Schedule
CineOdyssey Film Festival 2021
Thursday, November 18
Location: Harvey B. Gantt Center, 551 S. Tryon St, Charlotte, NC, 28202
Reception: 7 pm-8 pm
Opening Night Film
Queen Of Glory
*Will not be screened virtually
Dir: Nana Mensah
Narrative | Feature | 2021 | 78 mins | U.S
Sarah, the child of Ghanaian immigrants, quits her Ivy League PhD program to follow her boyfriend to Ohio. When her mother dies suddenly, she bequeaths her daughter a Christian bookstore in the Bronx. A follow-up on the classic immigrant’s tale, Queen of Glory provokes laughter and empathy, as its heroine is reborn through her inheritance.
Preceded by:
Grist
Dir: Shannon Harris
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 15 mins | U.S
Hannah ends three-year on-again, off-again “situationship” with Roman due to irreconcilable world views that have potentially serious ramifications. But it wasn’t “all a wash.”
VIRTUAL SCREENINGS
Al Sit
Dir: Suzannah Mirghani
Narrative | Short | 2020 | 20 mins | Sudan
In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, 15-year-old Nafisa has a crush on Babiker, but her parents have arranged her marriage to Nadir, a young Sudanese businessman living abroad. Nafisa’s grandmother Al-Sit, the powerful village matriarch, has her own plans for Nafisa’s future. But can Nafisa choose for herself?
Asunder
Dir: Janet Marrett
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 15 mins | UK
Olivia, a trainee professional, finds herself opposing the government that is seeking to criminalize her mother in this intricate story about family, politics and justice.
Blinded By Sight
Dir: Amy Rose D’Allessandro Stolz
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 5 mins | US
In the fight for justice, we can not unsee what we’ve seen.
Blue
Dir: Sonia Nwabukwu, Chike Nwabukwu
Narrative | Short | 2020 | 24 mins | US
When money gets tight for a young couple, their differences in deciding how to overcome their predicament causes more problems than they bargained for.
Grist
Dir: Shannon Harris
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 15 mins | U.S
Hannah ends three-year on-again, off-again “situationship” with Roman due to irreconcilable world views that have potentially serious ramifications. But it wasn’t “all a wash.”
Just A Man and A Woman
Dir: Oscar Torre
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 15 mins | US
Meeting secretly at a hotel once a week, a man and a woman are soon forced to make a decision that will change their lives forever.
Mano De Oros (Hands Of Gold)
Dir: Merced Elizondo
Narrative | Short | 2020 | 34 mins | US
Sergio, a former mechanic, is in the middle of a crippling battle with arthritis. When the opportunity to fix an old family-friend’s truck arises, Sergio begins a downward spiral towards denial and self-destructive behavior in an attempt to regain his identity as a working man with purpose. As a result, his struggling relationship with his son is put to the ultimate test.
The Audition
Dir: Eric Liberacki
Narrative | Short | 2020 | 18 mins | US
Tony Mendes, a Latino actor who doesn’t fit the Hollywood stereotype, goes to great lengths to get casting directors to look beyond the surface and notice his talent.
xxVisible
Dir: Bobby Yan
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 12 mins | US
Covering one year of the 2020 pandemic, a successful young Asian American struggles to navigate life during the lockdown.
Friday, November 19
Location: Protagonist Southend, 227 Southside Dr, Charlotte, NC, 28217
Screenings and Discussion: 7 pm-11 pm
One Pint At A Time
Dir: Aaron Hosé
Documentary | Feature | 2021 | 90 mins | US
A look at how Black brewers, brand owners and influencers across the country are reshaping the craft beer industry and the future of America’s favorite adult beverage.
Hardout
Dir: Ben Leiataua
Narrative | Short | 2020 | 6 mins | US
A hilarious send up of beer commercials, a production crew is interrupted during shooting when a drunk patron antagonizes the main actor. The film crew and bar regulars decide to settle their differences in an epic, action filled showdown.
A Conversation With:
Atinuke Diver
Atinuke Diver is Executive Director and Lead Organizer of Durham CAN (Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods) and is the current President of the Research Triangle Area Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. A first-generation American and the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, she is Director/Producer of the short documentary 98, and is currently working on her first feature-length documentary film: This Belongs To Us, a short clip of which will be screened and discussed. THIS BELONGS TO US chronicles the stories of Black women brewers in the American south and explores their journeys of reclamation and revival as they navigate the predominantly white-, male-dominated landscape of beer in the United States.
VIRTUAL SCREENINGS
A Date, With History
Dir: Gaspar González
Documentary | Short | 2021 | 11 mins | US
The 1955 arrest of a Black woman and a white man at a Miami motel, for violation of the city’s strict segregation laws, provides an unexpected glimpse into the era’s complex social history.
Affirmative
Dir: Chan’Cellore Makanjuola
Documentary | Short | 2021 | 21 mins | US
When a group of Black UC Berkeley students initiates a statewide effort to repeal California’s 1996 ban on affirmative action, opposers lobby to keep the ban upheld, reigniting an ongoing debate on what merit truly means for different people.
Anatomy Of Wings
Dir: Nikiea Redmond, Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander
Documentary | Feature | 2020 | 85 mins | US
A powerful, and heartfelt coming of age documentary chronicling the journey of ten young African American girls over a period of 12 years, as they navigate the nuances of poverty, violence and systematic inequity in their hometown of Baltimore.
