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Harlem Stage is proud to present

NewFest at Harlem Stage

We launch this new partnership with a special New York premiere of

Children of God

directed by Kareem Mortimer

Bahamas, 2010, 103 mins

Filmed in the breathtaking Bahamian islands, this love story is a groundbreaking look at the lives of three very different people- a young gay artist, a closeted musician and a conservative pastor's embittered wife- and the ramifications of living in a homophobic and violently repressive nation.

www.childrenofgodthemovie.com

Featured short-

Billy and Aaron

directed by Rodney Evans

Netherlands, USA, 2009, 10 mins

Definitely a short about people of color, here is a synopsis from Tribeca Film Festival where it played this year:

"Billy and Aaron is a drama about African-American composer Billy Strayhorn and the personal and professional consequences of his decision to live as an openly gay man within the homophobic jazz milieu of the 1940s."

http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/billy_and_aaron-film29335.html

The screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, Kareem Mortimer and Rodney Evans, and moderated by Thomas Allen Harris.  There will also be a reception on The Harlem Stage Gatehouse terrace.

($12 for NewFest members)

Kareem Mortimer

Kareem Mortimer first started his career in the film industry when he wrote and served as one of the producers for the 1998 Bahamas Games documentary at the age of seventeen. Since then, Kareem has made short music documentaries for the syndicated show Hip Hop Nation: Notes from the Underground; produced the short film Varmint Day, winner of Best Comedy at the Made In Miami Film Festival; served as a producer and edited the feature length documentary Where I'm From, HIV and AIDS in The Bahamas with Maria Govan (Rain), the short narrative, Chance; produced and directed The Eleutheran Adventure, winner of the 2006 Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Bahamas International Film Festival; directed the documentary Chartered Course: The Life of Sir Durward Knowles; and has written and directed the short narrative  film Float that has won 5 international awards and distribution in North America, Germany and Austria. Most recently he has completed the documentary I Am Not A Dummy and the highly anticipated debut feature film Children Of God. Kareem has co-directed and produced a second feature narrative WindJammers that is in post-production and in 2010 will direct his third feature Gotta have it.

Thomas Allen Harris

Thomas Allen Harris is the founder and President of Chimpanzee Productions, a company dedicated to producing unique audio-visual experiences that illuminate the Human Condition and the search for identity, family, and spirituality. Chimpanzee’s innovative and award-winning documentary feature films - VINTAGE – Families of Value, E Minha Cara/That’s My Face, and Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela - have received critical acclaim at International film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, FESPACO, Outfest, Flaherty and Cape Town and have been broadcast on PBS, the Sundance Channel, ARTE, as well as CBC, Swedish broadcasting Network and New Zealand Television. Mr. Harris’ video and installations have been featured at prestigious museums and galleries including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Biennial, Corcoran Gallery, Reina Sophia and London Institute of the Arts. Mr. Harris is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including a United States Artist Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, as well as CPB/PBS and Sundance Directors Fellowships. A graduate of Harvard College, Mr. Harris lectures widely on the use of media as a tool for social change.

Co-presented with NewFest. http://www.newfest.org