Songhai News: The Black Collegiate Voice is an informative-proactive Black Collegiate Newspaper online & print, housed at The University of Houston. Created by three African-American females, the publication features an array of articles focused on Black issues concerning the student body. The newspaper also presents a monthly film screening in relation to editorial content entitled: PopCorn N Lemonade. To access the newspaper online click on the links provided below this message. If you would like a print copy of the newspaper email us or pick up a copy on the university campus.
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Spring 2008
What’s up with Songhai?
Issue #6 All about politics is now on campus.
Get recognized on our Myspace page: www.myspace.com/songhainewsblack
Email your events to: songhainews@gmail.com
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Check out these events going on in Houston, Texas and Nationally!
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Hollywood Heavyweights Announce Chase Legacy Film Challenge
in partnership with HBO, Kodak and blackfilm.com
Challenge offers emerging filmmakers an opportunity to receive $5,000 grants and have final films screened and aired nationally.
March, 2008 – New York – Bryce Wilson, Effie Brown and Doran Reed join Chase, HBO, Kodak and blackfilm.com in a national initiative to find and empower emerging filmmakers to share their visions of creating a legacy in the African American community through homeownership. A panel of industry professionals have signed on to support the program serving as judges and mentors for the aspiring filmmakers.
“This is a critical time for African Americans to become educated on the value of generating wealth through homeownership,” said Bryce Wilson, Actor/Music Producer. “Film is the perfect platform to showcase stories of perseverance while creating awareness. I strongly believe in the power of homeownership as a vehicle to establish legacy in our community. It is our hope that the Chase Legacy Film Challenge will ignite the type of discussions that inspire African Americans to seek more information and invest in the future of their families.”
The Chase Legacy Film Challenge is an opportunity for four finalists, one filmmaker from New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston to receive a $5,000 grant to produce and direct an original short, five- minute film narrative on digital video. All four films produced from the finalists will be presented in a national on-line contest which kicks-off in March and runs through June 2008. The public can log onto www.blackfilm.com/legacychallenge to vote for the grand prizewinner. The winner will be announced at an exclusive screening at the conclusion of the Chase Legacy of Homeownership Tour, a four-city tour of educational seminars designed to show African Americans how to establish and preserve their legacies through homeownership, in New York City in July 2008.
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INDUSTRY PANEL
Bryce Wilson – Actor/Music Producer
Effie Brown – Producer and Founder – Duly Noted, Inc.
Gail Huggins-Porter – Director – Ebony Jet Entertainment Group
Lola Ogunnaike – Entertainment Correspondent - CNN’s American Morning
Samantha Taylor Pickett – Director of Development – Focus Features
Doran Reed – Casting Director – Robi Reed Entertainment
Billye Woodruff – Director – Honey, Beauty Shop
Pat Lomax – Film Acquisition Coordinator – HBO
ABOUT PANELISTS
Bryce Wilson
Two-time Grammy award winner, three Grammy nominations, 50 million sold and counting! Bryce is an Entrepreneur, Executive/Producer, Actor, and Musician. Formerly one-half of the late 1990’s R&B duo, Groove Theory, he’s made his mark on the music industry by producing for such national recording acts as Beyonce and Whitney Houston. In 1997, Bryce won a Grammy for production work on Toni Braxton’s hit “You’re Making Me High.” Bryce also played an intricate role in the Boost Mobile ‘Where you at?’ advertising campaign that featured heavyweight rap artists Kanye West, The Game, and Ludacris. Bryce has acted in a variety of films and televisions shows. Most notably, as James, in the 2005 film, Beauty Shop, starring Queen Latifah. Other highlighted works, includes starring in the 2000 film, Trois, with Gary Dourdan, and the 2003 film Guilty By Association with Oscar winner Morgan Freeman. Additionally, Bryce co-founded CZAR Entertainment a management company, which manages artist such as The Game.
Effie Brown
Los Angeles based producer Effie T. Brown has produced critically acclaimed, awarding-winning feature projects, including Stranger Inside; Real Women Have Curves (winner of Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award and Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Performance); Everyday People and In the Cut. Brown received the Motorola Producer Award at the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards, and the 2003 Distinguished Young Alumni Award from Loyola Marymount University. She serves on the board of the FIND / Film Independent. Effie’s latest film Rocket Science won the Sundance 2007 Grand Jury Prize for Directing and is nominated for Best First Feature by the Independent Spirit Awards. She has several films slated for production this year, including Lighthouse currently in pre-production and Bury Me Standing by Caran Hartsfield with Alfre Woodard, Mos Def, and Kerry Washington set to star.
Doran Reed
Child actor A. Doran Reed appeared in various television commercials, including a 7-Up spot featuring a rookie NBA player by the name of Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson. Doran quickly developed a love for action behind the camera. He later landed production positions on such films as director F. Gary Gray’s debut feature “Friday,” Mario Van Peebles’ “Panther” and “Sunset Park.” Additionally, Doran worked three seasons on the hit TV series ‘Roc,’ as a stage manager. In 1996, Doran joined the Emmy award winning casting company, Robi Reed & Associates. There he became a Casting Associate working on films like Tupac Shakur’s “Gridlock’d,” critically acclaimed “Love Jones.” With a desire to direct, Doran was presented the opportunity to work with writer/director Kasi Lemmon’s of “Eve’s Bayou” In 1998 Doran continued with Robi Reed & Associates, helping to cast such projects as Takeshi Kitano’s, “Brother’, HBO’s “Don King: Only in America” and “A Lesson Before Dying,” TNT’s “Freedom Song,” Eddie Murphy’s “The PJ’s,” Universal’s “Undercover Brother” and Denzel Washington’s directorial debut, “Antwone Fisher.” Doran recently co-produced the indie feature “Flip the Script” starring Robin Givens and Miguel Nunez.
ABOUT BLACKFILM.COM
BlackFilm.com is an online resource which links the Black film community while cultivating national and international audiences interested in their work. This site provides a forum for filmmakers, scholars and organizations to present information and promote artistic expression. For more information about blackfilm.com visit: www.blackfilm.com.
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March 2008
FILMS
Date: March 25, 2008Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Admission: Free!!!
Film: Brick by Brick-A Civil Rights Story, Panel Discussion & and Refreshments will be available.
Location: The University of Houston-Honors College
212 MD Anderson Library, Houston, Texas 77004
Event Media Sponsors: The University of Houston Honors College, Songhai News, Literafeelya Magazine, Swamp Media, The Women’s Resource Center
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Literature-Writing
The Ninth National Black Writers Conference
- Friday, March 28, 2008 - Sunday, March 30, 2008
http://events.aalbc.com/the_9th_national_black_writers_conf.htm
The Ninth National Black Writers Conference: Black Writers: Reading and Writing to Transform Their Lives and the World will offer panel discussions, readings, workshops and conversations to focus on the ways in which black writers use literature to transform their lives and the larger global community.
Inspired in 1986 by the late John Oliver Killens, the National Black Writers Conference was convened to bring together writers, critics, book-sellers, book reviewers, and the general public to discuss issues affecting black writers. Since 1986 the National Black Writers Conferences at Medgar Evers College have attracted a wide range of writers and scholars from the African diaspora.
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