kasi lemmons
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Tribeca Festival to Present Stacey Abrams With Inaugural Harry Belafonte Award Amid Juneteenth Programming
The Tribeca Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary, which is quite the special year. Not only because of the monumental commemoration itself, but because it is returning with a special format post-lockdown featuring a nice compromise of both in-person and virtual programming. This year, the New York-based festival will “highlight the voices of the African…
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Finding Your Roots Exclusive Clip: Comedian Roy Wood Jr. Has a Serious Teachable Moment About His Enslaved Ancestors
Roy Wood Jr. is a funny guy. If you don’t follow him on Twitter, specifically, your timeline is sorely lacking in his particular brand of comedy. I especially enjoyed his chicken sandwich coalition series in the past year or so. Anyway, the comedian has had a bunch of projects, including serving as correspondent for The…
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Check Out Octavia Spencer as Madam C.J. Walker, America's First Black Female Self-Made Millionaire
Do you smell the scent of hot combs in the air? Well, that’s because Madam C.J. Walker’s televised biopic is coming this year! We’ve been waiting for this one since it was announced back in 2018 and now we have a release date and a sneak peek of Spencer as the Madam herself. This spring,…
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Ava DuVernay and Netflix Formally Respond to When They See Us Lawsuit, Claim Dialogue Is Protected Under First Amendment
Netflix and When They See Us writer-director Ava DuVernay are fighting back on a lawsuit filed against them and the figurative punches are formal. As The Root reported in October, police interrogation firm John E. Reid and Associates filed a lawsuit against DuVernay and the production company/streaming platform in regard to the hit miniseries, claiming…
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Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Harriet Cast Talk Their Visions of Freedom
Let there be no ambiguity: Harriet is a film about freedom. Despite the many critiques of the film, I think it’s fair to say that you might leave the Kasi Lemmons-directed movie feeling “good.” I did. Perhaps it’s because the film intentionally steers away from the slave narrative, despite centering a woman who was once…
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Urbanworld 2019: How Kasi Lemmons, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Henry Hunter Hall Continue a Creative Legacy in Harriet
Before she departed this earth, Harriet Tubman’s last words were, “I go to prepare a place for you.” When I hear such a powerful phrase, I can’t help but think of the concept of legacy. When you leave this earth, what will you leave behind that defines you? Will it carry on through your children?…
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TIFF 2019: Harriet Isn’t the Epic, Raw Tale You’re Waiting For
“Harriet’s a film about freedom; it’s not about slavery,” director Kasi Lemmons mused amid the clinking and clanking of silverware as myself and several other black critics surrounded her during an intimate dinner at a swanky Toronto hotel. This line would stay with me as I warred with just how I felt leaving the theater…