PHILIPPINE NEWS/PHILIPPINES TODAY/INSIDER COMMUNITY

"Be Careful With My Heart" The Movie by ABS-CBN Productions, Inc. starring Jodi Sta Maria and Richard 'Sir Chief' is one of the 15 entries submitted for consideration to be in the Metro Manila Film Festival this coming December.

Belated Happy Birthday, 2012 Binibining Pilipinas-Tourism Katrina Jayne Dimaranan, left, and brother Nikko, who jointly celebrated with mom Leonita, right, and other family members at Fresh Pizza Restaurant in San Lorenzo, CA. Photo by Richard Lao

The 1st batch of Binibining Pilipinas USA 2013 Candidates (which includes San Jose's Alexandra Drechsler, 4th left) were presented to the public during the 115th Philippine Independence Day Celebration and Parade along the streets of Los Angeles, CA last Saturday, June 8th. Photo by Richard Lao

Spotted in Los Angeles, CA during the 115th Philippine Independence Day Celebration was Director Christopher Ad. Castillo (eldest son of the legendary Celso Ad. Castillo) whose latest film is the suspense thriller 'THE DIPLOMAT HOTEL' (starring the lovely Gretchen Barretto), which will be shown as one of The New Breed Entries in Cinemalaya 2013 happening in July. Photo by Richard Lao

Christian Dewald,left, the US-based Vocal Coach of Sarah Geronimo with Line Producer Arlene Gavieres-Ramos at 24/SG US Concert Tour @ The Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles last Sunday night. Photo by Richard Lao

The Cast & Crew of Waldo held another production meeting at Edna's Ichiban in South San Francisco, headed by Producer John Valdez (4th right) & Director Kim Tumibay (3rd right) together with(L-R)JB, Justin Smaby, Samantha Rose, Alexandra Drechsler, Marybelle Sayson, Lalaine Tumibay, Princess Ryan, Beth Roldan & Poyay.

Congratulations Trevor Del Rosario of San Jose, CA who graduated at Valley Christian School last June 1st. He is a member of the Valley Christian Jazz Group and their volleyball team (with proud parents, George and Emily Petty Del Rosario and grandmother Rebecca Evaristo.

Congratulations Rev. Fr. Antonio-Ace Balagot Racela, III (4th right). A Thanksgiving Mass organized by Ms. Lou M. Concepcion (5th right), was held in his honor at the St. Maria Goretti Church last Sunday, June 9th where his first mass was held (after his ordination last June 1st at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament). Fr. Ace, 26, born in San Juan, Candon City, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, served as a transitional deacon to St. Maria Goretti before his ordination. He was from the Seminary of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila/Mt. Angel Seminary with a Degree in Philosophy. He got his Master’s degree in divinity/sacred theology from St. Patrick’s Seminary and is currently working on his Master of Arts. He spent his pastoral year at the Holy Rosary Parish, Woodland.

Queen Lola 2012, Maria Bernardita 'Bernie' Targa Ganon, headlines the Philippine Independence Day Parade organized by the Consular Offices in Los Angeles this coming Saturday, June 8 starting at 8:00AM. The official candidates to the 2014 Bb Pilipinas USA together with Vilma Santos, Ralph Recto, Bam Aquino, among others, are also expected to grace the event.

THE SEARCH IS ON

QUEEN LOLA 2013

TO-BE SEEN IN THE CITY

(LOS ANGELES) – Does your mother or grandmother have what it takes to be the next Queen Lola 2013? The pageant slogan goes 'Never Too Old To Rock!' Queen Lola 2013 is a pageant that is far more about heart than beauty.

Insider Productions in cooperation with ABS-CBN Foundation International is producing Queen Lola 2013. It is one pageant that will be remembered by its participants for a lifetime. And last year's winner, Maria Bernardita Targa Ganon of Sorsogon, can attest to that. Asked in her final ‘Question & Answer’ portion if she will have the chance to remarry as the western culture does, will she do it? Her winning answer reflects the general sentiment of a true Filipina from the core, that sealed her fate as the winner. “I think I will not follow it, because a Filipina wife values love until the end of time. We promised to stick together in sickness and in health. I will not follow the western style,” declared the beaming grandma to the already cheering crowd that instantly turned her fans.

Her reign has been a very memorable year for Grandma Bernie, as she is fondly called by her endeared grandchildren. Her pageant activities as well as her winning moments, were shown on The Filipino Channel (TFC) and is forever enshrined in YouTube videos for her and her followers to enjoy. During her homecoming, her province of Sorsogon greeted her with a grand celebration, complete with huge banners, marching band and left and right parties. She even was asked to sit as a judge another local beauty pageant. She said she felt “every inch a Queen.”

