This is just a space where I will share some of my thoughts and post some announcements. If you stumble upon here and find something interesting and enlightening please feel free to comment...
Today is the last day to purchase the film, "Mississippi Damned" for the Black History Month Price Of $9.99
A powerful and compelling film that I promise you will not be able to stop watching from the first frame.
Written and directed by Tina Mabry (Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan), MISSISSIPPI DAMNED is a bitterly honest, stark tale of a young woman's survival over the powerful generational forces of poverty, violence, sexual abuse and family secrets. The film is an autobiographical saga set in the rural town of Tupelo, Mississippi, spanning the years between 1986 and 1998.
DAILY VARIETY raves, "Mabry brilliantly captures a community as organic as it is dead-end, and the tortured legacy behind simplistic notions of ever escaping it," while EBONY hails the film as "a brutally honest, extraordinary haunting and deeply emotional portrait." MISSISSIPPI DAMNED has screened at more than twenty film festivals across the country and now you have an opportunity to see it from the comfort of your home! Just visit www.mississippidamned.com/store to get your copy today!
View The Trailer:
For some reason sensuality and erotica have been labeled dirty and bad. In our society we are often taught that having those urges are impure and sinful. For me the truth of the matter is a healthy combination of spirituality and sensuality creates a much better balance for a person to understand who and what they are. How can you explain to a lover what it is you like if you’ve never explored what that is? I am not suggesting that a person needs to have a lot of sex or try many things but to not even be able to think about and suppress what comes natural seems like the most unnatural thing to me.
Hopefully you will find this collection of poetry (and other writings), artwork, & photos to be fun, fulfilling, entertaining, and on some level it expands your ideas of connecting to yourself and others. In other words I hope it “Touches” you...
Available On Line @ http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/touchpoems-others-writings-of-love-erotica-sensuality/14933474?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1
For some reason sensuality and erotica have been labeled dirty and bad. In our society we are often taught that having those urges are impure and sinful. For me the truth of the matter is a healthy combination of spirituality and sensuality creates a much better balance for a person to understand who and what they are. How can you explain to a lover what it is you like if you’ve never explored what that is? I am not suggesting that a person needs to have a lot of sex or try many things but to not even be able to think about and suppress what comes natural seems like the most unnatural thing to me.
Hopefully you will find this collection of poetry (and other writings), artwork, & photos to be fun, fulfilling, entertaining, and on some level it expands your ideas of connecting to yourself and others. In other words I hope it “Touches” you...
- Jair, The Literary Masturbator
Touch...Poems & Other Writings of Love Erotica & Sensuality is now available on line at lulu.com
In celebration of Black History Month and our World Television Premiere, the Special Collector's Edition of the MISSISSIPPI DAMNED DVD will be available for $9.99 + Shipping and Handling. Take advantage of this deal while it lasts and add this critically acclaimed DVD to your home collection. Honors include: Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival, Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 American Black Film Festival, and Grand Jury Award for Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature at the 2009 Outfest Film Festival.
The DVD is full of GREAT features including Deleted Scenes, the Trailer, Behind The Scenes Material, Interviews from the Film Festival Circuit, and Tina Mabry's first short film, Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan, which stars Jossie Harris Thacker who plays Charlie in Mississippi Damned.
Starring Adam Clark (Coach Carter, Public Enemies), Malcolm Goodwin (Leatherheads, American Gangster), Michael Hyatt (The Wire), Malcolm David Kelley (Antwone Fisher, Lost), Kylee Russell (Jump In!), Tonea Stewart (In the Heat of the Night, A Time to Kill), Jossie Harris Thacker (In Living Color), Tessa Thompson (For Colored Girls), Simbi Kali Williams (3rd Rock from the Sun), and DB Woodside (24,The Temptations), the film has been cited as one of "the best ensemble casts of the year."
Final Fridays Films of Resistance & Solidarity presents.. Night Catches Us
Friday, February 18, 2011 7pm Free EastSide Cultural Center 2277 International Blvd Oakland
In 1976, complex political and emotional forces are set in motion when a young man returns to the race-torn Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age during the Black Power movement. Starring Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie, directed by Tanya Hamilton. Program moderated by Bobby Seale.
I Have Known Tina & Morgan Since They Were Film Students At USC. They Have Always Done Stellar Work & This Film, "Mississippi Damned" Is Among Their Finest. Please Check It Out AND Buy The DVD To Help Support Independent Artists!!
World Television Premiere of Mississippi Damned & Our Black History Month Special
World Television Premiere
Winner of Audience Awards and Jury Prizes in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, festival darling MISSISSIPPI DAMNED will make its television premiere on SHOWTIME throughout Black History Month, with an initial airing on SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE on February 1, 2011 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. The flagship channel will showcase the film on Tuesday, February 22 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Additional airdate information is available at www.sho.com.
