Al Santana

Greetings. Just heard that “One People” will screen in Harlem on October 10th. at 6:30pm. The venue is the Maysles Film Studio, 127th. Street and Lenox Avenue. This screening is part of the St. Clair Bourne Tribute Film Festival, which runs from October 8th thru October 13th. This event, sponsored by The 350th. Harlem Anniversary Celebrations and The Black Documentary Collective, will feature many excellent films and panel discussions. For more information visit www.harlemthennowandforever.org. I hope to see you there.

Al

Greetings. I’m am pleased to announce that our short experimental narrative film “One People” is an official selection of the 2008 Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. The festival is scheduled to take place on September 26-28, 2008 in Brooklyn N.Y. at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus. “One People” will screen on Saturday, September 27th. at 7:30PM. Please see link below for details.

http://www.reelsisters.org/schedule08.html

Al

Love Me Through It is a narrative short produced by Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York and directed by first time director Robert Holley.

The film, shot in mini dv 24p by yours truly, with the assistance of gaffer Haffe Acosta, is an emotional story, about a young women who, after being diagnosed with the AIDS virus, comes to grips with her family, friends, and her church in dealing with the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS.
The 40 min. film is having its premiere on Friday, June 27th. at Emmanuel Baptist Church 279 Lafayette Avenue 36 St. James Place at 6:30pm.

All are welcome.

Contact the church for more information at: (718) 622- 1107/3343 (fax)

Films At BAM

Please join me on Monday, October 1, 2007, 7:00 PM at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a retrospective of my work.
We’ll be screening excerpts from two long-form films: Voices of The Gods, (1985) and Durban 400, (2003), as well as three short films:

In The Spirit of Peace (2002)

Military Option (2005)

One People (2007)

Voices of The Gods is a documentary about two ancient West African Religions (Yoruba and Akan) that are practiced in the United States today.

Durban 400 produced by The Drammeh Institute and Al Santana Productions, is a documentary that focuses on Reparations for the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. The film follows a group of grass-roots activist to Durban, South Africa for the 2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism, Xenophia and Related Intolerances where they address the issue of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism as Crimes Against Humanity.

In The Spirit of Peace was produced as part of Third World Newsreel’s Call For Media Action, following the 9/11 attacks. It chronicles a peace march that took place in Brooklyn on September 23, 2001, where members of Brooklyn’s Yoruba and Akan communities made a definitive call for peace in direct contradiction to the message coming from the government and corporate media outlets.

Military Option is collaboration of filmmaker, Rico Speight and Third World Newsreel’s Call For Change initiative. This film looks at military recruiting practices in communities of color.

One People, a collaboration of producer/playwright Laura L. Fowler and Al Santana, takes place against the backdrop of a gentrified Harlem community. The story centers on two sisters who have opposite views about social responsibility and the role of artists. Aliyah, a self-styled revolutionary filmmaker, is producing a documentary about the 1960′s black power movement. Her sister, Valerie, is a poet whose work centers on themes of sensuality and love. They challenge each other on the purity of art and the need for art to inspire social change. Together, they discover a politicized Lorraine Hansberry.

Please visit my website to view clips of the films and other cool stuff.
www.alsantana.com

Best regards and hope to see you on Monday at BAM. General admission is $11. and we’ll also have DVD’s of Voices of The Gods, Durban 400 and One People on sale.

Al

Process Is Everything