This year, before she turns over her crown and sash to the next winner, she will be part of the entourage, with her own float, that will parade along downtown Los Angeles streets in celebration of the Philippine Independence Day organized by the Philippine Consulate Offices of Los Angeles, CA. She will be side by side with the dignitaries, politicians and celebrities which include – Vilma Santos, Ralph Recto, Bam Aquino, among others.

Pilar Pilapil is the Official Spokesmodel of the Queen Lola 2013 Pageant.

The search is on! Join Queen Lola 2013 Pageant now!” Call

213-788-3323 or e-mail: Info@InsiderProducitons.net for details.

This article also appears online at www.BradfordAdkins.com,www.ScenesInTheCity.com, www.PinoyEntertainment.us,www.PhilippineNews.com, www.FilAmInsider.com and http://sites.google.com/site/adkinsmmcevents/Home/ with readership in 160 countries now (& still counting!) according to the latest Google Analytics report.

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A NEW MYX HAS ARRIVED

MYX gives viewers more exciting reasons to stay tuned as it presents new show logos, new sets, a new program schedule, new VJs, and an even more awesome programming as part of the thrust to keep the country's number one music channel constantly re-energized and rejuvenated.

“MYX was, is, and will always be open to everything. We change based on what our viewers are looking for,” says Andre Allan Alvarez, Channel Head of MYX.

The channel is proud to introduce their new VJs in the persons of Ai dela Cruz, Karla Aguas, and Sam Concepcion. Alvarez says the three were chosen because they epitomize youth and vitality.

VJ Ai (pronounced as AH-yee) dela Cruz, a basketball fanatic, is a former NCAA & PBA courtside reporter and a fresh graduate of Broadcast Communication from the University of the Philippines - Diliman. She is also a vocalist of an acoustic duo.

VJ Karla Aguas is the writer behind the blog thesjseries.blogspot.com and a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University.

VJ Sam Concepcion is no stranger to the entertainment scene. He's headlined the stage adaptations of "Peter Pan," "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe," and "Mr. Noah’s Big Boat," starred in films "I Do Bidoo Bidoo," "Shake, Rattle and Roll 13" and "Way Back Home" and ABS-CBN shows "Angelito" and "Super Inggo." Sam is also a recording artist with a brand new digital single entitled "No Limitations."

Catch VJs Ai, Karla and Sam in MYX Daily Top 10, Wer U At? MYX Take 5, Pop MYX, Pinoy MYX, and My MYX. Together with current VJs Nikki Gil, Chino Lui Pio and Iya Villania, they comprise the new MYX Family.

MYX is available 24/7 on SkyCable (channel 23) in Metro Manila and many quality cable companies all over the Philippines. MYX is also on UHF via Studio 23 during choice hours everyday. For more information, log on to myxph. com.

Myx TV celebrates the 3^rd annual Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival

Festival spotlights the Asian American Donor Program

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 29, 2013) – Now on its third year, the Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival returns on June 1, 2013 at San Francisco Japantown’s Peace Plaza and Buchanan Mall, sponsored by Myx TV. Hosted by NBC Bay Area reporter George Kiriyama and KTVU-TV reporter Jana Katsuyama, the festival will feature vendors, children’s activity areas, food sampling, and its signature Soy and Tofu Dessert Competition.

“This festival is essentially a tribute to the almighty soybean, truly one of the most versatile food products in Asian culture, if not the world,” said Kenji G. Taguma, President of the Nichi Bei Foundation and co-chair of the Festival. “We’re excited about creating a fun venue to celebrate the joy of soy and learn about the benefits of soy and tofu, and at the same time raising critical funds to support our community-serving mission.”

While the festival is free and open to the public, proceeds fund the Nichi Bei Foundation which publishes the Nichi Bei Weekly – the first nonprofit ethnic community newspaper of its kind in the country – and its website.

This year’s festival also highlights the critical need to register Asian Pacific Americans for the Be The Match Registry of the Asian American Donor Program. The multiracial community remains vastly underrepresented in bone marrow donors that are critical to saving lives.

“Myx TV is proud to support the Soy & Tofu Festival in San Francisco, closing numerous celebrations this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage month” says Tiffany Phung, Marketing Manager for Myx TV. “We are delighted to see the festival share this generation of Asian American’s fascination with food and culture.”

