Film | MMXLII

Film

An Unconventional Hero Uses Comedy to Fight Hollywood Stereotypes

November 26, 2013·Business·by MMXLLI·59 views

We have been so bombarded with Middle Easterners as the bad guys that it’s time we start changing that trend.

A Middle Eastern hero starring in an American comedy film is no ordinary save-the-day tale.

In the Indiegogo-funded film Jimmy Vestvood, Amerikan Hero, comedian Maz Jobrani plays an Iranian hero named Jimmy, who hails from Westwood, Calif., known as the capital of the Iranian diaspora in the United States. (“Vestvood” pokes fun at the Iranian accent, which typically puts a “v” sound ahead of certain words starting with consonants.) Jimmy is no conventional hero, though; the private investigator with a burly mustache has a flair for solving Hitchcockian murder mysteries while hiding his adventures from his overprotective mother.

Jobrani, an Iranian, uses comedy in film and in his standup comedy routines to counter Hollywood’s stereotyping of Middle Easterners as “bad guys.”

The lack of enthusiasm and support for a film featuring a different kind of hero became apparent after rejections from various production companies. So Jobrani launched an Indiegogo campaign and raised just shy of half its $250,000 funding goal in its three-month duration.

“Indiegogo did help us get the word out about the project,” Jobrani told Mashable via email. “In the past, you needed a publicist to get you on the right radio and TV shows. That still exists, but social media has made it all a lot more grassroots.”

Although the campaign didn’t fully reach its funding goal, the film gained more exposure online and later raised funds from private investors at a final budget of $500,000. Other indie films gave garnered funds this way, and two Kickstarter-backed films even received Oscar nominations in 2013: Kings Point for Best Documentary (Short Subject) and Buzkashi Boys for Short Film (Live Action).

“I think this is the first comedic hero of Middle Eastern descent in an American film,” Jobrani said. “

We have been so bombarded with Middle Easterners as the bad guys that it’s time we start changing that trend. Most of the Middle Eastern people I know are good people. Jimmy Vestvood is just one small step in the right direction of humanizing an entire population.”

The film crew used social media to promote the film, posting updates from behind the scenes on Twitter, Instagram andFacebook, where Jobrani has more than 150,000 Likes.

[SOURCE]

In 2013, Is A Movie About Slavery Still Necessary?

October 18, 2013·Education·by MMXLLI·80 views

The year is 2013. The United States is 150 years past the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. We even have a Black president. Is another film about slavery still necessary? Absolutely, says journalist Lewis Beale.

Simply put, “A country that refuses to confront its past is a country in denial,” says Beale in his Op-Ed on why you should see the film “12 Years a Slave.”

Based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped in 1841 in Washington and sold into slavery in New Orleans, “12 Years a Slave” opens Friday (October 18) with an A-list cast–Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt. Directed by British director Steve McQueen, the film takes a brutally honest look at the racism and sheer brutality that defined the era.

“12 Years a Slave” is easily the most hard-hitting portrayal of slavery since the 1977 TV blockbuster “Roots.” It is the kind of film that many people will avoid, in part because of its depiction of everything from the surrealism of slave markets to whippings, rapes, hangings and the myriad ways in which slave owners terrorized and ruled over their property.

Watch the trailer for “12 Years a Slave”

Read the rest of Lewis Beale’s thoughts on “12 Years a Slave” at CNN

Lisa Russell on Global Health Advocacy [Countdown to 2042]

October 4, 2013·Education·by MMXLLI·107 views

On this episode of Countdown to 2042, filmmaker Lisa Russell talks to us about what the year 2042 means to her as well as how more artists can help affect global change. Lisa Russell is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker who uses the power of film to explore and challenge social injustices that affect our collective humanity. She is also a maternal health advocate and a Huffington Post contributor.

Learn more about her work at governessfilms.com

If you liked this video and want to see more like it, check out our YouTube page, where we have other great Countdown to 2042 videos with Casey Veggies and Adrian Younge.

Why Doesn’t Keanu Reeves Play More Hapas?

September 23, 2013·Film·by MMXLLI·287 views

Check out this trailer for a new Keanu Reeves vehicle, based (believe it or not) on an actual Japanese legend, and due out this coming December.

The movie may or, perhaps more likely, may not turn out to be good. What caught our attention about this trailer though, much more than the low-budget CGI or action film clichés, was that first line, when the man with the full-body tattoo asks for a “half-breed.” The half-breed is Keanu’s character, and given the feudal Japanese setting it’s an obvious assumption that he’s playing what might today be more politely referred to as a hapa.

Happily, this is not an instance of the common and uncomfortable practice of casting white actors as people of color, a modern phenomenon uncomfortably analogous to historic traditions like blackface and yellowface. Keanu Reeves really is a hapa – his father was of native Hawaiian and Chinese descent. There has been plenty of commentary decrying the tendency to give similar roles to white actors. For us, 47 Ronin raises a different question. Why is it so unusual for a hapa actor like Reeves to play a hapa character?

