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Congratulations to the UMFF 2017 winning filmmakers and writers. We look forward to working with you in the future as you continue to tell great stories.
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UMFF 2017 Audience Award
IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE Feature Film directed by Eric Ayala
UMFF 2017 Founder’s Choice – Activism through Music
NEVER SURRENDER REMIX: TELL ME HOW LONG
directed by G-Dinero – USA
Best AfroFuturism (Black Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror) Trailer
GODDESS directed by Tiara Luten – USA
Best AfroFuturism (Black Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror) Short Film
ORI INU: IN SEARCH OF SELF directed by Chelsea Odufu – USA
Best AfroFuturism (Black Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror) Web Series
MESSIAH WARS directed by The Isabelle Brothers – USA
Best Animation
HEROES OF COLOR directed by David Heredia – USA
Best International Animation
REVELATION – THE CITY OF HAZE directed by Mao Qichao – China
Best Comedy Animation
CHRISTMAS BREAK directed by Ifeelms – Spain
Best Trailer
TRACES OF INDIGNITY directed by Renee Williams – USA
Best Commercial/PSA
CHASE YOUR DREAM directed by Jared Leon – USA
Best Feature Film
LOVE BY CHANCE directed by Samad Davis – USA
Best International Feature Film
AUTUMN’S KISS directed by Minsk Belarus – Russia
Best Feature Documentary Film
PARIS NOIR: AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS
directed by Joanne Burke – USA
Best Short Documentary Film
LEGACIES directed by Dominique Fitzgerald – USA
Best International Short Documentary Film
THE FOURTH KINGDOM directed by Adan Aliaga – Spain
Best College Student Short Film
ON TIME directed by Xavier L. Neal-Burgin – USA
Best Music Video
ISONADE directed by Christopher Richardson – USA
Best Creative Music Video
THEIR NAMES – BURNING STAR directed by Romain Laurent – USA
Best Shorty Short Film
ROW directed by Courtney Glaude – USA
Best Short Film
NEW NEIGHBORS directed by E.G. Bailey – USA
Best Socially-Conscious Short Film
PERCEPTION OF VIOLENCE directed by David Joseph – USA
Best Musical Short Film
REPAIRATIONS! THE MUSICAL directed by Courtney Miller – USA
Best International Short Film
30 MINUTES WITH LAURA directed by Juanjo Haro – Spain
Best Web Series
BLUE COLLAR HUSTLE directed by Geoffrey Henderson – USA
Best International Web Series
COURTSIDE directed by Adrian Wallace and Omran Omaid – Canada
Top 10 UMFF 2017 Scripts
2-12-DELTA | David Brichetto , Writer | Feature
BROKEN JUSTICE | Jocelyn Jones, Writer | Feature
I LOVE YOU TO PIECES | LaKesa Cox, Writer | Feature
LETTERS TO MY FATHER | Mike Ray, Writer | Feature
MISSING UNICORN | Jocelyn Jones, Writer | Feature
PINBAL2 | Janyce Lapore, Writer | Feature
THE EXPERIMENT | Lynda Lemberg & Jeffrey Allen Russel, Writers | Feature
DATING ON THE EDGE OF 50 | Wanda Kight, Writer | Short
ATLANTA DOPE | Harry Holland, Writer | Spec/TV/Pilot
WAIT A MINUTE MR. POSTMAN | LaKesa Cox, Writer | Spec/TV
Best Feature Script
LETTERS TO MY FATHER written by Mike Ray – USA
Best Short Script
DATING ON THE EDGE OF 50 written by Wanda Kight – USA
Best Spec/TV Script
WAIT A MINUTE MR. POSTMAN written by LaKesa Cox – USA
The actors on HBO’s Insecure are hotter than you. They’re hotter than your friends, they’re hotter than me and they’re even hotter than the ex the show won’t let you forget about. Co-created by writer and star Issa Rae (along with Larry Wilmore), the series gives viewers a window into black life as a late 20-/early 30-something in Los Angeles — the hookups and personal hang-ups, the office politics and friendship dynamics. But whether you’re #TeamIssa or #TeamLawrence, you have to admit the people who portray the show’s female and male leads — Rae and actor Jay Ellis — pop on screen, as do everyone else. This isn’t an accident.
Any brown person who’s taken a selfie in the club can tell you cameras aren’t made for us. Yet in Insecure’s club scenes, dark-skinned protagonists like Yvonne Orji’s Molly continue to impress. You can thank Ava Berkofsky, the show’s director of photography, for that. Berkofsky was brought on for the show’s second season (currently airing on HBO) to give the show a more movie-like look, which includes making black faces not only legible, but striking.