For more information on exciting activities and vendors, visit www.soyandtofufest.org.

THE ACADEMY ANNOUNCES MUSEUM

GIFT FROM BRETT RATNER

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today a $1 million gift from director Brett Ratner to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

"Brett has a sincere love of movies and film history, and we are excited to welcome him to our group of supporters," said Bill Kramer, the museum's managing director of development.

The Academy launched the Museum's capital campaign in 2012 and has already secured more than half of the campaign's $300 million goal in commitments. The campaign is chaired by Bob Iger and co-chaired by Annette Bening and Tom Hanks.

"Thanks to the generosity of founding supporters like Brett, we are now able to realize the long-held dream of the Academy and that of the global film community to build a museum dedicated to the history and future of the movies," said Iger.

"I feel blessed to be part of such a magnificent museum. I was blown away by the recent Kubrick exhibit at LACMA, which the Academy co-sponsored. I couldn't be more excited that our Academy will finally have its own museum that will preserve and exhibit cinema's greatest work," said Ratner.

Designed by architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali, the Academy Museum will be located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the historic Wilshire May Company building. Slated to open in early 2017, the Academy Museum will contain nearly 300,000 square feet of state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, theaters, screening rooms, education centers, and special event spaces.

The design for the Academy Museum fully restores the Wilshire and Fairfax street-front facades of the original 1939 Streamline Moderne building. It also includes a spherical wing at the northern end of the original building that will replace an extension made to the structure in 1946. Designed to represent the marriage of art and technology, the wing will house The David Geffen Theater and will be a spectacular new piece of contemporary architecture that will perfectly complement the historic building.

For more information about the museum, please visit www.oscars.org/museum

FOREV

**WORLD PREMIERING IN THE NARRATIVE COMPETITION AT THE 2013 LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL**

Written & Directed by Molly Green & James Leffler

Starring Noël Wells, Matt Mider, and Amanda Bauer

Sophie and Pete get engaged on their first date, which is a 6 hour drive through the desert. And then nothing goes wrong... nothing at all.

HBO'S THE CRASH REEL AT THE LA FILM FESTIVAL

Premieres on HBO Monday, July 15th at 9:00PM

*Part of Doc Summer Series*

Snowboarder Kevin Pearce & Director Lucy Walker Available for Interviews | Monday, June 17th

SYNOPSIS | This eye-popping, yet intimate, story of U.S. champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce

uses years of vérité footage to expose the excitement and appeal—as well as the high stakes—of participating in extreme-action sports. Training to compete against longtime rival Shaun White at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Kevin suffered severe traumatic brain injury from a 2009 accident in Park City, Utah. His tight-knit Vermont family flew to his side, and together they began an intensive process of trying to rehabilitate him and help him rebuild his permanently damaged life.

Kevin’s determination and the tireless support of family and friends kept him focused on recovery. But when he insisted he wanted to return to the sport he loved, his family objected. As an elite athlete, Kevin was a professional risk taker, but as a brain-injury survivor, his skills were now impaired, and even a small blow to the head could kill him.

Academy Award–nominated director Lucy Walker’s latest film (Waste Land won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival) sheds light on the alarming trend of athletes pushing the boundaries of their sports past the limit. How much risk is too much? Her thoughtful and probing treatment of her subject enables us to share one family’s remarkable journey.

LA FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

Sunday, June 16th at 4:30PM | Regal Cinemas 8, 1000 W Olympic Blvd

Monday, June 17th at 7:10PM | American Airlines Theatre/Regal 11, 1000 W Olympic Blvd

Eva Weber's BLACK OUT at Los Angeles Film Festival 2013

A literal and metaphorical journey towards enlightenment, BLACK OUT shows the obstacles children have to overcome to achieve their dreams in one of the world’s poorest countries.

The award-winning mid-length film, from director Eva Weber (who yesterday was chosen for the Sundance Institute Directors Lab), will have its West Coast Premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in the International Showcase next month. The film's LAFF screenings are scheduled for Saturday, June 15 at 5:00 PM and Friday, June 21 at 9:50 PM. Weber is available for interviews in advance of the festival and is scheduled to attend the second screening and participate in a post-screening Q&A.

This film had its world premiere at IDFA in November and has since won prizes at major international festivals and has screened at fests in Paris, Prague, Warsaw and Doha. It was developed in association with Chicken & Egg Pictures.

