NEW DOCUMENTARY BLACK AS U R a micheal rice film   NEW YORK CITY PREMIERE AT NEWFEST FILM FESTIVAL   SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022

 

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

 

Media Contact:

Jesse P. Cutler

JP Cutler Media

925.253.3163

jesse@jpcutlermedia.com

 

NEW DOCUMENTARY BLACK AS U R a micheal rice film

 

NEW YORK CITY PREMIERE AT NEWFEST FILM FESTIVAL

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2022 

 

A Poignant Documentary Uncovering Queer and Trans-phobia 

In Black & Brown Communities

SCORES MULTIPLE AWARDS IN SUMMER SCREENINGS

(Full List Below)

 

BLACK AS U R Screens at 20+ Film Festivals in SUMMER/FALL 2022

 

NEW YORK, NY — Monday, October 3, 2022 — BLACK AS U R, directed by Micheal Rice, a first in the independent documentary segment dedicating a feature length film to the misunderstandings of Black queerness and the Trans experience, is making its New York Premiere at the NewFest Film Festival on Saturday, October 22 at School of Visual Arts Theater at 6:15pm. A Q&A talkback session featuring the director and cast members will take place immediately following (LINK).

 

Over the summer, BLACK AS U R was honored at Frameline46 in San Francisco with the “Out in the Silence” award spotlighting the film for its “brave acts of visibility.” It was featured at the American Black Film Festival in Miami as an “Official Selection” in the feature documentary category and at the Black Alphabet Film Festival in Cincinnati with a special talkback session. BLACK AS U R won “Outstanding Documentary Feature” and the “Panavision Award: Outstanding Feature” at the Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles. 

 

BLACK AS U R is directed by Micheal Rice and is his second documentary following his debut, parTy boi: black diamonds in ice castles (“Best Documentary” — Pan African Film Festival 2020). The film continues Rice’s deep dive into the often over-looked and misrepresented narratives of the LGBTQIA experience. 

 

“I wanted my new documentary to face the realities of queer-phobia from within black and brown urban communities,” said Micheal Rice. “The film speaks to the understanding of intersectionality, affirming same gender loving people and the fight for equality. It’s also the first documentary that covers the story of Dominque Remmie Fells, a Black transwoman whose vicious murder helped reignite the Black Trans Lives Matter movement in 2020.”

 

BLACK AS U R unveils the stark homophobia characterizing many Black spaces, both contemporary and autobiographical, via a look into the director’s own upbringing in the southern United States. The film brings to the forefront the all-too-often silenced conversation within the Black community for generations — Black queerness and transgender identity. BLACK AS U R explores topics that have catalyzed mental and physical violence against a subset of the Black community who have largely been the leaders in cultural expansion and the fight against racial injustice in America. 

 

The award-winning production team behind BLACK AS U R includes Writer/Director, Micheal Rice; Executive Producer, Gerald Oxford; Producer, Edward Radford; Director of Photography, Holly Fischer; Editor, George Gordon and Photographer, Yinka Paris. 

 

The film includes several locations across New York City, Queens, and Brooklyn. 

 

Micheal Rice is available for interviews upon request.

 

NewFest Film Festival / New York City / October 22 / SVA Theater (6:30pm)

 

THE TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuydLO4Xsy4

 

BLACK AS U R: https://www.blackasur.com/

 

BLACK AS U R ASSETS + PRESS CLIPS 

https://bit.ly/3RxPCx9

 

ABOUT MICHEAL RICE

Micheal Rice is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, choreographer and creative director for stage and film. Rice has over ten years of experience working across multiple platforms from television to regional theatre. His debut documentary — parTy boi: black diamonds in ice castles — opened dialogue among urban LGBTQ communities of color about substance abuse and HIV infection — and was awarded Best Documentary at the prestigious Pan-African Film Festival in 2020. 

 

SOCIALS

Instagram: @blackasurdocumentary // @micheal_rice

Facebook: www.facebook.com/blackasurdocumentary

 

ABOUT THE NEWFEST FILM FESTIVAL

Founded in 1988 in direct response to the AIDS crisis, The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival has been a tentpole of NYC’s queer cultural scene. In the subsequent years, NewFest has expanded into a film and media organization with year-long programs to serve all facets of the LGBTQ+ community.

 

https://newfest.org

BLACK AS U R — AWARDS

 

-Out in Silence Award: Frameline46

-Best Feature Film: Columbus Black International Film Festival

-Official Selection: American Black Film Festival

-Official Selection: OUFEST Fusion Film Festival

-Won Outstanding Documentary Feature: Micheaux Film Festival 

-Won Panavision Award: Outstanding Feature: Micheaux Film Festival

-Queer Black Voices Mentor Award: aGliff Festival

 

BLACK AS U R — FESTIVALS

 

-Massimadi Montréal Festival des films et des arts LGBTQ Afro (Montreal, Canada) FEB 11, 2022

-OUTFEST Fusion Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) APRIL 9, 2022

-Pan African Film & Arts Festival (Los Angeles, CA) APRIL 19 – MAY 1, 2022

-Columbus Black International Film Festival (Columbus, OH) MAY 21, 2022

-Black Alphabet Film Festival (Cincinnati, OH) JUNE 16, 2022

-American Black Film Festival (Miami, OH) JUNE 18, 2022

-Frameline46 Film Festival (San Francisco, CA) JUNE 19, 2022

-AGIFF Film Festival (Toronto, Canada) JUNE 29 – JULY 3, 2022

-Micheaux Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA) JULY 16, 2022

-Vancouver Queer Film Festival (Vancouver, Canada) AUG 11 – 21, 2022 

-aGLIFF /PRISM Film Festival (Austin, TX) AUG 26, 2022

-Black Alphabet Film Festival (Chicago, IL) SEPT 10, 2022 

-Montreal Black International Film Festival (Montreal, Canada) SEPT 20 – 25, 2022 

-Queer Lisbon26 Film Festival (Lisbon, Portugal) SEPT 22, 2022

-London Fringe Queer Film Festival (London, U.K.) SEPT 24, 2022

-Out on Film Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival (Atlanta, GA) SEPT 25, 2022

-Silicon Valley Queer Film Festival (San Jose, CA) OCT 13 – 15, 2022

-NewFest NYC Film Festival (New York, NY) OCT 14 – 21, 2022

-Perlen – Queer Film Festival (Hanover, Germany) OCT 21 – 29, 2022

-Mix Copenhagen Film Festival (Copenhagen, Denmark) OCT 21 – 30, 2022

-Teaneck Film Festival (Teaneck, NJ) NOV 13 – 20, 2022

-Melbourne Queer Film Festival (Melbourne, Australia) NOV 18 – 29, 2022

-QDoc Film Festival (Portland, OR) NOV 11 -13, 2022 

 

PUBLICITY CONTACTS / BLACK AS U R

 

Firefly Media

Penny Guyon, 323-874-0772, penny@firefly-media.net

 

JP Cutler Media

Jesse P. Cutler, 925-253-3163, jesse@jpcutlermedia.com

 

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