American Theatre of Harlem

What else is happening in the Harlem arts community? Check out Meschac Gaba's mixed-media hair sculptures. His work is the current exhibition showing at The Studio Museum in Harlem. The copy on their website reads "...The Studio Museum in Harlem is a contemporary art museum that focuses on the work of artists of African descent locally, nationally and globally, as well as work that has been inspired and influenced by African-American culture, through its exhibitions, Artists-in-Residence program, education and public programming, permanent collection, archival and research facilities...."

Gaba was born in 1961 in Cotonou, Benin, and currently lives in Amsterdam. The Studio's excerpt about him says Gaba gained international acclaim for his artistic investigations of economic power, public space and the role of the western museum.

Just discovered mediabistro.com a site dedicated to anyone who creates or works with content, or who is a non-creative professional working in a content/creative industry. That includes editors, writers, television producers, graphic designers, book publishers, people in production, and circulation departments — in industries including magazines, television, radio, newspapers, book publishing, online media, advertising, PR, and graphic design.

Their mission is to provide opportunities (both online and offline) for people to meet each other, share resources, become informed of job opportunities and interesting projects, improve career skills, and showcase work.

Harlem Debut Part of 2005 Foxx Juggernaut

The Big Apple premiere was right here. On a hot summer night, Jamie Foxx, with co-stars Tom Cruise and Jada Pinkett were found walking down the red carpet at 124th St. and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, right here in Harlem.

That was the scene on August 5, 2004 when the thriller Collateral made its New York debut at the Magic Johnson Theater to open the Urbanworld Film Festival. Fast forward five months. Foxx's strong performance in that film and Ray have him on numerous awards lists. Yesterday Filmstew.com reported on the nominations for the 11th annual Screen Actor's Guild Awards (an important Oscar forecaster). All in all Foxx picked up a total of four SAG Award nominations for his performances in Ray, Collateral,and Redemption. The cast of Sideways also made out well. For a full list of nominees, click here.

In an open letter to Mr. Lee, Melissa Levine, a reporter at the Phoenix New Times vents out loud to readers her deep disappointment with the beloved, Brooklyn filmmaker. She feels he has dropped the ball and questions his continuing admittance in that rarified group of uber-director in American film and particularly ethnic films. She begins her critique citing "She Gotta Have It." She lauds the work as "feminist, electric and thoughtful" and then compares that to Mr. Lee's latest film "She Hate Me?" which according to Ms. Levine, is definitely none of the above:

"... This year's She Hate Me? Perhaps the angriest, most obnoxious movie
to pollute the screen ... (To Spike) ... You're blaming lesbians for the
unhappiness of the black man? Lesbians are the problem? It didn't help that
you have to portray them as scheming, manipulative and man-hating..."

I am a big fan of Mr. Lee, but noticed many of Ms. Levine's points are well, on point. I encourage you to read the article for yourself.

The ATH Community Film Festival is the organization's newest undertaking to tell our stories with integrity and dignity through the artistic medium of film. The festival is not competitive but is designed to showcase outstanding talent.

REGULATIONS
**As part of our goal to support independent filmmakers, there is NO entry fee.
**Films must be sent to the festival office prepaid: American Theatre of Harlem, South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford Street (btwn Hanson & Atlantic Ave) Brooklyn, NY 11217. Write on submissions "No commercial value - for cultural purposes only."
**A fee of $10 (check or money order)is necessary to cover expenses for return of tapes. Otherwise the tapes will be kept in the festival office.
**Entries may be submitted by completing the application form which must be accompanied by a VHS or DVD of the film to the festival office postmarked by January 15, 2005.
**Accepted films must be delivered to the festival 10 days prior to the public screening for the February 22-26, 2005 festival.
**BETA-SP/NTSC format is also accepted for screening.
**Include a brief synopsis, publicity materials, biography, and photos about your work.

ATH seeks to develop new filmakers and directors and bring their work to the audiences of the greater NYC metro area. Our goal is to provide a rich artistic experience when attending a play or film we have produced and continue the great tradition that Hal DeWindt and so many others have passed on. As such, we are a community-based, non-profit organization under the IRS code 501(c)(3). For more information about the festival or how to become involved, please contact us at 718.398.8052 or email info@americantheatreofharlem.org

“Let’s Heal The World With Art.”