‘NEGRO’ DOCU-SERIES EXPLORES BLACK LATINO IDENTITY


Filmmaker Dash Harris is the brainchild behind the ‘Negro’ docu-series which examines, through a series of interviews, what it means to be black and Latino within the Americas. Dash Harris is blurring the color lines and shedding a much needed light on the experiences of peoples of African descent around the world. Her docu-series Negro explores the interplay between race, color, and self-identification among Latinos in the Americas. By delving into the history of Afro-Latinos and giving them a platform to share their stories, Harris questions the structures that are in place to label people and attempts to shatter them.

Black and Afro-Latinxs have been doing their own organizing for generations, but in this current iteration, have shown extreme solidarity with U.S. Black people because it is our struggle as well – Dash Harris

Negro exposes the racism present in Latin American, challenges the lack of information that many people posses about blackness, as it pertains to countries outside of the United States, and directly challenges the idea that “beauty” and “white” are interchangeable concepts. Ultimately, by interviewing people of African descent in many different countries, including Panama and the Dominican Republic, Harris is able to get a large view of the identity crisis that Afro-Latinos deal with.

Our society has made it easy to categorize people broadly without understanding the history and roots of different ancestries. It’s become common to assume that how “black” you are is directly related to the amount of melanin in your skin. Instead of educating ourselves about our history and how complex and beautiful it is, we group people together and assume that we all have the same backgrounds. Conversely, while our differences have separated us and created a color complex between us, our similarities have commonly been forgotten. Most, if not all, of us are of African descent, whether we know it or not. As it was beautifully stated in Negro, if we get to a place where we see ourselves in each other, some of the hate will be dismissed.



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Alicia Keys (Short Film) – “The Gospel”


A music-driven short film presented as a visual prelude to Alicia Keys’ sixth studio album, Here. Keys pays tribute to the communities that raised her in four slice-of-life segments depicting the coming of age experience in New York City.

*Tribeca Film Festival 2016 Premiere
*New York Times Pop Critic Pick –– The Playlist
*2017 One Screen Awards – Free The Bid “Best Music Video”
*2017 Clio Music Award for Film
*2017 Saatchi & Saatchi New Director’s Showcase
*2017 SHOOT Magazine New Director’s Showcase

Buy the album ‘Here’: here.aliciakeys.com

Director: A.V. Rockwell
Music: Alicia Keys
Executive Producers: Alicia Keys, Erika Rose, Robin Frank, Lucy Sumner
Producer: Zein Zubi & Nicola Westermann
Director of Photography: Kelly Jeffrey
Casting: Ulysses Terrero
Assistant Director: Diamond Dave & Dino Castelli
Production Designer: Ron Beach
Costume & Wardrobe: Fatima Bah
Hair: Illy Lussiano
Makeup: Lynda Esparza
Sound Recordist: Rob Bluemske & Wade Vantrease
Post Producer: Kristine Pregot
Sound Mixer: Brian Goodheart
Editor: Laura Tomaselli & Peter Johnson
Colorist: James Tillet
Production Company: Alldayeveryday

A short film starring Alicia Keys. Get the new album “HERE” now! Available on:
Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/iAKHERE?IQid=yt
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/sAKHERE?IQid=yt
Amazon Music: http://smarturl.it/azAKHERE?IQid=yt
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/gAKHERE?IQid=yt

gospel


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This 10 Easy Steps Will Make Your Video More CINEMATIC


img_1303-2I hope you enjoy these small videos I share on this site. Each one of them helped me fine tune my camera skills so that I can compete with the professionals out there who make the big bucks lol. These quick tutorials will expand your knowledge of camera angles, grid lines, auto focus points and things most people never think about in filmmaking online. It’s not so simple, you have to learn all of these small things to create your own style and master everybody else’s. Every photographer or filmmaker has their own blueprint on how they film, but the basic steps in this video are used by almost everyone. save this video and take notes!!!

 


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MASTER camera settings FAST for BETTER VIDEO!


img_1303-2I watch this guy’s videos all of the time for film tips. This video is especially good for people who are looking for that cinematic film look on Canon Cameras. I use these setting as well. Check it out and subscribe to his channel.

his youtube channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYaIdC5pbkpECxXLjf0Lzaw
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Peter McKinnon – HOW TO FILM YOURSELF


Casey Neistat – FILMMAKING IS A SPORT


Ron Alpha Podcast Episode 37- SOPHIA STEWART – THE MIND BEHIND THE MATRIX FILMS


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img_1303-2In this episode of Gateway Radio I interviewed Sophia Stewart. She is the writer and creator of the Matrix and Terminator films. Her story was stolen and created into movies without her knowledge. In the interview she explained how unfair the film industry is and how this is done all of the time to writers and creative people. Stealing is common in the industry. This is why she explains the importance of copywriting your material and source work. For more information on Sophia Stewart check out the links below and read the bio at the end of this Blog post.


Writer of the Terminator and Matrix movies, Child prodigy, prolific writer, poet and creative genius are just a few of the terms used to describe Sophia Stewart. Stewart entered the City University of New York and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism and minors in law and psychology. While attending the University, she studied under the guidance of many celebrated authors and writers such as:

  • Max Segal, a former journalist of the New York Times,
  • Emile Capouya, publisher, editor, essayist, and critic,
  • Paul Cherry, a playwright for Broadway.

She, also, served as an intern for television at the Public Broadcasting Station WNET Thirteen, where she worked with Oscar winning film documentary producer, Perry Miller Adato. Her graduating class was honored with a special letter/citation from President Jimmy Carter.41iYDfRGEQL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_In 1979, her love and skills for writing motivated her to move from New York to Los Angeles where she studied cinema at the University of Southern California (USC).It was there she had the opportunity to study film under the auspices of producer Leon Roth; father of Eric Roth, screenwriter of the movie Forrest Gump.By the early 80’s she had started writing professionally. It was through her association with the entertainer Janet Jackson that she became involved in a special project that enabled her to write her first television scripts entitled “My Special Love” and “Blue Short”. During this period Ms. Stewart also had the opportunity to work at Columbia Pictures in the office of Vice President Dick Berres. It was at Columbia Pictures where Dick Berres supported her aspirations to write and gave Sophia five first draft scripts. One was called “From Here to Eternity”. She is an accomplished award-winning poet who has published over one hundred poems. NAACP Award In December, 2005, Sophia Stewart was awarded the NAACP Rosa Parks Award for her contribution to the film industry.thStewart, a gifted writer visionary, has also worked for individual celebrities who include former Knick player Dick Barnett, Louis Gossett Jr., and Shelly Winters. Her background is diverse and many of her writings reflect ground breaking literature that is undeniable before it’s time. She has received numerous awards for her achievements over the past few years.After earning the Rosa Parks Award’ from the NAACP in December 2005, she also got the honor award for empowering the people from the Las Vegas Music Awards in September 2006. On June 2, 2007 she was nominated for the international award called: ‘Lifting Up the World with a Oneness Heart.’ An award offered to people who have made exceptional contributions to the human family. Some of the receivers of this award include: Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul, Jesse Jackson and many others.

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