6th Annual Oakland International
Black LGBT Film Festival
Parkway Theater
Oakland, California
AUGUST 14 - 17, 2008
PARTIAL SCREENING SCHEDULE


MAHOGANY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14
35mm, USA:109 min

The Oakland International Black LGBT Film Festival started a new tradition last year of screening one opening-night film that has been deemed "Classic" by Black Americans and particularly by LGBT people of African descent. In 2007, we chose "THE WIZ" (starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson) because the film is analagous with the many challenges that black LGBT people face on the road to self acceptance and self love.

For 2008, we have selected another film starring Miss Diana Ross - MAHOGANY. This Oscar nominated musical was produced and Directed by Motown founder and legend Barry Gordy. Mahogany was harshly criticized by white film critics when it was released in 1975. But, the African American community saw Mahogany as a cinematic celebration of Black beauty, Black struggle, Black success and Black Love.

The poignant words to Mahogany's theme song asked us the question - Do You Know Where You're Going To? Which is the question that we ask the Black LGBT community this year. Do You Know?

Add the drama of high fashion and the sexy Billy Dee Williams and you have a film that was destined for gayness...we mean greatness.
Click here to learn more about the film MAHOGANY!
Friends and Lovers: Ski Trip 2
Directed By: Maurice Jamal

Award winning Director, Maurice Jamal returns to Oakland with the premiere of his new film FRIENDS AND LOVERS: SKI TRIP 2. Part romantic comedy, part drama, part Hollywood spoof and all signature Jamal, the story follows the lives, loves and mishaps of three diverse couples living in Los Angeles, and their eccentric circle of friends.Featuring a multiracial cast that crosses orientation and gender, FRIENDS AND LOVERS is a bold, brazen and totally outrageous look at life in LA. TRT: 90 mins.Date & Time tba.



U People
Directed By: Hanifah Walidah, and Olive Demetrius

In a brownstone in Brooklyn, a film about a film unfolds, and not just any film...but a documentary steeped with sexy, intelligent women who have gathered together to make a unique music video. The talented filmmakers capture what happens when 30 hot and sharp women of color convene, revealing a blend of experiences and perspectives that are rarely voiced. U PEOPLE is a powerful and engaging romp that enters a world seldom represented - and you¢re invited to
the party. TRT: 77 min. Date & Time TBA.
BLUEPRINT
Directed by Kirk Shannon-Butts

Out 100 honoree Director Kirk Shannon-Butts tells the story of Keith who is a reserved, straitlaced transplant to New York City from Los Angeles; Nathan is a street-smart, potsmoking Brooklynite who lives on the edge — or so he’d like Keith to believe. At first glance, nothing about these two young African American college students suggests romantic compatibility. But a casual courtship gradually develops amidst minor bickering and disagreements — those familiar interstices inside which nascent love restlessly takes shape.
USA, 2007, 75 Minute Running Time
Date & Time TBA



The Incredibly True Adventures of Sistas of the Canyon
Directed By: Jasmyne Cannick and Ellene Miles

Voices of mothers, sisters, daughters, girlfriends, and lesbian women spanning different generations, shapes and sizes redefine unity and sisterhood by testing their physical and emotional boundaries that begin at the mountaintop.
TRT: 23 min.
Date & Time TBA
Pariah
Directed By: Dee Rees

Pariah is a coming-of-age drama about a lesbian teenager who unsuccessfully juggles multiple identities to avoid rejection from her friends and family.
TRT: 27 min.
Date & Time TBA



Tru Loved
Directed By: Stewart Wade
A charming romantic comedy and an unabashed gay contribution to the canon of teen films. Tru (short for Gertrude, as in Stein) is the new kid at her So Cal
suburban high school. She has two moms, two dads, and everybody thinks she¢s the big dyke on campus.

Talented Najarra Townsend as Tru and other rising actors carry the film, as familiar faces like Jasmine Guy, Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura from STAR TREK!), Jane Lynch, Alec Mapa, and Bruce Vilanch round out the stellar supporting cast.
TRT: 103 min.
Date & Time TBA