Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing and acclaimed filmmaker Haile Gerima have partnered up to bring the latter’s groundbreaking 1993 film Sankofa back to the masses. Per a press release sent to The Root, the film is being re-released in stunning 4k and was “developed from 20 years of research into the trans-Atlantic trade of enslaved African people.”
Suggested Reading
Sankofa tells the story of Mona, a “Black American fashion model on a photo shoot in Cape Coast, Ghana. Through Mr. Gerima’s imaginative storytelling, she undergoes a journey back in time to a plantation in North America. There she becomes Shola, an enslaved African woman who labors in the master’s house and experiences the horrors of slavery firsthand. In becoming Shola, Mona recovers and confronts her ancestral identity and experience. While enduring monstrous trauma at the hands of white men who owned people for profit, Shola’s interactions with her fellow enslaved Africans are rich with humanity, respect and dignity for one another. Most notably, she connects with Shango (Mutabaruka), a rebellious African man who toils in the fields, and Nunu (Alexandra Duah), one of the few of the enslaved to remember her life in Africa before being stolen and terrorized by European traders.”
Sankofa is available to watch now on Netflix.
The Sundance Institute to Honor Questlove with Annual Vanguard Award
The Sundance Institute will honor veteran musician and filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson with the annual Vanguard Award. Per a press release sent to The Root, the prestigious award recognizes artists whose work and vision represent the highest level of breakthrough innovation, originality, and independent spirit, as fostered in the Institute’s artist programs. Previous honorees include Ryan Coogler, Dee Rees, Boots Riley, Radha Blank and more.
“I’m extremely honored to receive this award. Storytelling has always been the fiber of my creativity, be it DJing, writing articles/books, podcasting, or teaching. Of course, I share this honor with the entire team behind Summer Of Soul. It was an honor to bring this historic event to light for audiences to experience,” said Questlove.
Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary and the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. It was later acquired by Festival by Searchlight Pictures and Hulu, and is available to watch now on Hulu.
The Mels Encourages the Next Generation of Female Creators and Producers
A new coming-of-age digital series is coming to TikTok in original short-form on October 11, 2021. The Mels, an independently produced project by Kharmony Fortune and her production company, Unlimited Possibilities, follows three Black girls as they navigate what should have been a normal first day of school, yet find themselves thrown into a Narnia-esque circle of sisterhood. The series is co-produced by Ihuoma Ofordire (writer, HBO, Lovecraft Country/ producer, WARNER BROS’s Cleopatra Jones) and stars Insecure’s Keturah Gregg, Family Renuion’s DèLon Shaw, recording artist Anisa Washington and Sistas’ Novi Brown.
CMT to Honor Micky Guyton with “Breakout Artist of the Year” at 2021 Artist of the Year Ceremony
On Wednesday, October 13, Mickey Guyton will make history at the 2021 “CMT Artist of the Year” Awards as she will be awarded with the “Breakout Artist of the Year”—marking the fourth time this award has been given to an artist in the history of the CMT awards. Grammy-nominated Guyton—who made history as the first Black female solo artist nominated in the country category—just released her debut album, Remember Her Name, on September 24.
Guyton has a longstanding history with the CMT Awards. Per a press release provided to The Root, Guyton “shined on the 2021 ‘CMT Music Awards’ [performing] “Cross Country” alongside rising star Breland and “Friendship Train” with the iconic Gladys Knight.” The “CMT Artist of the Year Awards” will be taking place in Nashville, TN., on October 13, 2021 and airing live at 9:00 p.m ET.
Lil’ Kim’s American Gangster: Trap Queens Returns for Season 2
BET+ and A. Smith & Co. Productions’ American Gangster: Trap Queens, has announced its second season will be premiering on October 7 on BET+. The five-episode miniseries narrated by Lil’ Kim explores five of the country’s most notorious female crime bosses and their exploits over the years. This season, the stories of Tonesa Welch, Peggy Fulford, Claudette Hubbard, Catherine Pugh, and Priscilla Echi will be explored, according to a press release provided to The Root. Their crimes include criminal activity such as laundering millions of dollars, distributing narcotics, trafficking, tax evasion and property theft.
According to BET+, American Gangster: Trap Queens “spotlights the true-life narratives of female lawbreakers whose offenses were grand in scale and had lasting effects on the people and cities where they took place. Each episode examines the criminal exploits of a particular Queen-pin and explores the circumstances and environments that gave rise to their criminal path.” Episodes begin airing October 7 and all of season two will be available on BET+ starting October 14.
Amazon Studios Taps Eddie Murphy for Three-Picture and First-Look Film Deal
After Coming 2 America charted as Amazon Prime’s most watched film on its opening weekend, Amazon has tapped Eddie Murphy for a three-film and first-look deal. Per Deadline, “Coming 2 America was the No. 1 streamed movie of the weekend, with the No. 1 opening weekend of any other streaming movie in 2021 to date and No. 1 opening weekend of any streaming movie in the past 12 months (post-Covid theater closures).” With the new deal, Murphy will star in three Amazon Prime original movies as well as develop new projects for the studio with potential to star.
Janelle Monáe and the African American Policy Forum Team Up for ‘Say Her Name’ Campaign
Artist and activist Janelle Monáe and the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) have partnered up to release “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout)“, a 17-minute protest track released on International Daughter’s Day to raise awareness to the many Black women and girls who have died from police violence. According to a press release sent to The Root, “Say Her Name” follows Wondaland’s 2015 protest track “Hell You Talmbout”, which spoke out about the black men and women who have also died from police violence. AAPF, alongside the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies at Columbia Law School, founded the #SayHerName campaign in December 2014 to elevate the names and stories of Black women, girls, and femmes who have too often been invisible victims of police violence.
