songhaiNews...

Issue.4

Michelle Farris-Lewis comes from the inner city of South Park Houston, Texas. She is a graduate from Prairie View A&M University with a degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis on radio and television. She has worked in the industry as an intern for the Arsenio Hall Show and on the camera crew for Mike Jones: The American Dream film.

Since 2002, Lewis has worked on and completed her first film New Growth: The Natural Progression discusses, “the evolution of hair in the black community.” In her film, she uses black women with all types of hair from straight, to weave, relaxed, dreads on purpose, to get all types of opinions on natural hair.

There seems to be a conflict among black women with straight hair versus black women with natural hair. She informs us from the film that not everyone views there hair as a reflection of who they are.

Check out the film today it is very enlightening, refreshing, and will spark dialogue all day long with your girlfriends. Meet Michelle Farris-Lewis at The Black Indie Film Festival @ The University of Houston on October 21, 2007!

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Meet Greg Carter,

Filmmaker

by Songhai News

When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker? It was ten years ago when I first got my taste of stage acting while attending school at Texas A&M. I was hooked istantly. I found it fascinating that I could take someone else’s words, which were foreign and lifeless to me, until I read their script, and through my internalization, make them partly mine. I worked long and hard to develop and sharpen my craft, but in doing so, I slowly began to discover that my translations ofother playwrights’ works were simply not enough to fulfill me.

The ideas that you had about film in college were they fostered with help; or did you come up with everything on your own? Fortunately, I was able to study method acting, playwrighting and directing under Charles Gordone. Gordone, was the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize for playwrighting back in 1971. He started teaching at Texas A&M that fall semester.

What are your central themes in your movies? Strong Black men and women taking charge to better their lives and the ones they love. I’ve produced a total of 16 features and documentaries, and I’ve directed 9 of those.

How long did it take for you to film Waters Rising?
I shot a music video about 5 years ago in New Orleans for a group called “The YGs”. A year or so later, I did a comedy called “Treasure n tha Hood”, which was also shot there. At that time I had met the executive-producer, Shawn McElveen, who wanted to do a gritty urban film about the infamous Desire projects. I was in post on another film, “Resurrection: The J.R.Richard Story” when I got the script.

The initial idea was a little rough, but it followed the comings and goings of two small-time criminals and their desire to get out of the neighborhood to do better for themselves. One of the original writers on which the story was based was killed in a drive-by shooting. The script went through the hands of several writers over the next 9 months. But, once Hurricane Katrina hit, everything changed.

What do you want the audience to get from the film? I really felt, as we got into the filmmaking process, that the camaraderie on the set and the subject matter provided a therapeutic outlet for most of the Louisiana actors who were trying to adjust to their circumstances. I hope it would do the same for the viewing audience.

What is your role in Swamp Media; and how long have you been associated with them ? I’m currently on the board, but I started out back in 93′. I created a program called the Fifth Ward young filmmakers program where we taught underprivileged how to make their on

Where do you see Nexus Films in 2015?
I’d like to hope we’d still be on track doing a movie a year, with budgets ranging from 50-100 million per picture, but most importantly that we’d stay culturally relavant and still telling good stories.

View Greg Carter’s film: Waters Rising on October 21, 2007 @ The Indie Black Film Festival. He will host a free Filmmakers Workshop. Arrive at the event on time to ensure seating for the workshop. The workshops are free to the public.

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September 2007

Issue.3

Meet: N’Dambi !

By kYmberly Keeton, Editor N Chief

Soul is a word that connects with Black sistahs who can sing… and N’Dambi can sang= SOUL.FUL. While speaking to the sultry-soul singer via telephone, she says ecstatically that she’s been in the music game, “10 years now.”

In 1999, she released the highly anticipated “Little Lost Girls Blues”, received critical acclaim, sold 70,000 copies and created her own label Cheeky-I-Productions. Her sophomore project, “Tunin Up & Cosignin” debuted a short while thereafter… N’dambi then graced the cover of Vibe magazine and began touring nationally & internationally.

The unique talent says she left Dallas, Texas to move to the west coast because, “I did all I could do in Dallas per say; I needed to get out of my comfort zone. When you get comfortable, you get lazy. I believe the move to L.A. was a good choice for me.” Music needs a new direction.

Now with music sales and the defunct art-form going awry, she persists, “Every part of music derived by an original. I still feel there is room for everything. There is still room for peeps like me.” N’Dambi’s third gift to the masses will debut shortly, and she says of the new album, “It’s a surprise… [This album] stretches, pushes me to unexpected places.”

It is now time for you to order your soul-food at café.Music. Purchase something new on the menu like, “Hot Pearl C,” from N’dambi’s 1st-album. The track will do the soul some good. Soul is a word that connects with Black sistahs who can sing… and N’Dambi can sang= SOUL.FUL.

Listen to tracks by this artist at: www.myspace.com/ndambi