Dan's Papers - October 30, 2009 - EAST END BLACK FILM FESTIVAL AT THE PARRISH

The Parrish Theater in Southampton is keeping its reels rolling despite of a 30% budget cut this year, presenting acclaimed films that depict everyday human struggles.

The Parrish's 2009 Fall Film Series, "When Things Go Wrong," focuses on ways in which people handle dilemmas. The films were carefully chosen by guest curator John Turnbull, an experienced film consultant who has worked with the Parrish since 2000.

And now, on the heels of the fall film series (which concludes this weekend), the fourth annual East End Black Film Festival will present the short documentary Beyond the Bricks on Thursday, November 5 at the Parrish Theater. Organized by the African-American Museum of the East End, the festival seeks to promote lesser-known African American film producers and to illuminate the plight of African Americans. This year's films focus on the struggles, strategies, insecurities and strength of black women.

The African-American Museum faced a 33% cut in town funding for the festival this year yet managed to cover the films' rental fees. It has also expanded its program from one to two evenings, with the hope of turning it into a seven-day series in a few years.

"Once we become a week-long event, our hotels, restaurants and local businesses could benefit when there is little to do in the Hamptons during the off-season," said Bonnie Cannon, museum co-founder and co-organizer of the festival. "It could also create jobs for our local people."

Beyond the Bricks exposes the trend of African-American students underperforming in America's public schools. It provides hope for possible solutions to this dilemma that has plagued black students for years. Director Derek Koen and producer Ouida Washington will host a post-screening panel discussion.

"Many of our boys of color get lost in the educational system," said Cannon, who herself has a 14-year-old African-American son. "It usually starts in middle school and goes downhill from there. We have to start looking at this issue more closely and come up with solutions to turn this epidemic around."

On Friday, Nov. 6, the festival hosts its third annual "Spoken Word" at the SH Cultural Center-an open mic jam for local poets and performances by R&B jazz band Touche and jazz viloinist Krystle Ford.

The festival will then present a film marathon on November 7 from 1 to 10 p.m. at the Parrish. Featured films are shorts Beauty Lies and Breaking News. Full length films include Otto Preminger's 1954 tragic love tale Carmen Jones, and Tim Disney's 2008 film American Violet, in whild an innocent woman from a Texas slum is wrongly charged and arrested for dealing drugs. Other films include The Adventures of Teddy P. Brains: Journey into the Rain Forest (2007), an animated children's film where a six-year-old travels through time and space; and The Wiz (1978), Sidney Lumet's urban retelling of The Wizard of Oz, in honor of Michael Jackson. Festival organizer Brenda Simons said, "The festival isn't a black thing. It's about community bonding."

But this weekend, the Parrish concludes its fall film series, "New Global Cinema." On Friday (Oct. 30), the museum presents The Return (2003), directed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Zvyagintsev. Set in contemporary Russia, the film tracks the troubled reuniting of two boys with their father, who had abandoned them. The film earned the Golden Lion award at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.

Admission to films is $5 for Parrish members and $7 for non-members. Admission to the East End Black Film Festival's Beyond the Breaks is free. A day pass for East End Black Film Festival's November 7 marathon day is $5 for non-Parrish members; free for Parrish members.