The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Award Ceremony — the first Academy Qualifying Film Festival devoted to women of color filmmakers — will present an exciting lineup of films and awards ceremonies in the 2022 festival.
The event begins with an official Harlem kick-off on Friday, October 7, 2022, Miller Theater at Columbia University, where Reel Sisters will honor renowned Brooklyn actress Mugga, award-winning filmmakers Stacey L. Holman (The Black Church: This Is Our Story) and Booker T. Mattison (The Gilded Six Bits and The Sound of Christmas) with the Reel Sisters Trailblazer Award.
Sheila K. Davis, the founder of New Professional Theatre, will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies. Awards ceremony tickets are $35 ($25 for 2+ tickets).
This special event is the Reel Sisters first in-person awards ceremony since the pandemic. The celebration will include world premieres of two short films produced by recipients of the Reel Sisters Micro Budget Film Fellowship and AMERICAN Triptypch! directed by Booker T. Mattison.
Bio on honorees:
mugga
Her Artists Journey Began in Brooklyn, New York. At A very young age Mugga showed deep interest in the arts. First through Modern Dance, which she experienced through an aunt who was training as a dancer. Whenever there was A family get together or Holiday, she would put together song and dance routines to perform with her cousins for the family. She soon caught the Acting Bug after Playing Lorrell Robinson, in a neighborhood theater production of DREAMGIRLS.
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Small parts in various local productions came and went but it wasn’t until She caught the eye and ear of Comedy Talent Scout, Bob Sumner, Of Russell Simmons, Def Comedy Jam did things begin to TAKE Off, as they say. She was invited to perform On the Show and Several television Stand Up Performances followed including, Def Comedy Jam, Showtime at The Apollo, BET’s Comic View 3x and BBC’s Club Class.
Booker T. Mattison
Booker T. Mattison is an author and filmmaker who wrote the screenplay for and directed the film adaptation of Tiffany L. Warren’s novel The Replacement Wife. The film, titled “The Sound of Christmas,” stars R&B recording artist Ne-Yo, Serayah (Kingdom Business, Empire), and will air on BET next Christmas. Mattison also wrote and directed the film adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s classic story “The Gilded Six Bits,” which aired on Showtime. It starred Chad L. Coleman (“The Walking Dead,” “The Wire”) in his first leading role. The film also starred T’keyah Crystal Keymah (“That’s So Raven,” “In Living Color”), and Wendell Pierce (“The Wire” “Treme’”). The Hollywood Reporter said, “Mattison’s direction and feel for her characters match up to Hurston’s sterling piece of fiction…full of atmosphere and strongly developed characters.”
Mattison’s short film “Ungubani (Who Are You?)” starring Al-Jaleel Knox (“Sweet Magnolias”), Leah Merritt (“Insatiable”), and T’Keyah Keymah is streaming on allblk.
Mattison’s sophomore novel Snitch received a starred review in Publishers Weekly that said, “Author and filmmaker Mattison’s sophomore outing reads like it’s ready for screen adaptation… Mattison has a superb ear and his skills keep on growing.” His debut novel Unsigned Hype was nominated for a South Carolina Book Award.
Stacey L. Holman
Stacey L. Holman is a Harlem-based filmmaker who’s directed/produced several award-winning projects including episode three of the 2018 PBS series Reconstruction: America After the Civil War hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. She was a producer on the critically acclaimed documentary Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities and served as Associate Producer on the Emmy award-winning film Freedom Riders produced/directed by Stanley Nelson. Additionally, Stacey was Coordinating Producer for Nelson’s Peabody Award-winning documentary Freedom Summer, and she was Co-Producer on Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band.
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Stacey’s short film Dressed Like Kings garnered the Tribeca Film Festival All-Access Award and aired on the WORLD Channel as part of the AfroPoP Shorts Program. She was the Series Producer/Director of Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s Black Church series The Black Church: This Is Our Story. Currently, she’s one of the producers/directors on Gates’ Making Black America: African American Social Networks airing on PBS in 2022.
Reel Sisters will screen an episode of The Black Church: This Is Our Story on Oct. 22, 2022.
A portion of the ticket sales will support the Reel Sisters Micro Budget Film Fellowship. The event begins at 6pm. Donations are welcomed.
For more information, visit the website: https://reelsisters.org/reel-sisters-award-ceremony-2022/
The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series was founded by African Voices magazine and Long Island University’s Media Arts Dept., Brooklyn Campus.
Future Dates for Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival 25th Anniversary:
- On Saturday, October 22 at St. Joseph’s University, Reel Sisters will host a retrospective featuring films from past years. Film screenings will be held from 1pm to 8pm.
- On Sunday, October 23, at Kumble Theater, LIU, Reel Sisters will host a retrospective and special feature screening of an episode from the PBS series The Black Church produced by Reel Sisters Trailblazer Honoree Stacey Holman. Film screenings will be held from 2pm to 7pm.
- On Thursday, October 29, on Zoom, Reel Sisters will host a Virtual Workshop with presenter Zanah Thirus. [more information here] The event starts at 11am to 1pm.
- On Saturday, November 5, at [name of venue], [more information here]. The event will run from 1pm to 8pm.
- On Sunday, November 6, at Maysles Documentary Center, Reel Sisters will host [more information here]. The event will run from 2pm to 7pm.
- On Monday, November 7, at BRIC, Reel Sisters will host Script to Screen: An Evening of Staged Readings. The event will run from 6pm to 8pm and feature three screenwriters from our 2021 Writers Lab, sponsored by Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation.
- On Wednesday, November 9, at MNN Firehouse, Reel Sisters will host the Filmmakers Awards honoring the festival’s top award-winning films. The event will be broadcast live at 6 pm.
Reel Sisters Film Festival offers affordable ticket prices. A one-day pass is $20 and a section pass is $12. Awards ceremony tickets are $35 ($25 for 2+ tickets). Students, seniors and group discounts are available.
Reel Sisters All Access Passes includes:
• Access to 50+ films by women of color from across the world
• Opportunities to network with filmmakers and professionals in the film industry
• Access to panels, workshops, special screenings & filmmakers awards
• Filmmakers Awards Celebration
To view the schedule and purchase tickets at the website www.reelsisters.org.
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