SYNOPSIS: Every day during exam season, as the sun sets over Conakry, Guinea, hundreds of school children begin a nightly pilgrimage to the airport, petrol stations and wealthier parts of the city, searching for light. A literal and metaphorical journey to enlightenment, this evocative documentary tells how children reconcile their lives in one of the world’s poorest countries with their desire to learn, in the face of the country’s own struggle for change.

Only about a fifth of Guinea’s people have access to electricity. With few families able to afford generators, children have discovered the international airport, petrol stations and traffic roundabouts as unlikely places to study for their exams. They are amongst the only places where they will always find light.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: EVA WEBER, DIRECTOR

Originally from Germany, Eva Weber is a London-based filmmaker working in both documentary and fiction. Her multi-award-winning films have screened at numerous international film festivals including Sundance, Edinburgh, SXSW, BFI London Film Festival and Telluride. Her films have also been broadcast on UK and international television, and shown at art exhibitions and museums. Her film ‘The Solitary Life of Cranes’ was described as “one of the most absorbing documentaries of the year” by The Observer newspaper in the UK. Weber is currently developing a number of feature projects, including the fiction feature 'Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name' based on a novel by Vendela Vida; and supported through the Sundance Institute Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award and a SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grant. Weber has been chosen for the Sundance Institute Directors Lab 2013.

TRAILER: http://vimeo.com/41361234

LAFF FESTIVAL SITE: http://www.lafilmfest.com/festival-film/black-out/#.UYkoyalxtUQ

OFFICIAL FILM WEBSITE: http://www.blackout-documentary.com/Black_Out/Home.html

CREDITS:

Directed by Eva Weber

Produced by Claire Neate James & Kat Mansoor

Editor: Emiliano Battista & Eva Weber

DOP: Mattias Nyberg

Sound: Ludovic Lassere

Music: Florencia Di Concilio

A co-production between HSI London, Odd Girl Out Productions and Animal Monday

Made with the support of UNICEF/Guinea

In association with Rooftop Films and Chicken & Egg Pictures and Technicolor Post Production

Developed with the support of The PUMA.Creative Catalyst Award in partnership with BRITDOC

LLYN FOULKES ONE MAN BAND

LAFF Documentary Competition

Directed and Produced by Tamar Halpern and Chris Quilty

TRT: 88 minutes

WATCH TEASER: www.llynfoulkesfilm.com

Press Notes and High-Res Photos Available Upon Request

“This film shows us something that is rarely captured on camera:

the relentless, uncompromising attention to detail required to create a masterpiece.”

-Raphael Rubinstein, former Senior Editor of Art in America

“This documentary shines a light on the method and madness

of one of the best living American artists today.”

-Ali Subotnick, Hammer Museum Curator

Synopsis

Artist and one-man-band musician Llyn Foulkes struggles to finish two large-scale paintings, one that costs him his marriage. The film reconstructs Foulkes’s uncompromising, up-and-down career - from abandoning success as a pop artist to being rediscovered at age 77.

Filmmaker Comments

After casting Foulkes as an actor in her feature Your Name Here, Tamar Halpern teamed up with Chris Quilty to make a short film documenting Foulkes as he finished a massive painting called "The Lost Frontier." They continued filming for seven more years until Foulkes was at last rediscovered by the art world.

Tamar Halpern - Co-Director/Co-Producer

This is Tamar Halpern’s first feature documentary. She has written and directed Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, starring Mira Sorvino, Michael Urie and Joe Pantoliano, as well as Shelf Life, “a whip smart film” (Variety) starring Betsy Brandt of Breaking Bad. Her feature Your Name Here co-starred Llyn Foulkes.

Chris Quilty - Co-Director/Co-Producer

This is Chris Quilty’s first feature documentary. With a degree in international relations from Ohio State University he then, naturally, moved to California to work as a boom operator and production sound mixer in film and TV, and has since worked on Arrested Development, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and Revenge.

Llyn Foulkes

Called the Zelig of the contemporary art world, painter and one-man-band aficionado Llyn Foulkes has been a vital but forgotten part of the LA art scene since the 1960s. Rediscovered at age 77, his unconventional and rebellious approach to making art has confounded and amazed critics and collectors alike.

LAFF Screening Times

Thursday, June 20, 7:40pm | Regal Cinemas 11

Saturday, June 22, 2pm | Regal Cinemas 8

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BOXING DAY

LAFF International Showcase

Based on Leo Tolstoy's "Master and Man"

Starring Danny Huston, Matthew Jacobs

Written and Directed by Bernard Rose

Produced by Luc Roeg, Naomi Despres

TRT: 91 minutes

WATCH TRAILER NOW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN6j_HyVRfs

"Sustains an unusual atmosphere and an emotional charge of which Tolstoy might have approved...

