Preston Chase
63 min | 2020 | Canada | Massachusetts Premiere
The story of Walter L Perry’s determination to put on a celebration that would transcend divisions of race and class, he staged an Emancipation Day festival that was where everyone wanted to be. Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr, Jesse Owens all headed there because, as civil rights activist Dick Gregory said "The largest Juneteenth celebration was not in America, it was in Windsor, Canada.”
A celebration of ending slavery sounds grim but what Walter Perry organized was the exact opposite of grim. Imagine a miles-long parade. The smell of soul food. Whirling carnival rides. There was live music, talent shows and even the Miss Sepia beauty pageant (the first international beauty pageant for Black women). From 1936 until 1967, that's how Walter Perry celebrated freedom. Perry and his celebration got caught up in the overheated racial politics of the day, sabotage and race riots of 1967 in Detroit. His event never recovered that year and shortly after Walter Perry died…. but the spirit of Mr. Emancipation still lives on.
Awards: Platinum Remi Award - Worldfest - Houston International Film & Video Festival, Best Doc - International Diversity Film Festival, Best Documentary for History & Biography - Yorkton Film Festival, Best Educational Film - Cult Valley Global Cinefest, Best Doc - New York Movie Awards, Best First Time Director - Chicago Independent Film Festival, Best Documentary - Trinity Detroit Int’l FF.
Official Selections: Flickers Rhode Island Int’l FF, Urban FF, Greater Cleveland Urban FF, The Jozi FF, Garden Route Int’l FF, Rapport FF, The March on Washington FF, Franklin Int’l Indie FF, Lunenburg Doc Festival, Charlotte FF, Oakland Int’l FF, Reading FF, Hollywood South Urban FF, Forest City FF, Chicago South Side FF, Buffalo Int’l FF, Morehouse College Human Right Festival, Helsinki Educational FF, Soo FF, North Beach American FF, Seattle Film Summit, Montreal Independent FF.
ONE
Carlos Carrasco
17 min | 2020 | US | East Coast Premiere
A traffic stop takes an unexpected turn when two young black men are cruising in a sports car listening to loud music. A white police officer pulls them over on a minor traffic infraction.
Awards: BEST DRAMA SHORT: Golden State FF CA, BEST ACTOR: CKF Int’l FF UK~ Official Selection: Manhattan FF NY, LA Shorts Int’l FF CA, Golden State FF CA, Ft. Lauderdale Int’l FF FL, among others.