Aaron Woolfolk: Director/Writer
After working in rural Japan as a junior high school English teacher, Aaron returned to the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker.  He attended the graduate film program at Columbia University, where he received his M.F.A. in film with an emphasis on Directing.  Aaron was born and raised in Oakland, California.  He graduated with degrees in both Ethnic Studies and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley.

Eki (The Station) – 15 Min.

Culture and communication collide when an African American man waits at a train station in Japan. |Made entirely in Japan, as a lead up to Aaron’s feature film based on the same story line, The Harimaya Bridge.

Adetoro Makinde – Writer / Director
Adetoro is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. She began her career as an actress.  The year 2007 also marked the debut of her feature screenplay, "The American Can", which made it to the final rounds at the Sundance Institute, 2007 Screenwriter’s Lab.  Her honors include being selected by Kodak, to participate in an emerging filmmaker program at the Sundance Film Festival. In addition, she was selected as a Fellow to the Film Independent Project:Involve program on the Producer track. Makinde is also a recipient of a New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and Blackfilm.com/BMW Filmmaker Grant.

It Takes A Village… – 7 Min.

Culture and communication collide when an African American man waits at a train station in Japan. |Made entirely in Japan, as a lead up to Aaron’s feature film based on the same story line, The Harimaya Bridge.

Dennis Dortch – Writer/Director
For the record: Dennis Dortch coined the title for his debut feature A Good Day to be Black and Sexy in 1999. To Dortch, ‘Black and Sexy’ is the zeitgeist that channeled racial pride, rare grooves, and socio-political zeal into the lives of Black folks. The nomenclature turns the 60s term ‘Black is Beautiful’ on it’s ear. Dortch’s first glimpse of black beauty was his mother - blouse full of bosom, thick thighs and hips, wrapped up around a tiny waist.  The Bohemian culture/Philly Sound movement coming out of the city in the 1970s tainted Dortch’s young mind with images of Black Love mixed with socio-political messages, making the haughty Black self-love that seeps into every frame of a Dennis Dortch ‘s ‘1976 Black Cinematic’ experience.

Reprise – 15 Min.

A segment from the soon to be release feature film… A GOOD DAY TO BE BLACK AND SEXY. A mixed tape of deftly arranged vignettes on Black Love, Sex, and Reciprocity.  What you hear may be unrecognizable at first... Neo-realistic intimacy between black people found in rare grooves previously drowned out by the sounds of modern hook-ups and bougie preoccupations, a cacophony of mass-produced beats created with drum machine loops and software. A Good Day to be Black and Sexy is that dusty LP you find in the crates. But as soon as you put the needle to wax, all the forgotten lyrics return to your lips in this dreamy love sonnet to the beautiful and chocolate coated.

Jennifer Sharp – Director

I’m Through with White Girls

Jennifer’s feature film debut, “I’m Through With White Girls”, won numerous awards including: best US Feature at American Black Film Festival, best narrative feature at the Hollywood Black Film Festival, and best director at Reel Sisters Film Festival. It received distribution through Image Entertainment and is now available on DVD. Her critically acclaimed short film, “Boxed”, received a 5 star review from Filmthreat, and her feature film script,  “Native Honkeys” won the grand prize for best screenplay at the 2007 IFP Market.  She earned her BFA from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.

The Rhyming Zoo

Brett Portanova & Eric Poydar – Co-Writers & Co-Directors
Boston’s newest filmmaking dream team. The talented twosome first met as production assistants on the set of David Mamet’s State and Main. Shortly after that stint they began writing together, eventually scoring major props for their script 4Vienna, a finalist at the Los Angeles–based Scriptapalooza screenwriting contest.  In 2005, Portanova and Poydar formed Bootleg Productions LLC and started working on their second venture: Larry (the actor), a “mofaux documentary,”

Larry (the Actor) - 30 Min.

A faux documentary about a 30-year acting veteran who just left what may have been his very last audition. If he doesn’t get the part, he’s quitting Tinseltown for good.The filmfocuses on an acting veteran named Larry (played by the recently deceased Lionel Mark Smith) who reminisces about life as a black actor.