James Spooner WHITE LIES, BLACK SHEEP Stati Uniti / USA, 2007, 35mm, 84'
Dom 14 - h. 21.00, Parco - Piazza del Cannone (v.o.)
Produzione - Production: Afropunk films / SpoonMor productions
Produttore - Producer: Sam Harmon, Matthew Morgan, James Spooner
Sceneggiatura - Screenplay: James Spooner
Montaggio - Editing: James Spooner
Fotografia - Cinematography: Bradford Young
Sound Editor: Gabriel Cyr
Musica - Music: Branden Funkhouser, Ryan Grimes
Cast: Ayinde Howel, Jeremy Bobb, Elizabeth Garber, Shaneka k Wright
Distribuzione - Distribution: James Spooner, James@afropunk.com
Un musicista afroamericano sulla scena newyorkese, da sempre dominati dai bianchi.
C'è una lezione da imparare, e non si tratta solo di musica.
An African-American musician learns important life lessons of about race while hanging out in the predominantly white New York rock scene.
A.J.'s real name is Ajamu Talib. His dislike for his African name is the least of his problems, still it says a lot about him.
Brooklyn born and bred yet outcast by his peers, his only escape was music. A.J. found freedom in rock n roll. Tight clothes, straightened hair, popular with girls and partying every night, he is fully entrenched, in the debaucherous New York rock n roll scene. For once he feels like everyone else. Well almost.
He begins to find that his chosen community, the white rock world, only seems to run smoothly for white rockers. A series of events force him to recognize hisfriends both exotify him and are in denial of his blackness. Black, but not "really" black. What's a young black rocker to do?
"White Lies, Black Sheep" is one of those films where the locations and the city itself are as important as the story. Much like Taxi Driver, Wild Style, Downtown 81, or Kids, "White Lies" is sure to be used as a reference point, establishing for future generations just what New York was like, back in early second millennium.
Biografia - Biography:
James Spooner, originario di New York, si è trasferito di recente a Los Angeles. Il suo film precedente, il lungometraggio documentaristico Afro-Punk, ha partecipato a oltre 50 festival negli USA e all'estero, vincendo dei riconoscimenti. La realizzazione di Afro-Punk e in seguito di White Lies Black Sheep costituisce tutta la sua formazione cinematografica. I suoi "insegnanti" sono i celebri festival Toronto International Festival, Urban-world, ABFF e FESPACO. La sua "borsa di studio" è stato un finanziamento di produzione del fondo Rockerfeller RE: New Media. Variety, il New York Times e MTV hanno tutti segnalato lui e il suo lavoro.
Con questo tipo di esperienza a cosa servirà mai una scuola di cinema?
White Lies Black Sheep, il suo secondo lungo, inizia dove Afro-Punk si interrompe. In parte realtà, in parte finzione, White Lies vi lascerà con il dubbio di cosa rientri in una e cosa nell'altra. "È tutto reale" dice Spooner, "avevo bisogno di indagare nuovi modi di raccontare la nostra storia". James Spooner fa semplicemente questo: racconta "l'altra esperienza nera" come solo lui può.
Con decine di migliaia di trailer online, i suoi fan non vedono l'ora di godersi il film.
James Spooner, a native New Yorker, is a recent transplant to Los Angeles. His previous film, the award-winning feature documentary Afro-Punk, has screened at over 50 festivals in the U.S. and abroad. The development and execution of Afro-Punk and subsequently White Lies Black Sheep is all the film education he has. His "Professors" are the notable Toronto International, Urban-world, the ABFF and FESPACO film festivals. His "Scholarship" came in the form of a production grant from "RE: New Media - a Rockerfeller grant. Variety, The New York Times and MTV have all shined there spotlight on him and his work.
With credentials like this one might wonder why bother with film school?
White Lies Black Sheep, his sophomore feature starts where his first Afro-Punk leaves off. Part truth, part fiction, White Lies will leave you wondering which is which. "It's all the truth", Spooner says,"I needed to explore new ways of telling our story". James Spooner does just that, telling the "other black experience" in a way that only he can. With tens of thousands of trailer views online it is clear his cult following can hardly wait.
2003, Afropunk: The "Rock'n Roll Nigger" experience.
