NCBFF 2024: ‘A Wu-Tang Experience’, ‘Art, Beats + Lyrics’ And Honorees Bookend Wilmington Festivities Next Month!
The 21st edition of the NC Black Film Festival is set to kick off its four-day event in Wilmington on Thursday, May 16.
Pre-empting the festival will be a free and open-to-the-public Wu-Tang Wednesday Kickoff Party from 5pm to 8pm at Waterline Brewing Company. The event will be hosted by Gravity Records, 3 Chambers, Waterline Brewing Co., and Dawson Med Primary & Urgent Care.
Opening night will see the premiere of A Wu-Tang Experience: Live At Red Rock Ampitheatre at Cape Fear Community College Union Station Auditorium. The doc recently screened at Film At Lincoln Center as part of the Hip-Hop Education Center’s (HHEC) 50 for 50 film series.
Directed by Gerald K. Barclay and RZA (The Man With The Iron Fists), A Wu-Tang Experience: Live At Red Rock Ampitheatre chronicles the intricate journey and process for The Wu-Tang Clan’s live stage presentation of its vast discography, accompanied by the 60-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra for a real-time screening of “Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”.
“Combining performances, interviews and revealing insights from various group members and associates, classical musicians and concertgoers,” A Wu-Tang Experience: Live At Red Rock Ampitheatre, per the announcement, tackles “the question of whether hip-hop has earned the legitimacy of more prestigious musical genres,” delivering “answers that inform, reveal and inspire.”
Screening will also host a post-film discussion with Barclay, joined by Wu-Tang Clan member Cappadonna. The screening is sponsored by Dawson Med Primary & Urgent Care and CFCC Nixon Minority Male Leaders Center.
Friday, May 17 will see the festivities continue at Jengo’s Playhouse from 4pm – 10pm, followed by a full day of programming on Saturday at Thalian Hall – Ruth & Bucky Stein Studio Theatre (Black Box Theater), from 12pm to 6pm, and at Jengo’s from 10am to 8pm. Family Cinema kicks off on May 18 at Jengo’s from 10am, and is free and open to the public.
The closing night film, director Bill Horace’s Art, Beats + Lyrics, will screen at Cameron Art Museum. The documentary celebrates the legacy of the groundbreaking visual art and hip-hop roadshow that began in Atlanta in 2004 and has since become a national phenomenon. Horace will be on hand to discuss the film in post alongside Art, Beats + Lyrics founders Jabari Graham and Dwayne “Dubelyoo” Wright.
The festival’s closing syllabus will also honor media mogul, author, producer, and philanthropist B.K. Fulton with the 2024 Renaissance Award, and filmmaker Christopher Everett with the 2024 Trailblazer Award in Documentary Film.
Fulton is the former president of Verizon. Since retiring in 2015, be came founding Chairman & CEO of Soulidify Pictures. His producing credits partly include River Runs Red, Atone, Hell On The Border, A Day To Die, and The Kill Room. Fulton also spearheaded Broadway box office champion and two Tony Award-nominated “The Piano Lesson,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington and Daniel Brooks. He is also a team member for the current revivals of “The Wiz” and “The Outsiders.”
“Media punches way above its weight,” says Fulton. “My work is designed to use the transformative power of media to lift others as we continue to climb.”
Speller Street Films founder and BLK Films founder Everett hails from Laurinburg, North Carolina. Wilmington On Fire, his 2015 debut, garnered acclaim for its exploration of the 1898 Wilmington Massacre. Everett followed suit in 2022 with Wilmington on Fire: Chapter II, and accrued credits on future projects like Ricky Kelly’s Black Beach/White Beach: A Tale Of Two Beaches, and Stephanie Diane Ford’s 2020 short film, The Black Baptism. Everett also serves as Southern Documentary Fund artistic director, and pointman for film troupe, 3 Chambers Fest, which hosts local screenings of hit action kung fu, blaxploitation and modern action films fused with a live hip-hop soundtrack.
“Christopher’s commitment to storytelling and cultural representation shines. His latest endeavor, the annual 3 Chambers Fest, celebrates diverse cultural intersections of hip-hop, martial arts, and anime. Christopher Everett’s journey underscores the transformative power of storytelling and determination in the film industry,” per the announcement.
Passes are now available at the festival’s Eventbrite page, with more info available at the official Black Arts Alliance website.
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