8th Annual BronzeLens Film Fest 2017 -Recap
‘Queen Sugar’ Director Neema Barnette
Actor Timon Kyle Durrett
Award-winning filmmaker Nefertite Nguvu
Actor Omar Dorsey
The Eighth Annual BronzeLens Film Festival will be held August 20-27 in Atlanta, Georgia. Headlining the festival are 2017 BronzeLens Women SuperStars honorees including award-winning director, writer and producer Neema Barnette (QUEEN SUGAR, BEING MARY JANE, THE BREAKS), veteran television and theater actress Crystal Fox (THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), and award-winning filmmaker Nefertite Nguvu (IN THE MORNING, U.N.I.T.Y. Re-ignighted, BLACK AMERICA AGAIN). Actor Lamman Rucker (GREENLEAF) will lead Masterclass – Up Close – Through the BronzeLens: The Art of Auditioning with Lamman Rucker. Legendary stage and screen actors Keith David (GREENLEAF) and E. Roger Mitchell (THE QUAD) engage in insightful and revealing conversation during Sunday Brunch with the Brothers. They will be joined by (QUEEN SUGAR) Timon Kyle Durrett and Omar Dorsey.
Over 60 films will be screened inclusive of shorts, features, documentaries and webisodes. Selected juried films represent the work of filmmakers from the United States, Spain, France, Australia, Colombia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Germany and Switzerland. Substantive programming, combined with a who’s who of the film industry has established BronzeLens as one of the nation’s pre-eminent film festivals. With Georgia now No. 1 in feature film productions, BronzeLens has long attracted national and international attention to Atlanta, promoting the city as a leader in the film industry.
BronzeLens events will take place at Westin Peachtree Plaza (festival headquarters), the Auditorium at Georgia-Pacific Center, Auburn Research Library on African American Culture and History, and Ray Charles Performing Arts Center.
BronzeLens Board Chair Tirrell Whittley, Artistic Director Deidre McDonald and Founder/Executive Producer Kathleen Bertrand with the 2017 Women SuperStars Honorees.
NEFERTITE NGUVU Behind the Lens SuperStar
NEEMA BARNETTE Legendary Behind the Lens SuperStar
CRYSTAL FOX Visionary SuperStar
QUEEN LATIFAH Icon SuperStar .
BronzeLens Congratulates Our 2017 Winners
Lamman Rucker(Greenleaf) E. Roger Mitchell (The Quad), Keith David (Greenleaf), Omar Dorsey (Queen Sugar, Timon Kyle Durrett (Queen Sugar)
Lamman Rucker(Greenleaf) E. Roger Mitchell (The Quad), Keith David (Greenleaf), Omar Dorsey (Queen Sugar, Timon Kyle Durrett (Queen Sugar)
Producer/Writer Thada Catalon with members of the Created Equal cast and BronzeLens EP: John Newburg, Yohance Myles, Thada Catalon, Kathleen Bertrand, Jo-Ann Robinson, Spence Maughon, Ketrick “Jazz” Copeland
Ronda Racha Penrice, Thada Catalon and John Newburg
Yohance Myles
Day 1 – Credential Pickup – Sonya Jenkins Covers Bronze Lens Film Festival 2017
BronzeLens Film Festival Highlights:
Sunday, August 20
BronzeLens Film Festival executive producer and founder Kathleen Bertrand, also an acclaimed vocalist, kicks off the festival with Sisters in Song Concert: A Tribute to Music in Film. The concert will be held at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College.
Wednesday, August 23
The festival heats up into high gear with the opening of The Filmmaker’s Lounge @BronzeLens hosted and sponsored by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment. In the evening, screenings of official film selections begin at 5:00 PM.
Thursday, August 24
All Shorts All Day presented by BET Networks offers free screenings of 2017 BronzeLens short films selections at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Chastain Room.
Legal Mash-Up series on Content Acquisition and Rights, Distribution Legalities, and Setting Up Your Film Production Company as a Business will be led by some of the industry’s foremost legal talents, providing critical information on what it takes to conduct business successfully within the film and entertainment industry.
Friday, August 25
Georgia Production Partnership will sponsor a workshop on the Status of Production in Georgia. This annual signature panel discusses the amazing growth, as well as the need for production of film and television, in Georgia. Key decision makers will discuss the present and the future of this over $8 billion Georgia industry.
Women SuperStars Luncheon celebrates the accomplishments of women of color in the film and television industry. Honorees include filmmaker Neema Barnette (QUEEN SUGAR, BEING MARY JANE, THE BREAKS), actress Crystal Fox (THE HAVES AND THE HAVE NOTS, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT), Queen Latifah Icon SuperStar and filmmaker Nefertite Nguvu (IN THE MORNING, U.N.I.T.Y. Re-ignighted, BLACK AMERICA AGAIN).
Saturday, August 26
Actor Lamman Rucker (GREENLEAF, WHY I DID GET MARRIED?) will lead Master Class – Up Close Through the BronzeLens: The Art of Auditioning with Lamman Rucker. He will discuss how to jumpstart a career in the business, the audition process, and how to be sustainable in the film and television industry.
The Eighth Annual BronzeLens Awards Show will salute the “Best of Festival” filmmakers. Categories include the best in Features, Documentaries, International Films, Shorts, Student Films, and Web Series, as well as Best Actress and Best Actor.
Sunday, August 27
Sunday Brunch with the Brothers salutes men of color in film and television who are making waves as they share lessons from their journeys. There will be insightful and revealing conversation with legendary stage and screen actors Keith David (GREENLEAF), E. Roger Mitchell (THE QUAD, SELMA) and joined by (QUEEN SUGAR) Tymon Kyle Durrett and Omar Dorsey. There will be hot coffee, delicious breakfast treats, and hot conversation.
Cinema and Social Justice Sunday, a unique and critical component of the festival, featuring a socially-relevant film and conversation that address issues of concern, will culminate the festival. Screening will be held at the Auburn Research Library on African American Culture and History.
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Media & VIP Reception held at Davidoff of Geneva in Atlanta, August 3. Festival Producers shared BronzeLens 2017 highlights.
Kathleen Bertrand -Executive Producer
BronzeLens Film Festival
Terrell Whittley – Chairman of the Board LiquidSoul
Deidre McDonald – Founding Artistic Director
Actress Nadine Bone, Kathleen Bertrand, Terrell Whittley
Sonya Jenins – Publisher, Actress, Author
Former Track Star Edwin Moses poses with Sonya Jenkins
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About the BronzeLens Film Festival
Founded in 2009, the BronzeLens Film Festival of Atlanta, Georgia, is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing national and worldwide attention to Atlanta as a center for film and film production for people of color. Its mission is twofold: to promote Atlanta as the new film Mecca for people of color; and to showcase films and provide networking opportunities that will develop the next generation of filmmakers. Since its inception the BronzeLens Film Festival has evolved as one of the most comprehensive film festivals for filmmakers of color in the United States. Visit www.bronzelens.com for more information regarding the BronzeLens Film Festival and for registration information.
Global entertainment and news company, Turner is the Premier Sponsor of the 2017 BronzeLens Film Festival. Additional sponsors include AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment, BET Networks, the Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC), Delta Air Lines, DeKalb Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment Commission and Georgia-Pacific.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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