Posted Courtesy of Wright Enterprises Community Spotlight~~~
Social distancing is the World's Changed Reality Yet The San Francisco Black Film Festival "Healing the World One Film At A Time" Goes on "Virtually."
San Francisco-Announcing its twenty-second year, amid the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the multicultural San Francisco Black Film Festival will be screening films from around the world virtually, June 18 through August 2, 2020.
"Given our changed world, The San Francisco Black Film Festival XXII has adjusted based on our new reality," said Kali O'Ray. "The Coronavirus, although regrettable, has resulted in some positive things as we are cloistered in our homes, young and old. Devouring media together creates family discussions and growth, O'Ray added. "Workers are breaking out of the 'brick and mortar' of going back to work and that is a path for entertainment as well, especially among young people, as I see it."
"The San Francisco Black Film Festival is flipping the script during this grave time in America and the world. 'The show must go on' on despite the worldwide pandemic. There is that old saying that something is "virtually impossible; yet The San Francisco Black Film Festival is 'Virtually, Possible,'" said Katera Crossley, Festival Co-Director with her husband Kali O'Ray. We are celebrating twenty-two years of bringing films from the African Diaspora from around the world to San Francisco to create positive dialogue between people about universal human experiences and as a result giving people a better understanding of each other."
The virtual film festival will have a variety of independent films from drama to comedy over a two-week period. The San Francisco Black Film Festival will revisit some of the most popular films over its twenty-two year history. Families can enjoy the traditional family-friendly prices of the San Francisco Black Film Festival.
Visit www.sfbff.org for updates on films and events for The San Francisco Black Film Festival XXII that gets underway this year, June 18th through August 2nd.
The San Franciso Black Film Festival sponsors to date include: San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Commission, Bill Graham Productions, Mayor London Breed, Key to the City of San Francisco, KPOO, KPFA, San Francisco BayView Newspaper, The Boom Boom Room, New Community Leadership Foundation, Inc., LaHitz Media, Film Bread, and Wright Enterprises.
Increase your company or organization's social responsibility capital by sponsoring the "Virtually, Possible" San Francisco Black Film Festival XXII. Contact the San Francisco Black Film Festival at sfbff@sfbff.org for sponsorship opportunities.
For more information about San Francisco Black Film Festival XXII, visit www.sfbff.org.
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About San Francisco Black Film Festival
AVE MONTAGUE-(1945-2009), arts impresario, fashion industry executive, publicist, founded the San Francisco Black Film Festival in 1998. Montague created the San Francisco Black Film Festival, a nonprofit, with the artistic vision to provide a platform for Black filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors to present their art. As a competitive film festival, SFBFF identifies filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors that are emerging as talents and established artists who are of all races and contributors to the cinematic legacy of African Americans.
SFBFF conscientiously expands the notions of "Black film-making" to a global perspective. The organization is multicultural and inclusive of all in the expression of the African Diaspora experience.
The San Francisco Black Film Festival has screened more than 10,000 films from around the world. Kali O'Ray (son of Ave Montague) and his wife Katera Crossley, both formerly of Atlanta, Georgia are co-directors of The San Francisco Black Film Festival.
The Mission of the San Francisco Black Film Festival is to celebrate African American cinema and the African Cultural Diaspora and to showcase a diverse collection of films – from emerging and established filmmakers. This is accomplished by presenting Black films, which reinforce positive images and dispel negative stereotypes, and providing film artists of all races from the Bay Area in particular and around the world in general, a forum for their work to be viewed and discussed. The San Francisco Black Film Festival believes film can lead to a better understanding of and communication between, peoples of diverse cultures, races, and lifestyles, while simultaneously serving as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.