New head of Minnesota Film and TV Board promotes opportunities “When filmmakers, networks and producers consider Minnesota as a location,” says Melodie Bahan, new executive director of the Minnesota Film and TV Board (www.mnfilmtv.org), “they’re thinking about snow and Norwegians. A lot of them may not be aware of what a rich community of artists of color is here in the Twin … [Read more...]
Arts & Entertainment: a space for local and national arts and entertainment stories, with an emphasis on stories pertaining to African and African Americans.
‘Girls Trip’ Review: BFFs party in New Orleans in raunchy reunion romp
Ryan (Regina Hall), Sasha (Queen Latifah), Dina (Tiffany Haddish) and Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) have been friends since their college days in the '90s. Back then, the tight-knit Flossy Posse partied as hard as they hit the books. After graduating, they curtailed the carousing considerably for the sake of their professional careers. Today, journalism major Sasha's still … [Read more...]
Acting legend Giancarlo Esposito in new Netflix film ‘Okja’
South Korean movie director Bong Joon Ho had a job subtitling bootleg DVDs while he was in film school decades ago. One of the films he worked on was Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and one of the actors in that film, Giancarlo Esposito, made a huge impression on him. Esposito was so memorable that almost 30 years later, when thinking about casting for his latest film, Okja, … [Read more...]
Local filmmaker explores emotional toll of youth violence in North Mpls.
To define Brian Few, Jr. as simply creative would be an injustice. Few, 27, is a lifelong resident of North Minneapolis and director of Angels Walk, a short film about the emotional effects of gun violence in North Minneapolis. Following the death of Tabyis Paskins in August of 2016, Minneapolis’ then-18th homicide of the year, Few was moved to take action and began to … [Read more...]
‘Everything, Everything’: a bittersweet coming-of-age tale
It's Maddy Whittier's (Amandla Stenburg) 18th birthday, but she won't be celebrating the occasion at a party or restaurant. In fact, she won't be leaving the house or even having friends over any time soon. That's because she has SCID, a rare genetic disorder that basically makes her allergic to everything. Consequently, she's been stuck inside a hermetically sealed house … [Read more...]