Far East Deep South
Dir: Baldwin Chiu, Larissa Lam
Documentary | Feature | 2020 | 76 mins | US
A Chinese-America family’s search for their roots leads them to the Mississippi Delta, where they stumble upon surprising family revelations and uncover the racially complex history of the Chinese in the segregated South.
Love Art Revolution
Dir: Felix Semper, Pablo Semper
Documentary | Feature | 2020 | 76 mins | Cuba, US
Artist Felix Semper, best known for his unique stretchable paper sculptures, travels and meets up with other artists and singers in Cuba and across the U.S. in the spirit of collaboration.
Rumba Rules, New Genealogies
Dir: David Nadeau-Bernatchez, Sammy Baloji
Documentary | Feature | 2020 | 107 mins | Democratic Republic Of The Congo
A portrait of one of the great orchestras of African music, the Brigade Sarbati. Studio work, rehearsals, and concerts offer a foray into the dynamics and stories of this highly acclaimed Congolese music, from local roots to the patrons from the diaspora.
The Roots Of Lacrosse
Dir: Shelby Tsioweri:iohsta Adams, Joanne Storkan
Documentary | Short | 2020 | 24 mins | US
The origins of the game of lacrosse has it’s roots in North American Indigenous nations. This short documentary provides a brief history of the sacred and cultural aspects of this sport, originally played for the Creator, as well as for the health and welfare of the people. The movie also defines the three types of North American, Indigenous lacrosse: Iroquois, Great Lakes, and Southeastern.
Saturday, November 20
Location: Little Rock Cultural Center, 401 N. Myers St
401 N. McDowell St, Charlotte NC, 28204
Pop Up Drive In Screenings: 6 pm-10 pm
Regional Joints (NC and SC)
3:35 To Boston
Dir: Kay Barnes
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 9 mins | US
A military wife, struggling to balance all the pieces of her life, breaks down when she realizes the life she had originally planned for herself may not be possible.
First
Dir: Keema Mingo
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 26 mins | US
“First” is about those awkward moments a couple endures right before they have their first sexual encounter with each other.
I Wish Charleston
Dir: Seneca Robinson
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 5 mins | US
A video inspired by Countee Cullens “Incident” poem, a visit to Charleston South Carolina, and the racial state of affairs in Black America.
Behind The Ink
Dir: Mark Pendergrass, Rhasaan Smith, Terance Murray, Korey Townsend
Documentary | Short | 2021 | 33 mins | US
BEHIND THE INK is a first-of-its-kind film put together by local Charlotte, NC students and creatives with the mission of exploring untold narratives of those who are inked. This documentary was produced and shot entirely by Creating Exposure Through The Arts [a 501c3 non-profit organization] students and instructors.
To The Moon!
Dir: DaRemen J
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 3 mins | US
A young boy and his older brother dream big and build a rocket ship to the moon.
Animation
Mothboy
Dir: Lyanne Rodriguez
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 3 mins | US
An awkward young moth goes through growing pains as his life plays out as a public service announcement.
Dad’s Hibiscus
Dir: Jiamu Tao
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 5 mins | US
10-year-old Sammie tries to make the sun stay in the sky in order to save his hibiscus that only lives for one day.
The Power Of Hope
Dir: Kalia Love Jones
Narrative | Short | 2020 | 9 mins | US
When her mother falls ill, an aspiring architect grapples with feelings of helplessness, but moved by the words of Michelle Obama, she finds the will to persevere and bring her dreams to life.
Closing Film
I’m Fine, Thanks For Asking
Dir: Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina
Narrative | Feature | 2021 | 90 mins | U.S
When a recently widowed mother becomes homeless, she convinces her 8-year-old daughter that they are only camping for fun while working to get them off of the streets.
VIRTUAL SCREENINGS
Sci Fi, Fantasy
An Uninvited Guest
Dir: Richard B. Pierre
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 4 mins | Canada
A timely political commentary on racism and police brutality, as told through the lens of a classic sci fi trope. NOTE: Also screening at pop up drive in.
Stray
Dir: Wanjiru Njendu
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 3 mins | US
A spirit metes out vengeance when a young girl ignores her mother’s warning about the Pied Piper myth.
Duppy
Dir: Andrew Hamilton
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 30 mins | Canada
When a disturbing occurrence befalls a young man packing up a shuttered bookstore in the Toronto neighborhood of Little Jamaica, he comes face to face with a terror greater than anything he could ever imagine. Pulled from Jamaican folklore, and a horror-driven meditation on the displacement of diaspora.
99 Problems
Dir: Michael G Kehoe
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 17 mins | US
A stranger offers people an opportunity to change their immediate future, an offer that could save them from danger.
Godfrey’s Light
Dir: Darian O’Neil
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 10 mins | US
A gas station attendant discovers a strange connection between herself and a criminal scheduled for execution on live television.
Sundown
Dir: Amiya Poplar
Narrative | Short | 2021 | 13 mins | US
A girl is forewarned of unexplainable evils in the new town she moves to, but elects to face the truth head on
Kemistry Klass Presents: Five For 5
Five aspiring women filmmakers from Uganda get an opportunity to realize their dream of directing a short film in this wonderful initiative created by actress/filmmaker Kemiyondo Coutinho of Kemistry Klass and executive produced by Tika Sumpter. CineOdyssey is proud to co-present these films and a post screening talk back with the filmmakers.
About Our Festival
The CineOdyssey Film Festival showcases diverse, contemporary films from around the world, featuring cutting edge works by filmmakers of color from the African, Caribbean, Latino, Asian, and Native American diasporas, as well as the U.S.
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