere, freelanced on the CBS hit NCIS, and developed a drama pilot at NBC Universal Studios. She was nominated for an Emmy for writing the Fox-animated family film, Our Friend, Martin, and for the last nine years has written Emmy-winning arts programming for PBS, performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. As a non-fiction writer, Comer Jefferson has written about children, families and public policy issues for national print and online media including Garnet News, Working Mother, Fit Pregnancy Magazine and MomsRising. Her essays have been featured in the anthologies A Woman Alone (Seal Press) and Go Girl (Eighth Mountain Press). She adapted, produced and directed the eight-part NPR radio series adaptation of the biography Maggie's American Dream, and co-wrote the nonfiction book Three Ring Circus: How Real Couples Balance Marriage, Work, and Family, as well as the African American historical children’s fiction book, The Promise. Visit her online at dawncomerjefferson.wixsite.com/website.
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New York City Council Majority Leader Laurie A. Cumbo Council Member, 35th District, Brooklyn Laurie A. Cumbo, the founder of MoCada, was appointed as the Majority Leader for the New York City Council in January 11, 2018. She is the first African-American woman to serve in this capacity and proudly represents the 35th Council District in Brooklyn. In 2013, Ms. Cumbo was appointed to chair the prestigious Women’s Issues Committee and was selected to serve on the Finance, Cultural Affairs and Libraries, Higher Education, Youth Services and Public Housing committees. She remains an advocate for raising the minimum wage to $15, pay equity and breaking the cycles of domestic violence. She successfully championed for the implementation of the New York City Paid Family Leave policy. She passed the largest cultural legislative package almost tripling the budget for the Percent for Art Program and advocating for the largest increase in the Department of Cultural Affairs’ budget in 35 years. She passed legislation to create the first-ever citywide Minority and WomenOwned Businesses Task Force. Ms. Cumbo created the first-ever Mayor’s Office to Prevent Gun Violence. She is a fierce advocate for tenants’ rights. Ms. Cumbo has passed over two dozen pieces of legislation focused in the areas of tenants’ rights, seniors, foster care reform, sex education implementation, gun violence prevention, arts equity, women’s health, public safety and gender equity. Majority Leader Cumbo will play a pivotal role in guiding th e borough delegations and caucuses, particularly during th e budget process; securing additional Council funding for schools; empowering young women and girls as future leaders; expanding access for youth of all backgrounds to a globally competitive curriculum th at incorporates science, technology, education, arts, and math ematics (S.T.E.A.M./S.T.E.M.).
Council Member Farah Louis Farah Louis is a first generation Brooklynite whose upbringing in an immigrant and pro-union household would propel her into advocacy, community organizing, and a career in public service. Her parents emigrated from Haiti to Brooklyn where they overcame language barriers, discrimination, and other challenges while rebuilding their lives in Brooklyn as a middle-class family. Louis’ mother was a long-time healthcare professional and 1199 member while her father worked as a law enforcement professional and later a yellow cab driver. Their experience, determination, and service to the community served as a foundation for Louis’ work in social justice, immigrants’ and workers’ rights, gender equity, and women’s empowerment. An experienced leader in the City Council, Louis began as the Director of Community Outreach for former Council Member Jumaane D. Williams of the 45th District in Brooklyn. She served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Budget Director. In this capacity, she worked with faith-based and community stakeholders to expand access to critical programs and services for local residents. Additionally, she ensured the district office was a liaison between constituents and city agencies; oversaw the allocation of $4 million in discretionary funding for nonprofit organizations. Based on the issues and concerns voiced by the community, Louis proposed and helped develop legislation to improve their quality of life.
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Jumaane D. Williams is the Public Advocate of the City of New York. Previously, he served on the NYC Council representing the 45th District in Brooklyn. Jumaane is a first-generation Brooklynite of Grenadian heritage. He graduated from the public school system, overcoming the difficulties of Tourette's and ADHD to earn a Master's Degree from Brooklyn College. He began his career as a community organizer at the Greater Flatbush Beacon School and later served as the Executive Director of NYS Tenants & Neighbors. There, h e fough t for affordable, income-targeted h ousing across New York City and State. In the NYC Council, Jumaane championed landmark legislation that fundamentally transformed policing in NYC. Jumaane sponsored the Community Safety Act, reforming the City's Police Department by ending the abuse of Stop, Question & Frisk in communities of color and creating the NYPD's Office of Inspector General to investigate unlawful & unethical behavior. Jumaane has led the fight for better policing and safer streets, affordable housing, and transparency and accountability in City government. As Public Advocate, Jumaane will continue to be an activist-elected official who brings the voices of everyday New Yorkers to City government and makes New York a progressive beacon for all.
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The Reel Sisters Film Festival is supported, in part, by Councilmember Farah Louis, 45 C.D., Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, 35 C.D., Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, The National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, Brooklyn Arts Council, Stephens College MFA in TV & Screenwriting and New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs.
Thank you to our vendors! Wreaths By Jan Booked By Iman [no fee] Beau McCall DM Collections Flourish Oils Gee Whiz Designs NYC Black n Ugly Clothing MelBelleRoseArt
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