THE NEW BLACK

FESTIVAL OPENER 8/28

CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza - Oakland, California

5pm • Reception

7pm • SCREENING

The New Black shares the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. Filmed over a three-year period, The New Black follows both champions and opponents of same-sex marriage, as both sides fight for their cause in this all important national battle for the right to marry. 

The New Black takes viewers into the pews, on to the streets and provide us all with a seat at the kitchen table as it reveals the previously untold stories and private conversations surrounding the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.

Yoruba Richen’s “The New Black,” a documentary about African-American attitudes toward gay marriage, has received the Audience Award for Best Feature from the AFI Docs, Philly Q Fest and Frameline37 Showase film festivals.

Director: Yoruba Richens

Year of production: 2013

Running Time: 1hr 15mins

SHORTBUS

8/30- THE GRAND LAKE COFFEE HOUSE - 440 Grand Avenue - Oakland, California

​6:30pm • SCREENING

Shortbus explores the lives of several characters living in present-day New York as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex. Male and female, straight and gay - and every one in between, the characters find one and other -- and eventually find themselves -- when they all converge at a weekly underground salon called "Shortbus," a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality.

Filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell developed the film's story along with his ensemble cast, all of whom are making their feature film debuts, and who were selected after submitting videotaped interviews/auditions in response to a well-publicized open casting call posted on a website. Over a half million people visited the website and nearly 500 people sent in tapes before the final seven leading performers/characters were selected to workshop the storyline with Mitchell.The resulting film, one of the true sensations of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, presents sex and sexuality as never before seen in mainstream entertainment. 

Shortbus remains one of the most talked-about films in queer film memory.

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Year of production: 2006

Running Time: 1hr 41mins

MOSQUITA y MARI

8/31 - THE GRAND LAKE COFFEE HOUSE - 440 Grand Avenue - Oakland, California

6:30pm • SCREENING

In a fast-paced immigrant community where dreams are often lost to economic survival, two young Chicanas contemplate life when they stir unexpected desires in each other. Mosquita y Mari is a coming of age story that focuses on a tender friendship between two young Chicanas. Yolanda and Mari are growing up in Huntington Park, Los Angeles and have only known loyalty to one thing: family. Growing up in immigrant households, both girls are expected to prioritize the well-being of their families. Yolanda, an only child, delivers straight A's and the hope of the American Dream while Mari, the eldest, shares economic responsibilities with her undocumented family who scrambles to make ends meet.

Mounting pressures at home collide with their new-found connection, forcing Mosquita (Yolanda) and Mari to choose between their obligations to others and staying true to themselves.

Director: Aurora Guerrero

Year of production: 2012

Running Time: 1hr 16mins