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MIXLY Roundup

August 30, 2013·Entertainment·by MMXLLI·117 views

50th Anniversary of the March on Washington

This week was, of course, the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Leaders from around the nation gathered in Washington to celebrate the progress we’ve made, as well as to note how far we have left to go before that dream becomes reality.

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MIXLY Giveaway! Wong Kar-wai’s “The Grandmaster”

August 14, 2013·Film·by MMXLLI·102 views

If you’re a fan of acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai, international superstar Tony Leung, or cultural icon Bruce Lee, you need to check out “The Grandmaster,” Wong Kar-wai’s new film, starring Tony Leung, and telling the story of Ip Man, the martial arts master who trained Bruce Lee. Even better, now you have the chance to check the new movie out for free! MIXLY is giving away three tickets to tomorrow’s 7:30 pm screening at Arclight Cinemas in Sherman Oaks. If you win, you’ll receive a ticket for yourself and a guest, not only to the exclusive screening but to a Q&A with Tony Leung as well.

To win all you have to do is tweet a memory of your own favorite mentor @MMXLII, using #TheGrandmaster. We’ll pick the three we think measure up best to the legend of Ip Man.

New Project, “TransParent,” Spurs Discussion About Violence Against Transgendered People

July 26, 2013·Film·by MMXLLI·232 views

Trailer for TransParent from Natasha Miller on Vimeo.

On October 23, 2011 transgender woman Shelley “Treasure” Hilliard was murdered in East Detroit. When her body was discovered, it had been burned and mutilated. The transgendered community, and their allies in Detroit and across the country, suspected a hate crime.

Weeks later, Detroit police arrested Qasim Raqib, a drug dealer Hilliard had bought from in the past. It was revealed that Raqib had been the target of a police sting in which Hilliard had acted as an informant. After posting bond, Raqib allegedly used a new disposable cell phone to lure Hilliard to a house on the 900 block of Longfellow. That was the night of the 23rd. Hilliard was not seen again after her cab dropped her off that night.

After the drug connection became apparent, many discounted the idea that Hilliard’s murder was a hate crime against transgendered people. Whether or not that’s accurate, the tragedy sparked an important conversation about violence against transgendered people, and especially transgendered people of color, in Detroit and around the country. In the year Shelley Hilliard was murdered, 40% of murders classified as hate crimes against the LGBTQH community involved a transgendered woman as the victim. A report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs revealed that LGBTQH people of color were more likely to suffer extreme violence, and that transgender people suffered more severe injuries when compared to other victims of hate crimes that year.

o LGBQH people of color were 3.13 times as likely to experience injuries as compared to overall survivors.

o Transgender people were 1.76 times as likely to require medical attention as compared to overall survivors and were 1.67 as likely to experience police violence.

o Transgender people of color were 2.38 times as likely to experience police violence and 1.85 as likely to experience discrimination.

Violence against transgendered people, and especially transgendered people of color, is a significant and serious issue, which is why we’re happy to hear that director and journalist dream hampton, along with filmmaker and producer Natasha “T” Miller, plan to shoot a documentary not only about Shelley Hilliard’s life, but about the issues facing the transgendered community in Detroit she was an active member of. We’re big fans of dream hampton here at MMXLII. We’ve always been impressed by her thoughtful reporting and filmmaking, which often combines an interest in social justice issues with the world of hip-hop, and we’re especially impressed by the thought she seems to have given this project, which she almost turned down for fear that a beneficiary of cis privilege such as herself making a film about a transgendered woman would amount to voyeurism. We’re equally impressed by Natacha Miller, whose work as an activist and performance poet lead to the award of the Detroit Kresge artist fellowship that made the film possible.

Their movie will be called “TransParent,” and is being funded largely through a Kickstarter campaign, which recently met its fundraising goal of $30,000. The Kickstarter will remain up for a few more days, until the end of July, and though they’ve reached their goal it’s certainly not too late to make a contribution. If you’re as impressed by the trailer above as we were, we encourage you to check out their page and consider helping out with this important and sure-to-be thought-provoking film.

Photo from Catch Fire.

“Dark Girls” Examines the Still-Taboo Topic of Colorism

June 17, 2013·Film·by MMXLLI·203 views

Take a look at this thought-provoking trailer for “Dark Girls,” a new documentary in which director Bill Dukes explores the still-taboo issue of colorism. The film reveals the discrimination, some of it subtle and some of it not, faced by women with darker skin, and examines how that discrimination can affect self-perception.

We have a 5-year-old child in our film who has four dolls in front of her and her fingers are as dark as mine and we say, what is the beautiful doll: the white doll; what is the smart doll: the white doll. What is the ugly doll: the black doll; what is the stupid doll: the black doll. She’s gotten that message from someplace and that’s what we are addressing. The audience gets the opportunity to really experience it from the lens of our cameras. They decide what the right answer is. We don’t presume that we know.

We found the trailer alone illuminating, and we’re excited to watch the full film. Dukes discusses what he learned working on the project in this interview with The Washington Post. Particularly significant is the revelation that colorism, often considered an issue most important to African American communities, is a phenomenon that affects women of color across the world.

