#finding neptune

LADIES NIGHT (FILM SHORTS)

Thursday, May 1st at the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, Seattle - 7 – 8:30 p.m.

The Proposal, USA, 2011, 4 min

Julie is a school Teacher and Brian is an Engineer. They both love each other very much. After 5 years of dating Brian thinks it is time to propose to Julie. Julie, however doesn’t believe that this is the best time to get married and continues to turn Brian down.

Filmmaker: Purpelle Tramble

Earth, Water, Woman Trinidad & Tobago, 2013, 22 min

This film tells the inspiring story of a sustainable agro-forestry community in Trinidad & Tobago West Indies, called Fondes Amandes, led by a charismatic Rastafarian woman, Akilah Jaramogi. Three decades ago Akilah settled on a barren, deforested hillside, blighted with floods in the rainy season and fires in the dry season. Together with her late husband, Tacuma, they started a family and reforested over 150 acres, restoring health to the hills and the watershed just outside the capital city of Port-of-Spain. When her husband died, Akilah continued this great work, initiating the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project (FACRP), training community members as stewards of the forests and waters. Today Fondes Amandes is a thriving village atop a flourishing forest of 150 acres where residents have planted about 60,000 seedlings over the past thirty years. The community is regularly visited by international dignitaries and Akilah is heralded as the Wangari Maathai of Trinidad & Tobago.

Filmmakers: Sarah Feinbloom & Alexandra Swati Guild

The Pain of Love, USA, 2012, 14 min

Pain of Love centers around a young couple very much in love. Isabella lover Marques finds a hidden letter, and the love take a turn into a dramatic ending.

Filmmakers: Justin Malachi & Austin Tovar

Rating: Some mature themes and content.

Finding Neptune, USA, 8 min

Allen (James Edward Shippy), an astronomy enthusiast, and Jennifer (Rachae Thomas), a college junior, are in the honeymoon stage of their new relationship. They are inseparable and their attraction for each other is undeniable. As they picnic on the beach they ponder all of the possibilities that their love can grow too. Within a year of taking the next big step and moving in with each other, things slowly start to deteriorate between the couple. As Allen and Jennifer’s true identities are revealed, their relationship is put to the test when Allen is caught masturbating to Internet porn. This is the last straw in a long line of missteps on Allen’s behalf. The next day he confronts Jennifer about his transgressions. But, Jennifer has already made up her mind, and is neatly packed to leave the apartment and Allen for good. She has also been drinking heavily, a bad habit exposed since they moved in together. While testing the boundaries of their love, Allen and Jennifer’s relationship slowly begins to unravel. Although Jennifer is done with the relationship, Allen makes a last ditch effort to reconnect with her on the sexual level that initially attracted them to each other. Eventually, Allen fails at this attempt with Jennifer and she finally leaves Allen at the apartment, alone. While separated, they are simultaneously confronted with the choice of going back to what was or moving on to what could be.

Filmmaker: Tosin Coker

Rating: Some mature themes and content.

Chicken Soup, Malaysia, 2013, 9 min

When a husband and his wife are unable to overcome their martial issues, their prayers are answered with the help of a messenger sent from ‘above’.

Filmmaker: Ayana Saunders

Dancing Like Home, USA/Senegal, 2013, 31 min

Dancing Like Home, a personal documentary film explores the realities of going back ‘home’ to the motherland – Senegal, West Africa. Actress/filmmaker Joyce Guy’s passion for African dance sets her in pursuit to find the meanings of the traditional dance ceremonies of Casamance, Senegal but once there her expectations of this culturally rich region are challenged. Having no firsthand knowledge of the region, Joyce decides to go on a preliminary location scout to receive permission from the village chiefs. With Malang Bayo, a former member of the National Ballet of Senegal, born and raised in Casamance, they travel ‘home’ to distinct villages of varying sizes, tribes and leadership. The story navigates through the exploration of the dance and its traditions but also the challenges she faces in Africa as an outsider who is further impeded by a language barrier, living conditions, and by being a non-Muslim woman in a patriarchal society. Encountering on the way, some realities of the motherland are not what she expected them to be. What is revealed is the depths that dance are embedded in their language of expression, whether it is communicating the birthing of children, the passing of elders, or the mediation of conflicts between people and villages.