“When I was in film school, no one ever talked about lighting nonwhite people,” Berkofsky said in a phone interview with Mic. “There are all these general rules about lighting people of color, like throw green light or amber light at them. It’s weird.” These rules are a start, but they’re far from a complete picture.
“The conventional way of doing things was that if you put the skin tones around 70 IRE, it’s going to look right,” Berkofsky said. IRE, a unit used in the measurement of composite video signals (named for the initials of the Institute of Radio Engineers), ranges from 0 to 100. “If you’ve got black skin, [dialing it] up to 50 or 70 is just going to make the rest of the image look weird.” The resulting image looks very bright, Berkofsky noted, similar to what you’d see in traditional sitcoms like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or The Cosby Show.
Bar scenes, night and day, are well-lit in ‘Insecure.’
Lighting people on camera goes back further than old sitcoms, though. The earliest depiction of black faces on film consisted, unfortunately, of white actors in blackface. When actual people of color were seen on screen in black-and-white films, like Dooley Wilson in 1942’s Casablanca and Sidney Poitier in 1963’s Lilies of the Field, they were lit sufficiently but not in any way that could be considered spectacular.
More modern monochrome movies, like Spike Lee’s 1986 film She’s Gotta Have It, showed how black faces could look good even in shades of gray. “The main thing you had to worry about is the reflectivity of African-American skin,” Ernest Dickerson, the film’s cinematographer, said in a phone interview with Mic. “I always made sure that the makeup artists I worked with put a moisturizer on black skin so that we [got] some reflections in there.”
The pre-digital, 1986 film showed how black people could be properly lit
When it comes to calibrating film cameras to properly light a subject, we attribute much of what we know to Kodak’s work with “Shirley cards” from the 1940s through 1990s. Color film was adjusted against the cards, named after model and Kodak employee Shirley Page who appeared on the initial set. As Richard Photo Lab worker Jersson Garcia told NPR in 2014, “If Shirley looked good, everything else was OK. If Shirley didn’t look so hot that day, we had to tweak something — something was wrong.”
Despite their worldwide use, for decades the cards featured only white women. According to Vox, things shifted when companies complained to Kodak that they couldn’t tell different-colored wood products apart. But when did this change happen for brown people as opposed to just brown objects? “I’d say it turned around in 2010,” Berkofsky said. “When the
Arri Alexa came out, it really changed how people were shooting digital and what kind of results we could get.”
“When I was in film school, no one ever talked about lighting nonwhite people.” — Ava Berkofsky
Berkofsky said the secret to making television resemble film is providing different levels of light to the scene. “[In sitcoms], everything is the same level of brightness. That’s what I’m trying to avoid,” she said. “The trick is keeping [light] off the walls. If you keep it off the walls, you can expose for the faces and it still has a cinematic look.” When working on Insecure, the cinematographer wants every scene to look like a painting.
Berkofsky also said Insecure’s look was influenced by movies like Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-nominated 2014 feature Selma; in the past, DuVernay has called out shows like Boardwalk Empire for improper lighting when showing both black and white faces on screen.
Ava DuVernay’s ‘Selma’ influenced the look of ‘Insecure.’
So how do you make a show look like a piece of art while also doing justice to black faces? The answer is a special whiteboard and a light dab of shiny makeup.
Berkofsky said all of Insecure’s actors take light differently, but rather than putting light directly on them, she uses reflection instead. Similar to Dickerson’s use of moisturizer on the She’s Gotta Have It cast, this adds a bit of shine. “Rather than pound someone’s face with light, [I] have the light reflect off them,” she said. “I always use a white or [canvas-like] muslin, so instead of adding more light, the skin can reflect it.”
Instead of a simple whiteboard, the Insecure crew makes use of whiteboards with little LED lights inside, called S2 LiteMat 4s. In the very first image up top, a 1-foot-by-3-foot LiteMat at low intensity was put near Rae’s face. According to the cinematographer, “it’s reflecting on her skin rather than ‘lighting’ it.”
Berkofsky, in an email to Mic, also discussed the value of a filter called a polarizer: “People use them when shooting glass, or cars, or any surface that intensely reflects light. The filter affects how much reflection a window, or any surface has. The same principal works with skin, and this can be a highly effective way to shape the reflected light on an actors face.”