Bernard Rose's films are always intelligent and intriguing." (4 Stars)

-Derek Malcolm, London Evening Standard

"An intimate slow-burner, a cleverly judged and satisfying piece of work...

Another arresting adaptation from Rose." (4 Stars)

-Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

"A terrific, gallows-witty drama...Huston and Jacobs have a marvellously spluttery chemistry." (4 Stars)

-Robbie Collin, The Telegraph

Synopsis

BASIL, a struggling, debt-ridden business man, leaves his family immediately after Christmas to pursue a lucrative property deal that could solve all of his problems. He hires a local chauffeur to drive him around the mountainous landscape, but as night sets in the men face an uncertain fate.

Filmmaker Comments

Boxing Day is the final part in a trilogy of adaptations of Tolstoy novellas (including 2002's Ivansxtc and 2008's The Kreutzer Sonata)that I have written and directed, starring Danny Huston. All three films were made with minimal crews and lightweight digital equipment and are set in modern‐day Los Angeles (the opening setting for "Boxing Day"). “Boxing Day” is a British public holiday that takes place the day after Christmas. On Boxing Day the well-off make a gift, or a tip, and place it in a box to give to their workers or those less fortunate. Boxing Day is adapted from Tolstoy’s “Master and Man," and follows the novella closely. Tolstoy’s title is allegorical ‐ the Master is not who he thinks he is and the Man turns out to be plural.

Bernard Rose - Director/Screenwriter/Cinematographer/Editor/Composer

Bernard Rose is one of the most enduring directors in recent British cinema. Derek Malcolm, the don of British film criticism, has said that Rose's films are "always intelligent and intriguing." A graduate of London’s National Film and Television School, Bernard began his career directing music videos and his debut feature came in 1988 with Paperhouse. This was followed in 1990 by Chicago Joe and the Showgirl starring Kiefer Sutherland. before he achieved broad commercial and critical success with the 1992 cult horrorCandyman starring Virginia Madsen. Bernard subsequently wrote and directed the Beethoven biopic Immortal Beloved starring GaryOldman. Rose began his suite of Tolstoy adaptations with 2002's Ivansxtc, based on Tolstoy's “The Life and Death of Ivan Ilych," andThe Kreutzer Sonata based on the same work. He recently wrote and directed the international production Paganini: The Devil's Violinist starring Joely Richardson, Jared Harris, Olivia d'Abo and virtuosic master of the stradivarius David Garrett. The film assays the life of Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini, and probes the urban legend of his being so great a musician that many were convinced he had indeed sold his soul to the devil.

Luc Roeg - Producer

Luc Roeg is CEO of production and film sales outfit Independent. Roeg most recently produced Lynne Ramsay’s We Need To Talk About Kevin starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller which premiered in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival 2011 and received three BAFTA nominations. Roeg has Produced and Executive Produced numerous other features including Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice starring Rhys Ifans, Chloë Sevigny, David Thewlis and Luis Tosar, David Cronenberg’s Spider starring Ralph Fiennes and Miranda Richardson, and Oliver Parker’s Othello starring Laurence Fisburne and Kenneth Branagh. Prior to his position at Independent, Roeg was Head of Independent Film Europe at the William Morris Agency, UK, and was one of the founders of Vivid Productions, where he produced Tom Waits’s Big Time and Peter Medak’s Let Him Have It.

Naomi Despres - Producer

Naomi Despres began her career in the film business in 1991 with Oliver Stone's production company, Ixtlan, where she was involved in developing The Joy Luck Club, The People vs Larry Flynt, and Nixon, and producing Pedrag Antonijevic's critically-acclaimed war film Savior. Despres then co-founded the Columbia Pictures‐based production company Manifest Films, where she produced Zero Effect, starring Ben Stiller and Bill Pullman, and High Crimes, starring Ashley Judd, Jim Caviezel and Morgan Freeman. From 2001‐2004, Despres was Executive Vice President of Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Productions, where she ran its film and television operations in Los Angeles and was involved in developing and overseeing projects including About A Boy, Meet The Fockers, and The Good Shepherd. Despres has also produced Artina Films' Chapter 27, starring Jared Leto and Lindsay Lohan, and Fragments, starring Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce.

