“Patrice Johnson talks to bfm at Cannes 2007” and other links…
youtube.com: “NY’s Dirty Laundry tackles the question of how members of minority groups related to each other post 9/11. The 78-minute film is set in New York and focuses on a moment in the lives of two immigrant families that fatefully intersect 18 days after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The piece is an ensemble effort based on two true stories. One focuses on Muhammed, an Arab-American taxi driver, superbly portrayed by Jesse J. Perez, who begins to fall apart after repeatedly being targeted by New Yorkers. He meets Crystal, an African-American woman of Caribbean parentage, played by Johnson. Crystal enters Muhammed's cab in lower Manhattan and becomes irate when he refuses to drive her home to Brooklyn.”
It’s great to see such a veteran artist still fired up! She’s one more active and informed than excessively accommodating! It is all the more pleasing to mention that Patrice Johnson is strong voice and engaging in “kinté cast #1: the snow makes you serious”…
“Exclusive interview with Karen Gehres’, director of Begging Naked”
Smile Politely: “Her fellow artist and friend, Elise Hill, had agreed to be the subject of her movie and was recounting for her the first of many stories she would relate about her tumultuous past. Having run away from home as a teen, forced to survive as a prostitute and stripper, and becoming a heroin addict along the way, Gehres knew that the stories she would capture on celluloid would, at the very least, be compelling. However, as happens often with the best of documentaries, her resulting film, Begging Naked, did not proceed as she had envisioned, as Hill's life took a series of unexpected turns, which resulted in a compelling human drama and a poignant tale of friendship.”
“Siskel & Ebert on Hoop Dreams”
Undercover Black Man: “Turns out the publicity firm representing Hoop Dreams had a working relationship with Siskel & Ebert. ‘They talked Gene into seeing the film because he was a huge basketball fan with Bulls season tickets,’ Steve James says.” It’s great to see these stories coming out about how things really get done in arenas we often mistake for meritocracies.