Cinematographer Patrick Cady’s work on the episode ‘Hella LA’ helps showcase how the show lights dark skin even in club scenes
Berkofsky and her crew combined these lighting tricks with a few new stylistic choices. In her job interview with HBO, she pointed out scenes from the show’s first season, where faces were right next to the edge of the picture but with ample headroom. “I think we can make this into a language that’s cohesive and more cinematic,” she remembered saying in the interview. She also mentioned the surplus of B-roll she and executive producer Melina Matsoukas sought to make Los Angeles feel like its own character: “I always advocate for bigger, wider shots when we’re outside.”
The tech Berkofsky uses for these wide shots and proper lighting is expensive, but she has a tip dark-skinned folks can use to improve their club selfies using just their phones. “Stand close to a soft light source and turn three quarters to the light, so that it’s not filling in everything the same way. Kind of like a Rembrandt painting.” That’ll show your ex once and for all.
The 16th Urban Mediamakers Film Festival (UMFF) is honored to announce the 2017 official selections. This year, UMFF will showcase international films from Spain, China, Russia, Canada, New Zealand, India, Chile, Romania, France, and throughout the United States including Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusets, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Virginia.
Congratulations to an exceptional group of content creators representing official selections of UMFF 2017! We invite you to join us October 5-10, 2017 in Atlanta, Duluth, and Lawrenceville, Georgia! See you soon.
ANIMATIONS
Christmas Break directed by Ifeelms | Spain
Glorious Victory directed by Will Kim | Alabama USA
Heroes of Color directed by David Heredia | California USA
Revelation – the City of Haze directed by Mao Qichao | China
COMMERCIALS/PSAs
Chase Your Dream directed by Jared Leon | USA
Marydean Martin Library directed by Jo Meuris | Nevada USA
One Step Forward directed by Jennifer Maxwell | Massachusetts USA
The Alphabet of Ben Sirach Lilith directed by Jana Nedzvetkaya
Why Use Animation? directed by Jo Meuris | Nevada USA
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Butch Coyolxauhqui directed by Karleen . Jiménez | Ontario Canada
I Promise To Remember directed by Jimmy Castor, Jr. | California USA
Ka-dy Comes Home directed by Peter Johnston | Michigan USA
Parivara directed by Alex Kruz | Spain
Pushing Myanmar directed by James Holman | Otago New Zealand
Legacies directed by Dominique Fitzgerald | Virginia USA
The Fourth Kingdom directed by Adan Aliaga | Spain
Upcycle directed by Sara Linarea | Brampton Canada
Where’s the Help? directed by Jeffrey Teitler | Connecticut USA
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Paris Noir: African-Americans in the City of Lights directed by Joanne Burke | New York USA
The Saints of Sin directed by Aniruddha (Oni) Sen| India and USA
FEATURES
Autumn’s Kiss directed by Andrey Golubev | Minsk Belarus
Boston2Philly directed by Ralph A. Celestin | USA
Brown Girl Begins directed by Sharon Lewis | Ontario Canada
Call Center directed by Anton Deshawn | Illinois USA
Save Me From Love directed by J. Swain | USA
The Cardinal Rule directed by chaun pinkston | Georgia USA
MOBILE FILMS
Hurt directed by Moema Umann | Alaska USA
iReal directed by Florent Sabatier | Paris France
MUSIC VIDEOS
Ghar Jaana Hai : The Stories Untold directed by Snehasis Das | California USA
Isonade directed by Christopher Richardson | Georgia USA
Love Takes Time directed by Todd Lien | California USA
No Turning Back directed by Brian Green | California USA
Plastic Fowers directed by Claudia Ilea | Bucharest Romania
The Dance of Those Left Behind directed by Javiera Eyzaguirre | Chile
The Moment directed by Jefferson Cardenas, Alain Maiki | Florida USA
Their Names – Burning Star directed by Romain Laurent | USA
Turn Off the Lights directed by Javiera Eyzaguirre | Chile
White Votes Matter directed by Michael Prieto | California USA
SCRIPTS
2-12-Delta written by David Brichetto | Feature
Atlanta Dope – Pilot written by Harry Holland | Georgia USA
Broken Justice written by Jocelyn Jones | California USA
Bullied written by Shaan Memon | Short | California USA
Dating On the Edge of 50 written by Wanda Kight | California USA
GCC Strong written by Keegan Moore |Texas USA
I Love You to Pieces written by LaKesa Cox | Feature | Virginia USA