Danny Huston - "Basil"

Danny Huston is one of the most prolific actors of his generation, with a wealth of studio and independent features to his name. He is a long time collaborator of Bernard Rose, having worked on previous Tolstoy adaptations The Kreutzer Sonata and Ivansxtc for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 2003. Huston has over 50 screen credits spanning a four‐decade-long career including: Children of Men, X‐Men Origins: Wolverine, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People, 30 Days of Night, The Kingdom,The Number 23, Alpha Male, Marie Antoinette, The Constant Gardener, The Proposition, The Aviator, 21 Grams and Leaving LasVegas.

Matthew Jacobs - "Nick"

Matthew Jacobs is a long-time creative collaborator of Bernard Rose. Jacobs wrote the screenplay for Rose’s debut featurePaperhouse and appeared as a journalist in Rose's recent film Mr. Nice. Boxing Day marks Jacobs’s debut in a leading role.

LAFF Screening Times

Thursday, June 20, 7:50pm | Regal Cinemas 11

Saturday, June 22, 5pm | Regal Cinemas 10

Timely Documentary "The New Black" to Have World Premiere at Los Angeles Film Festival on June 14

LOS ANGELES -- This month, three more states (Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota) enacted laws extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. Just seven months ago, voters in Maryland – where black voters are a key constituency – took up the issue in an election that made history. And soon, in June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on two historic gay marriage cases that could re-shape the debate. All this comes as the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the rate of black voter turnout exceeded the rate of white voter turnout for the first time in 2012.

In the timely documentary THE NEW BLACK – set for its World Premiere in the Documentary Competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 14 – award-winning filmmaker and journalist Yoruba Richen questions the assumptions about homophobia in the African-American community, setting off an impassioned conversation about gay rights, family history, the role of the Church and the legacy of the civil rights movement.

THE NEW BLACK's screenings at LAFF are scheduled for Friday, June 14 and Sunday, June 16. Filmmaker Yoruba Richen and film subjects will participate in post-screening Q&As. Richen will be in Los Angeles and available for interview from June 13-17.

After its LAFF premiere, the film will premiere in New York at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, in Washington, DC at AFI DOCS, in San Francisco at Frameline, and at other prominent film festivals. A limited theatrical release is planned for later this year.

Synopsis: THE NEW BLACK tells the story of how the African American community is grappling with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in light of the marriage equality movement and the fight over civil rights. We meet activists, families, and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland, a state with a 30 percent African-American population. Through this story, the film examines homophobia in the black community's institutional pillar—the black church—and reveals the Christian right wing's strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda. THE NEW BLACK takes viewers into the pews and onto the streets as it tells the story of the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.

LAFF Screenings:

• Friday, June 14 at 7:30 PM at Regal Cinemas 13 at L.A. Live

• Sunday, Jun 16 at 6:50 PM at American Airlines Theatre/Regal 11 at L.A. Live

Film fest site: http://www.lafilmfest.com/festival-film/the-new-black/#.UYmyX6lxtUQ

About the Filmmaker: Yoruba Richen is a documentary filmmaker who has directed and produced films in the U.S. and abroad including Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. She won the 2012 Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access and was also a Sundance producers’ fellow. She is a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow. Her latest film THE NEW BLACK examines homophobia in the black community’s institutional pillar- the black church. It has received widespread support including grants from ITVS, The Sundance Documentary Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures and the Jerome Foundation.

Richen’s previous film PROMISED LAND, received a Diverse Voices Co-Production fund award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and was broadcast on POV in 2010. The film premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and won the Fledgling Fund Award for Social Issue Documentary. It has screened at numerous festivals around the world. In 2007, Richen won a Fulbright award in filmmaking and traveled to Salvador, Brazil, where she began production on SISTERS OF THE GOOD DEATH, a documentary about the oldest African women's association in the Americas and the annual festival they hold celebrating the end of slavery. Previously, Richen was the co-producer of TAKE IT FROM ME, a documentary exploring the effects of welfare reform on New York City women, which was broadcast on POV in 2001. She was also an associate producer for the investigative unit of ABC News as well as a producer for the independent news program Democracy Now! Richen serves on the adjunct faculty at CUNY's Graduate School of Journalism.

Credits:

Director/Producer: Yoruba Richen

Producer: Yvonne Welbon

Co-Producer: Angela Tucker

Writers: Yoruba Richen and Erin Casper

Editors: Ali Muney and Erin Casper

Cinematographers: Nadia Hallgren and Garland McLaurin

In association with ITVS, Ford Foundation and Chicken & Egg Pictures

Additional funding provided by Arcus Foundation, Sundance Institute and Tribeca Film Institute