Stars align for the 10th Roxbury Film Festival
Actor Robert Townsend is coming. So are actresses Ruby Dee and Sheryl Lee Ralph, actor Michael Ealy, directors Charles Burnett and Kyle Schickner, and mother-daughter producers Shebeta Carter and Maisha Parsons.
And that's just for starters.
Some 80 films, including shorts, are scheduled to show during the Roxbury Film Festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
"We are screening the most films we ever have," says Lisa Simmons, president of Color of Film Collaborative, a sponsor of the festival, which starts tomorrow. "The quality of what was submitted was unbelievable. We are very happy with the lineup and I believe that the audience is in for a wonderful surprise."
Townsend is slated to attend a Wednesday reception at the Roxbury Center for the Arts at Hibernian Hall and a Thursday screening of director Carl Seaton's new "Of Boys & Men" at the Museum of Fine Arts. The film is a drama starring Townsend as a father whose wife (Angela Bassett) dies unexpectedly, leaving him to slowly grow into his new role as sole parent of three children. Townsend and producers Carter and Parsons will lead a discussion after the 7:30 p.m. show.
The annual festival celebrates the work and stories of people of color, and as in past years it will spread out at venues in and near the Roxbury neighborhood: The MFA, Massachusetts College of Art, Northeastern University, Roxbury Center for the Arts, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Haley House bakery/cafe, and Coolidge Corner Theatre.
Dee will be at the MFA on closing night with her new film "Steam," about three women (Ally Sheedy, Kate Siegel, and Dee) who share joys and woes in the steam room of a local gym. That's next Sunday at 5:30 p.m., with both Dee and Schickner in attendance for a post-film discussion. Also attending that night will be Ralph, Burnett, and Ealy.
A short documentary by a group of 12 eighth-graders from middle schools across Boston is part of the lineup. Stacey Gilbert of Citizen Schools, an after-school program on Congress Street for junior high school kids, says that the students traveled around the city and captured life as they see it.
"They tell a story about community violence and opportunity through a mixture of creative writing, photography, video design, and the interview process," Gilbert says. The students got guidance from adults affiliated with Reunion Church in Boston. The volunteers - Citizen Teachers, they're called - have technical backgrounds and were also able to provide students "with a space to discuss their thoughts and concerns about their experiences," says Gilbert. "Young Movement" is scheduled for Saturday at 2:15 p.m. at Hibernian Hall as part of a program of several youth-produced works.
Several workshops will also take place on Saturday as well, including panel discussions on "Distribution in the Digital Age" (11 a.m. at Northeastern, Simmons moderating), "Health Disparities in Black Communities" (2 p.m. at Northeastern), and "The African Pie," about the past, present, and future of the continent (5 p.m. at the MFA).
For more information, contact the festival at 617-541-3900 ext. 321. The list of all works being presented is online under "Films" at roxburyfilmfestival.org. 