Kenwood written by Marissa Lee | California USA
Letters To My Father written by Mike Ray | Feature | Georgia USA
Missing Unicorn written by Jocelyn Jones | California USA
Pinball2 written by Janyce Lapore | New Jersey USA
School Daze written by Chris Dixson | Short
The Experiment written by Lynda Lemberg | Feature | Ontario Canada
Wait a Minute Mr. Postman written by LaKesa Cox | Spec/TV | Virginia USA
SHORTS
30 Minutes with Laura directed by Juanjo Haro | Bilbao Spain
Adagio directed by Adrian Ramos | Bilbao Spain
A Long Way Home directed by Iben Deari | Bilbao Spain
BILL 2/29 directed by Maurice Simmons | USA
Cowboy and Indian directed by Sujata Day | California USA
Cut My Hair Barber directed by Patrick James Thomas | Georgia USA
Dignity directed by Orlando Pinder | Maryland USA
Dana’s Story directed by Huey Rawls | Texas USA
Edge of the Pier directed by Teo Melchishua Williams | Maryland USA
EXODUS 20 directed by Jana Nedzvetkaya | Russia
Five by Five directed by Kate Herron | Hertfords UK
Forgotten Sunset directed by Alex Costello | California USA
Frank Embree directed by Skinner Myers | California USA
Free Weekend directed by Victor Jones | Georgia USA
Gloria directed by Edward Hicks | USA
IN2ITION directed by Patrick A. Albright | Georgia USA
In The Spotlight directed by Will Robbins | Tennessee USA
I Will Wait for You directed by David Wendell Boykins
Last Stop directed by Prentice Dupins, Arkansas USA
New Neighbors directed by E.G. Bailey | Minnesota USA
Ori Inu: In Search of Self directed by Chelsea Odufu | USA
Orizaba’s Peak directed by Jaime Fidalgo | Bilbao Spain
Perception Of Violence directed by David Joseph | New Jersey USA
Postcards directed by Ines Pintor Sierra | Bilbao Spain
Reverse : A Poetic Thriller directed by Johnny Dutch | USA
Rolling In The Deep directed by Marcellus Cox | California USA
Row directed by Courtney Glaude | Texas USA
Sanctuary directed by Carl M. Zumatto | New York USA
The Boots directed by Leah Cohen-Mays |California USA
The Proposal directed Art Jones | USA
Tales from Shaolin: Pt One Shakey Dog directed by Louis A. Moore | New York USA
Traverse Tides directed by Junior Esu | Georgia USA
Undisturbed directed by Farris Williams | Georgia USA
Vida Muertos directed by Thomas Javier Castillo
White Guilt directed by Ben Edmunds | London UK
SHORTS – COLLEGE STUDENTS
After Life directed by Sebastian Kleppe | California USA
Olde E directed by Xavier L. Neal-Burgin | California USA
On Time directed by Xavier L. Neal-Burgin | California USA
Same Fruit, Different Tree directed by Mansur K. Rashid | Washington, DC USA
Switch directed by Robin Wang | Shaanxi China
The Fix directed by Michael E. Melvin | Maryland USA
The Foundation -The Dreamer directed by Michael E. Melvin | Texas, USA
WEB AND TELEVISION SERIES
1275 Clayton directed by Michael Alexis Palmer | TV | New York USA
Blue Collar Hustle directed by Geoffrey Henderson | Web
Courtside directed by Adrian Wallace, Omran Omaid | Ontario Canada | Web
Don’t Judge Me directed by Melissa Blue | California USA | Web
Downtown Browns directed by Tonia Beglari, Jazmin García and Allison Comrie | California USA | Web
Padlock Men directed by Lewis T. Powell | TV | California USA
The Midlife directed by Kayla Sutton | Georgia USA | Web
YOUNG URBAN MEDIAMAKERS | VIDEOPALOOZA 2017
420 directed by Colleen McCreanor | Georgia USA
Birds directed by Maia Costea | USA
F20 directed by Felipe Rodrigues | High School | Sao Paulo Spain
Don’t Get Tagged directed by Jermiah Victor | Middle School | Florida, USA
Facade directed by Carol Nguyen | Ontario Canada
I Can Help directed by Arin Dineen | New Mexico USA
Imaginarium directed by Robert Carrillo, Taylor Chavez and Danyae Souther | California USA
Incomplete directed by Ishan Modi and Aadiraj Batlaw | Singapore
Naga Pixie directed by Anthony Michael Hobbs | Maryland USA
Within directed by Kai Armstrong | California USA
Wonderglass directed by Lauryn Johnson | Georgia USA
Tempered by Fire directed by Noel Pichardo | USA
The Sculptor directed by Ben Ginsburg | New York USA
The Evolution of The Jazz Forum directed by Ben Ginsburg | New York USA
We Can Change directed by Arin Dineen | USA
What’s in the Bag? directed by Ana Lambiase, Andry Vasquez, Felix Gualtieri, Finley Acker, Jeremy Valatka, Kendall Devlin and Leah Alfaro | USA
For more information on the 16th Urban Mediamakers Film Festival, October 5-10, 2017, visit www.umff.com or call 404.460.2793.
