( ENSPIRE Features ) Film Festival Honoring The Legendary Oscar Micheaux
ENSPIRE Contributor: Gabrielle Maya
QEY Creative Studios is working with Micheaux Film Festival on its 6th annual film festival event. Founders Courtney L. Branch and Noel Braham organized the festival, which will be held at The Culver Theater. Featuring stars such as Issa Rae, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyon’go, and Morris Chestnut. In addition to the 2024 sponsors and partners, Roku, LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (2nd District of Los Angeles), Panavision, Braham Entertainment, Branch Creative, and Berhe Love Prod will partner with local nonprofit organization Peggy Beatrice. Look forward to all kinds of entertainment from Monday, Oct 21 to Sunday, Oct 27, 2024.
This year’s theme, “Champions,” celebrates filmmakers’ resilience and determination to bring their visions to fruition. The film festival will showcase diverse films that embody thought-provoking themes and spirit. The Sixth Annual Micheaux Film Festival will feature live-action, animation, documentary, web series, music videos, and more. In addition, you will explore all forms of genres such as horror, romance drama, action, historical thriller, and comedy. Lastly, the festival will have panel discussions, workshops, and networking events.
“We are honored to celebrate the enduring legacy of Oscar Micheaux and illuminate the path for contemporary international filmmakers who mirror his pioneering spirit,” stated Noel Braham and Courtney Branch. “This year’s festival is poised to be a catalyst for inspiration and an indelible milestone.”
This festival will feature panel discussions, workshops, and networking events.
A selection of more than 250 short films, feature films, new media series, and additional projects is being featured virtually. All-inclusive stories are shared, and global voices are heard. Through a carefully curated selection of impactful films, the festival delves into the pressing issue of homelessness, particularly relevant in the context of Los Angeles.
Here are eight various entertainment pieces to look forward to viewing at the Sixth Annual Micheaux Film Festival:
- Desde La Raiz
(Dir./Prod: Paulina Gamiz, Gus Sánchez; EPs: Ray Jimenez, Jaime Camil)
Notable Talent: Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin)
Logline: In this four-part docu-series, actor Jaime Camil (Jane the Virgin) will explore the origins and meaning of Mexican products like coffee, chile, corn, and mezcal. Camil describes the series as “a love letter to México and some of the country’s richest heritage and legendary commodities.”
Docuseries | Runtime: 42:00
- All In
(Dir./Prod: Dusan Brown; Producers: Yuchuan Cao, Joyce Kelly-Brown
James Kexian Lee)
Notable Talent: Dusan Brown, Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Legendary’s 42
Logline: When an enterprising teen is left with seemingly insurmountable debt by his unscrupulous, late father, he must play poker to either make money back and save what’s left of his family or die trying.
Short Film | Runtime: 14:51
Premiere Status: World Premiere
- Flux
(Dir/Writer: Aaron LaMarr Burleson, Producers: Aaron LaMarr Burleson, Elizabeth Franco)
Notable Talent: Russell Curry – D’Angelo, Aaron LaMarr Burleson – Albie, Writer, Producer, Director, Elizabeth Franco – Executive Producer, Richard Stevenson Jr. – Producer, Composer – Space Monk, Maisha Azadi – Mysterious Women
Logline: Trapped in an eerie, timeless void within his own home, a man confronts his past and future, ultimately discovering the key to breaking free from his purgatorial existence.
Short Film | Runtime: 0:17:22
Premiere Status: World Premiere
- You & I Don’t Say Goodbye
(Dir/Writer: Armie Hicks Jr, Producers: Obiamaka Onwuta, Janae David)
Notable Talent: Armie Hicks – Atlanta, Insecure, The Morning Show. Alexis Louder – Copshop, Violent Night, The Changeling
Logline: Armie, a struggling actor who hasn’t been home in over a year, returns to North Carolina to reconnect with his daughter and attend her pageant. He faces the challenge of balancing his career ambitions with his desire to be a present father.
Short Film | Runtime: 0:09:32
Premiere Status: LA Premiere
- Two Breaths
(Dir.: Kateryna Kurganska, Writers: Kateryna Kateryna, Myka Arakawa, Timur Guseynov, Producers: Kateryna Kateryna, Don John, C Craig Patterson, Timur Guseynov, Valerie Delahaye, Nick Brooks)
Notable Talent: Romeo Garcia “Moana” (Live Action)
Logline: After a man-made disaster decimates an evergreen island, a stranded 11-year-old girl must find the tenacity to leave behind her home with the help of an unlikely friend.
Short Film | Runtime: 0:16:11
- Marque Dos
(Dir/Writer:Asha Chai-Chang)
Notable Talent: Isaac Gonzalez Rossi – Lead in Netflix’s Global Top Ten film “That’s Amor”; Netflix/ starring Jennifer Lopez “The Mother”; Just booked Paramount+ “Dexter: Original Sin”; seen in HBO’s “Westworld,” “NCIS,” Amazon’s “As We See It,” and NBC’s “I Feel Bad.”| Roxy Rivera – “The Idea of You” (Prime/ stars Anne Hathaway); Hit Man, Dynasty, HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones,” and national commercials. Adargiza De Los Santos – “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Horror of Dolores Roach,” “Abbott Elementary,” “This is Us,” and “Criminal Minds”
Logline: An aspiring tour manager moves up the ranks in the marketing industry where discovering herself and her place in the world faces off with the demands of her dream job.
Web Series | Runtime:0:11:10
Premiere Status: LA Premiere
- The Flacalta Effect
(Dir/Writer: Rochée Jeffrey, Producers: Ebony Elaine Hardin, Takara Joseph)
Notable Talent: Executive Producer – David Arquette (Scream, Never Been Kissed) and Writer/Director – Rochée Jeffrey (co-executive producer Grownish, Smilf, Woke)
Logline: After a drug with anti-aging properties has apocalyptic consequences, two Black sisters fight for their lives—and looks—in this satirical take on toxic white beauty culture.
Short Film | Runtime: 0:07:50
Premiere Status: LA Premiere
- Superman Doesn’t Steal
(Dir/Writer: Tamika Lamison, Producers: Tamika Lamison, Chris Beal, Dominique DeLeon, Carol Shine, Ben Ephraim)
Notable Talent: Mustafa Shakir- Cowboy Bebop, Luke Cage, Deuces; Jordyn McIntosh- Unprisoned
Logline: Based on a true story set in the 1970s during the Atlanta Child Murders, this film follows a young brother and sister who love comics and face a series of impactful events that cause them to question the meaning of heroes, villains, Superman, and themselves.
Short Film | Runtime: 0:19:00
For more information on all the Micheaux Film Festival films and television, visit https://www.micheauxfilmfest.com/. Follow the Micheaux Film Festival Instagram and Twitter (X). P Here is where you can purchase passes for the festival.
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