So they’ve slated us to screen before Superfly. This should be fun! Wish I could be there. Hawaii sounds so gooodddd right now! Event details below:

What: Honolulu African-American Film Festival
Where: Honolulu Academy of Arts: Doris Duke Theatre
When:  Sunday Feb 26 01:00 PM
Sunday Feb 26 04:00 PM
Sunday Feb 26 07:30 PM

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Nice shout out in Shadow and Act. Thanks Tambay!

“something tells me that this is going to be one of those heavily debated films.”

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A family is shaken to the core when they discover their son has been molested. As they struggle to deal with the betrayal, their son heads towards a total mental collapse because of his love for his abuser, while his abuser attempts to exorcise his own past demons. The film stars Irma P. Hall (THE LADYKILLERS, COLLATERAL), Eugene Lee (LACKAWANNA BLUES, COACH CARTER) and newcomers Mikala Gibson, Shelton Jolivette and Jordan Cooper.

All photos courtesy of Melendrez Entertainment.

THE BIRTH OF A WOLF

A few summers ago I came across the documentary, Deliver us from Evil, which chronicles the story of a pedophile clergy-man and the numerous children he abused. Towards the end of the film one of the victim’s father stated “I made up my mind. There is no GOD: and this coming from a man who had devoted his entire life to his religion. Growing up in church and being a firm believer in God, this statement shocked and intrigued me. I immediately started to think about all the people that I knew personally who had been abused (not just sexually) by the church and how many left because they too, no longer “believed.” They had spent so much time idolizing their leaders, making them their gods, and thus pushing GOD to the side. Their inability to separate the two left them scarred, angry and feeling abandoned. But who is responsible for this: them for forgetting the basis of what they believed or the church for perverting their belief by covering up abuse and creating God-like figures out of its leaders?

Before the ending credits finished rolling, I was already on the net doing research on sexual abuse. I came across a chat room for men who were molested as children. Some by family members, others by friends and a good majority by someone in their church: all in all they knew their abusers, loved them and even idolized them. The men on this site never told anyone before signing into the forum, and were only comfortable telling their stories because of the anonymity of the site. Some of the men became abusers. Some became alienated from society. Majority never fully healed from the psychological trauma. Their words haunted me. A haunting that drove me to my journal, where I wrote the outline for what would become the screenplay, Wolf.

Writing this film was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I’m not one to shy away from hot topics, but this one is such a sensitive, and very timely, issue that I wanted to make sure that I approached it with grace, not judgment. This film is not meant to criticize all churches, nor is it meant to dismiss Christianity as some faux religion where all people are preyed upon. My hope for the film is that it will shed light on the vicious cycle of sexual abuse so that victims can understand that they’re not alone and step out of the shadows of silence that have kept them bound.

“Ya’Ke Smith’s feature film directorial debut WOLF is an audacious, potent drama that will likely elicit extreme reactions from viewers when it’s eventually in general release”
–Indiewire: Shadow and Act

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Nicely done Gayle and UIW!! It was great being back on campus…so many great memories there.

Click here to read the article!

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Nicely written Olivia Flores. Beautiful review…makes me want to see this movie! It’s funny that you used the word “Blowjob” in the newspaper. I love it!

Here’s a snippet: “The sense of abandonment and betrayal is palpable as the boy watches his mother stumble away, his innocence and hope both lost in the same moment.”

Click here to check out the entire review

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Check out this article in the San Antonio-Express News. First official press about the production of Wolf. Great article (thanks to Aaron Jentzen), although this DREAD/AFRO on top of my head is horrendous…LOL.

GET READY YA’LL. IT’S COMING!!

Director Takes Leap of Faith with New Film!

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If you’re in the area, please show your support.

What: The San Francisco Black Film Festival
When: Saturday June 18th 8:00 P.M.
Where: Jazz Heritage Center: San Francisco

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