Sundance 2016 was the first time I heard about Nate Parker’s film – The Birth of a Nation. The Black independent filmmaking community was grinning and skinning that Parker’s film was the highest purchase of Sundance’s history. Kudos, kudos, kudos! Talk of Oscar award was spreading like wild fire. Black storytellers everywhere were simply delighted because Nate’s film flipped the script on a racist staple of the rich Hollywood storytelling community.
Then something happened.
White American powers-that-be decided to knock Parker’s film off the award and accolades train track.
Why?
Because how dare this Black man – Parker – rewrite a film that exalted America’s white forced thought of supremacy and their signature hate group – the KKK? How dare Parker rewrite the white version of The Birth of a Nation that America has showcased for decades as cinema excellence while showing the merciless killings of Black men, women and children, and the heartlessness of white America?
As a curator of award-winning international independent films from people of color for over 15 years, I watched 12 Years A Slave several times and saw a white hero save the poor Black man from the torture of slavery.
I now have watched The Birth of a Nation 2016 twice, a film telling the story of Nat Turner’s rebellion from a Black perspective. Hands down, The Birth of a Nation by Parker is cinema mastery for its magnificent storyline based on a true story, acting, cinematography, set design, costume design, music composition, symbolism, messaging, excellence in Hollywood storytelling with an independent budget and TELLING THE TRUTH about western history.
As I watched The Birth of a Nation, I cried, I cussed, I cheered, I damned and I rejoiced when Nat Turner saw the angel.
On behalf of all Black Americans, I want to apologize to Parker for our community not supporting him. We drank the distract and mislead juice that white America always serves up to our community when someone speaks out and up for Black people.
I read the transcript from Parker’s trial, and young consenting adults do freaky things — just as many white actors, directors, producers and candidates for president are still doing well beyond their youthful ignorance. Bless the woman who took her life. But Parker’s actions may not have been the driving force of her suicide.
If Parker was acquitted on charges of rape, how dare people bring that up now to condemn this man who has brought a cultural-mind-changing film to the Black masses?
I see you white America as you strive to discredit The Birth of Nation 2016 – many of us have eyes that are open now!
As far as Parker being married to a white woman, I will admit, that gave me a pause. But I dismissed that as being Parker’s ignorance and cultural conditioning in thinking a white woman is better than a woman of color. I overlooked that because his film – The Birth of a Nation – is much bigger than Parker himself or me for that matter.
If you know anything about the Most High, Spirit will make you do things beyond your own control! The Birth of a Nation 2016 is just that! And it is not a coincident that Nate Parker is the writer, director, productor and starring actor in a movie about Nat Turner. The synergy of the names is prophetic. Black America we MUST go out and support this film!
The Birth of a Nation 2016 is a box office success. Do the numbers for yourself. For the screens the film has been released on, and the total budget of the film, The Birth of a Nation 2016 is a success!
To my beloved Black community — especially young people — and all other people of America who do not realize they are Black — white America included — go out right now and see The Birth of a Nation written, produced, directed and starring Nate Parker along with a fantastic cast of dynamic actors of all colors. Do not deprive yourself of immediate pride and a new knowingness while supporting a brother who stepped out on faith to make this film.
Think about it! Self-preservation is the first law of nature. I know what America has taught us in public schools and history books about the Black slave experience. But I want you to ask yourself one thing. Do you really believe all slaves in America were just happy servants ready to do anything for massa?
The Birth of a Nation cast: Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Bonne Junior, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Gueneur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Tony Espinosa, Jayson Warner Smith, Jason Stuart, Chike Okonkwo, Katie Garfield, Kai Norris, Chris Greene, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Steve Coulter, Jeryl Prescott, Justine Randell Brooke, Dominic Bogart, Justin M. Smith, Allen Phoenix, Aiden Flowers, Dane Davenport, Ryan Mulkay, Danny Vinson, Tom Proctor, Dan Cox, Brad Schmidt, William Mark McCullough, Chief Olaitan, Coletrane Williams, Elijah C. Walker, Alkoya Brunson, Hank Stone, Cullen Moss, Gabriela Novogratz, Griffin Freeman, Courtney Julien, Tim McAdams, Todd Terry, David Andrew Nash, Jaye Tyroff, David Paul Lord, Scott Loeser, Greg Sproles, Andy Martin, Kemuel Crossty.