Written and directed by Tina Mabry (Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan), MISSISSIPPI DAMNED is a bitterly honest, stark tale of a young woman's survival over the powerful generational forces of poverty, violence, sexual abuse and family secrets. The film is an autobiographical saga set in the rural town of Tupelo, Mississippi, spanning the years between 1986 and 1998.
Directing her first feature film, Mabry coaxes indelible performances out of a stellar cast, including Tessa Thompson (For Colored Girls, Detroit 1-8-7) D.B. Woodside (24, Hellcats), Malcolm David Kelley (Lost, Saving Grace), Jossie Harris Thacker (Private Practice), Michael Hyatt (The West Wing, The Wire) and NAACP Image Award nominated veteran of stage and screen Tonea Stewart (In the Heat of the Night).
DAILY VARIETY raves, "Mabry brilliantly captures a community as organic as it is dead-end, and the tortured legacy behind simplistic notions of ever escaping it," while EBONY hails the film as "a brutally honest, extraordinary haunting and deeply emotional portrait." MISSISSIPPI DAMNED has screened at more than twenty film festivals across the country and now you have an opportunity to see it from the comfort of your home!
Celebrating Black History Month Special DVD Price for One Month Only
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE.
In celebration of Black History Month and our World Television Premiere, the Special Collector's Edition of the MISSISSIPPI DAMNED DVD will be available for $9.99 + Shipping and Handling. Take advantage of this deal while it lasts and add this critically acclaimed DVD to your home collection. Honors include: Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival, Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 American Black Film Festival, and Grand Jury Award for Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature at the 2009 Outfest Film Festival.
The DVD is full of GREAT features including Deleted Scenes, the Trailer, Behind The Scenes Material, Interviews from the Film Festival Circuit, and Tina Mabry's first short film, Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan, which stars Jossie Harris Thacker who plays Charlie in Mississippi Damned.
Starring Adam Clark (Coach Carter, Public Enemies), Malcolm Goodwin (Leatherheads, American Gangster), Michael Hyatt (The Wire), Malcolm David Kelley (Antwone Fisher, Lost), Kylee Russell (Jump In!), Tonea Stewart (In the Heat of the Night, A Time to Kill), Jossie Harris Thacker (In Living Color), Tessa Thompson (For Colored Girls), Simbi Kali Williams (3rd Rock from the Sun), and DB Woodside (24,The Temptations), the film has been cited as one of "the best ensemble casts of the year."
Just visit www.mississippidamned.com/store to get your copy today!
Congratulations to MISSISSIPPI DAMNED Cinematographer, Bradford Young - Winner of the 2011 Sundance Excellence in Cinematography Award
Congratulations to Bradford Young for his recent and much deserved accomplishment. On Saturday, January 29th he received the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Excellence in Cinematography Award for his work on the highly acclaimed PARIAH directed by Dee Rees. The film recently acquired worldwide theatrical distribution so make sure you support the film when it comes to your city!
Below is an excerpt of an interview Bradford did about his work on MISSISSIPPI DAMNED. Enjoy!
Q: What was working on Mississippi Damned like?
A:It was lots of fun and definitely a big challenge. When you have a 109-page script, 30 plus actors, emotional material, and only 22 days to shoot, it requires everyone to pull together to get the film done. Thankfully, there were great collaborations on all fronts, from working with Tina as the writer/director to the production designer, Aiyana Trotter to our producers, Morgan Stiff and Lee Stiff. Everyone across the board and in all departments were dedicated to making the film the best it could possibly be. That is a great environment to be in, one where you know everyone is working toward the same goal and is using their particular skill or craft to make the end product the best it can be. In the end, working on Mississippi Damned was a rite of passage for me.
Q: How was the visual style for Mississippi Damned developed?
A: Tina and I spent a lot of time discussing how we wanted the film to look and feel. Early on in the process we visited our actual locations to start brainstorming and developing an overall look. We decided early on that the story lent itself to a documentary approach. We knew that would help create the visceral feel the story needed. I often used and sought out available lighting and a majority of the film is handheld camerawork. Photographs by Birney Imes and films like 21 Grams became templates for the style we were trying to achieve.
Q: What lead you into cinematography? What would you say to aspiring Cinematographers?
A:I started off as a still photographer, then moved to shooting documentaries and then starting shooting films. My advice would be to be yourself. The best tool for being a good cinematographer is knowing who you are and where you come from because that influences everything, the way you see light and frames. Know thyself!
Help Get the Word Out!
We need your help getting the word out about Mississippi Damned! Share the trailer (which you can find on YouTube) on your facebook page. Recommend the DVD to friends and family. Have a special screening with friends at your home during the Showtime airings. If you really love the film, send out a mass email telling people why! You can help us get the word out so we can continue telling stories about people in the margins and bringing them to the mainstream!