And as we examined it, we discovered skin bleach cream is a multibillion-dollar business worldwide, in Asia, India, Africa and it goes on and on. This nation, too, the irony being that while black women are trying to become less ethnic and more white, white women are risking skin cancer and tanning booths twice a week, Botoxing their lips, getting butt lifts to look more ethnic and crinkling up their hair.

We’ve talked before about how the perception of physical beauty is susceptible to change over time, with new trends and looks coming in and out of style. Dukes’ movie reveals how much those trends can be influenced by prejudice. The pervasive reach of colorism, as suggested by the worldwide success of the skin bleach industry, is an example of the power Western standards of beauty still hold over much of the world. We think it’s an important topic to be aware of. When a prejudice is as pervasive as colorism, it can affect a person’s thinking in ways so subtle they’re easily missed, a problem Dukes discusses in his interview.

I think the deepest part is we learned our own prejudices and we learned our own indoctrinations. We learned where our own standards of beauty came from, what were our preferences and why were we making those decisions in terms of women.

Becoming aware of those prejudices and indoctrinations is the first step in combating them, which is why we’re encouraging all of our readers to check the film Sunday, June 23^rd of 2013, when it will be shown widely for the first time on Oprah’s OWN network. “Dark Girls” is the first in a planned three-part series: the second film, “Yellow Brick Road,” will examine the issues faced by lighter skinned women, while the third movie “What is a Man,” will switch things up with an exploration of issues of masculinity and male identity. Let us know what you think about the trailer. How has colorism affected your life? How has it affected your thinking?

Photo from So Let’s Talk About _______.

What does the future of Black cinema look like?

June 5, 2013·Film·by MMXLLI·162 views

According to the New York Times, this year is a break-through year for black films. “At least 10 new films will be released, including several awards contenders, from both independent and major distributors, like the Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight and Universal Pictures.”

Last year Hollywood’s principal companies released only one prominent film from a black director with a black cast, “Sparkle,” from Sony Pictures and the filmmaker Salim Akil, in the July-to-December stretch. (…) But a substantial new wave will arrive on July 3 with Lionsgate’s release of a documentary, “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain,” from two black directors, Leslie Small and Tim Story. Other films include “Fruitvale Station,” directed by Ryan Coogler, in July; “The Butler,” by Mr. Daniels, and Mr. Talbert’s “Baggage Claim,” in August; and “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas,” from Lionsgate, on Dec. 13.

Black filmmakers say the wave of 2013 releases was built in large part on the creativity that has flourished on the independent-film circuit, which has become a laboratory of sorts for more prominent African-American-themed productions.

Studio executives also say there is a growing audience with more multicultural tastes that gives these films a broader appeal. “There’s a genre audience out there, but it’s no longer quite so segregated,” said Stephen Gilula, a president of Fox Searchlight. African-American-themed films, when they do find mainstream distributors, are often playing at more theaters in more cities than in the past, Mr. Gilula said.

Not everyone is so optimistic however, Tambay A. Obeson from Shadow & Act – a site that covers any actuality linked to black cinema (from the US and abroad), calls this a ” once-every-decade occurrence, when more black films backed by studios (as well as a few indies) enter the marketplace. ” “As someone who’s on the front-lines, the view hasn’t changed all that much. One so-called “breakout year” is just that.”

The comments following his post are also interesting:

“Black Cinema is changing not because Hollywood decided to do the right thing but technology. (…) Hollywood knows the writing is on the wall of them shutting out black films or any films of people of color. They have no choice but to start being inclusive or they going to go out of business or they profit margin is going to take a sharp decline.”

There isn’t a shortage of black stories or subjects, but how fast will Hollywood embrace them, or will the change keep coming through a group of motivated individuals, like Ava Du Vernay – founder of the AFFRM distribution company, first black woman to win best director at Sundance-, Shonda Rhimes – one of the most influential persons in television- or Issa Rae – the maverick one-woman orchestra behind web series hit “Awkward Black Girl“?

Lucy Liu shows off her True Colors [photos]

May 16, 2013·Fashion·by MMXLLI·183 views

When we did our Perception of Beauty piece, we struggled to find famous Asian-American beauty types. Lucy Liu is the only one who would consistently come to people’s minds. Her long career is a testament to her remarquable talent, but it hasn’t been easy for her to get that recognition. In an exclusive interview with Net-A porter, she touches on breaking racial stereotypes, including from her own parents. Photographs by MARIANO VIVANCO (more after the jump).

“I wish people wouldn’t just see me as the Asian girl who beats everyone up, or the Asian girl with no emotion. People see Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock in a romantic comedy, but not me. You add race to it, and it became, ‘Well, she’s too Asian’, or, ‘She’s too American’. I kind of got pushed out of both categories. It’s a very strange place to be. You’re not Asian enough and then you’re not American enough, so it gets really frustrating.”

“I can’t say that there is no racism – there’s definitely something there that’s not easy, which makes [an acting career] much more difficult.”

[On playing Dr Watson in a new Sherlock Holmes] “It was a challenge,” admits Liu. “It’s so steeped in history, you want to keep that temperature, but acclimatise people to something new you’re shifting them towards.”