Release Date: 6/13/18 – 6/17/18; American Black Film Festival Genre:Drama Rating:NR Director:Storm Saulter Studio(s):Mental Telepathy Pictures, MBG Entertainment, Flipped Out Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment. Running time: 112 mins. Cast:Dale Elliott (Akeem Sharp), David Alan Grier (Coach Miller), Lorraine Toussaint (Donna), Bryshere Y. Gray (Marcus Brick).
Story:A Jamaican teen, burdened by an unstable father and an unruly older brother, hopes a meteoric rise in track-and-field can reunite him with his mother, who has lived illegally in the U.S. for over a decade. Produced by: Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Richard Jefferson. Source: ABFF official site.
Release Date:4/3/18; DVD, Digital and On Demand Genre:Music Rating:PG-13 Director:Bille Woodruff Studio(s): Universal 1440 Entertainment, Soundtrack New York, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) Running time: Unknown
Cast:Teyana Taylor (Skyler), Bryshere Y. Gray (Tyrell), Sierra Aylina McClain (Tosha), Charmin Lee (Jada).
Story:An avid street dancer goes against the odds and pursues her dreams in Honey: Rise Up and Dance, the exciting all-new installment in the Honey film franchise. An inspirational story about overcoming adversity, Honey: Rise Up and Dance is set to the beat of Atlanta’s underground dance scene and injects the series with a raw and edgy vibe, fueled with sexy hip-hop battles and dynamic routines like you’ve never seen before!
Aspiring street dancer, Skyler is at a major crossroads in her life. She’s decided to try-out for the same dance crew as her formally trained sister Tosha in order to compete for a college scholarship, but is discouraged by her family and boyfriend who doubt that her raw, edgy talent is enough for her to win. Determined to prove them all wrong, Skyler practices non-stop in Atlanta’s underground dance scene and catches the eye of Tyrell. He helps her take her sexy dance and hip-hop battle skills to the next level in order to achieve her dreams. Source: PR Newswire.
Release Date: 1/18/19; In Theaters Genre: Drama/Thriller Rating: NR Running Time: Unknown Director: Rhyan LaMarr Studio(s): BondIt, Canal Street, NYC Films, Red Guerilla Productions, Smith Global Media Cast: Mykelti Williamson (Jackie Styles), Bryshere Y. Gray (Kholi Styles), Clayne Crawford (Brian), Yancey Arias (D. J. Wado), Lance Reddick (Jerry Shaw), Mekhi Phifer (Prosecutor A.J. Canton), Michael Beach (Ronald Morgan), Harry Lennix (DJ Terrance Palmer).
Story: The story centers on a father and his teenage son who uproot from the South Side of Chicago and move to Winnetka after a death in the family. The fish-out-of-water lead-up in Canal Street — moving from the South Side and readjusting to life in Winnetka — is something of a fake-out, and the story soon takes an entirely different turn. Writer-director Rhyan LaMarr states, “The son, his name is Kholi, eventually befriends Brian, a jock at the school. They end up getting invited to a homecoming party, and Kholi brings some of his friends from the old neighborhood. At the end of the night, kids being kids, they’ve been drinking, Kholi gives Brian a ride home, and then he’s going to drop his friends from the South Side off at the Red Line.
Halfway to the train, he realizes Brian has left his wallet in the car, so he turns around and he’s headed back to drop the wallet off when he sees a body lying in front of the house — and it’s Brian. Kholi’s friends are like, ‘It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and we’re in the wrong neighborhood — we need to leave.’ But Kholi, being the guy he is, says, ‘I’m not going to leave him like this’ … and in a matter of minutes, Kholi is pinned for the murder.” Kholi’s father is an attorney and takes up his son’s case. Source: Chicago Tribune.
Release Date: 6/13/18 – 6/17/18; American Black Film Festival
Black Cinema Connection 