All proceeds from the release will benefit AAPF; you can watch the lyric video below.
The Apollo Theater Releases Fall 2021 Program Lineup
The Apollo Theater has released its programming lineup for the Fall 2021 season.
Per a press release sent to The Root, the upcoming programs will take place both in person and online on the Apollo’s Digital Stage, in alignment with the theme “The Renaissance is Now!” The offerings will help expand the nonprofit theater’s role as a “partner, commissioner, and co-producer of programming that centers Black artists and voices from the African Diaspora, while tackling important social issues for Harlem, New York, and the nation.” This season’s programming will consist of:
Digital preview of performances and conversations about the creative process with Apollo New Works artists, the theater’s first major commissioning initiative, featuring Kamau Ware of Black Gotham Experience, Keith Josef Adkins of New Black Fest, multimedia duo Chen Lo and Asante Amin of Soul Science Lab, and playwright, scholar, and director Talvin Wilks;
Apollo Film Presents: ImageNation Cocktails & Sol Cinema virtual screening of the rarely seen documentary Devil’s Pie: D’Angelo about the singer’s rise to stardom;
Comedian, musician, and actor Jamie Foxx discussing his first-ever memoir, “Act Like You Got Some Sense,” presented by Live Nation;
Amanda Seales’ “Smart Funny and Black Live!,” part of the 2021 NY Comedy Festival;
Kwanzaa Celebration: Regeneration Night, featuring the renowned New York-based dance company Abdel Salaam’s Forces of Nature Dance Theatre
Broadway veteran and Billboard #1 recording artist Shoshana Bean returning to the Apollo live with Sing Your Hallelujah, a holiday concert capturing the spirit of connection, reflection, and joy.
Additionally, in-person auditions for Amateur Night at the Apollo will take place beginning this October 9 and 10, with the return of the crowd favorite series coming some time in February 2022. For more information on these happenings, head to apollotheater.org.
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Blake Griffin, Kendrick Sampson Tapped as Mentors for New BIPOC Short Film Fund
Creator+, a next-generation content studio and distribution platform for digital-first storytellers and creators, in collaboration with The Kennedy/Marshall company has launched a new ‘Flip the Script’ Short Film Fund dedicated to championing, investing in and sharing stories of emerging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) filmmakers and storytellers.
In a press release sent to The Root, the fund is seeking to tell unique & underrepresented stories & will prioritize the involvement of diverse crews in their production. They will give six BIPOC Creators $25k to assist with development, production, festival strategy, and distribution. One BIPOC Creator will ultimately be selected with a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a feature length film with Creator+. Mentors attached to this initiative include Pose star Michaela Jae Rodriguez, 6-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin, Insecure star and activist Kendrick Sampson, writer and showrunner Elle Johnson, director of creative community at TikTok Kudzi Chikumbu, Lulu Wang and more.
Interested applicants, be sure to go here for more info.
Ayo Davis Named President of Disney Branded Television
Disney Branded Television has named its newest president and it’s none other than Ayo Davis. Davis previously worked for the company in the role of Executive Vice President, Creative Development and Strategy of Disney Branded Television.
In her new role as president, Davis will “take on the creative and operational leadership of the content group at a time it is expanding its development and production of Disney branded programming for the company’s streaming service Disney+ and linear networks.” She will also “oversee the operations of Disney Branded Television including programming, strategy, development, current, production, casting, business affairs and marketing for scripted, unscripted and animation for Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior,” according to a press release sent to The Root.
Davis shared her excitement over her new role in a statement, saying:
“I am beyond grateful to Peter Rice and Gary Marsh for their extraordinary leadership, support and mentorship. It’s a tremendous honor to continue Gary’s legacy of delighting kids and families through Disney Branded TV’s unparalleled storytelling, and it’s an amazing time for kids and family programming. I’m thrilled to continue working with my team, colleagues, our TV studios and, of course, the creators who trust us with their projects as we work to develop the next generation of beloved stories and franchises.”
Nelly to Receive ‘I AM HIP-HOP’ Award at 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards
The 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards will honor Nelly with the “I AM HIP-HOP” award on October 5.
Per a press released sent to The Root, the entertainment and music icon will be recognized for his “massive contributions to music and culture at large.” Speaking on the honor, Nelly explained: “I am honored to receive this award and humbled to be in such great company of past artists who have received this award. “I have been blessed to work with some incredible people in my career, making 22 years go by in the blink of an eye. This award isn’t just about Nelly; it is about my fans, BET, and the people that continue to support me and allow me to do what I love to do.”
Additional nominees for the night include Cardi B, Lil Durk, and Megan Thee Stallion, who lead with nine nominations each. Drake follows next with eight nods, with Tyler, The Creator and Metro Boomin tying for third-most nominations, securing four nods each. Other notable nominees include 21 Savage, DJ Khaled, J. Cole, and Pooh Shiesty, who received three each. Bia, Chris Brown, Doja Cat, Jay Z, Lil Nas X, Migos, Nicki Minaj, Roddy Ricch, Saweetie, Young Thug, and Yung Bleu each received two nominations.
The 2021 BET Hip-Hop Awards goes down Tuesday, October 5 at 9 p.m. ET only on BET.
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