Since its inception in 1974, the Newark Black Film Festival has become known among its peers as the longest running black film festival in the United States. Throughout the years, it has continued to provide a progressive public forum for hundreds of emerging writers, directors, producers, performers and film buffs who enjoy African American and African Diaspora cinema. Screening in the summer months, the films that are shown reflect the full diversity of the black experience in America, both past and present. Each film selection encompasses a wide range of cinematic forms and formulas, from documentary to the avant-garde.
The Festival is free of charge to the public and receives funding in the form of special grants from foundations and corporations. The 2009 Festival season is made possible by a grant from Bank of America. It is administered by the Newark Museum and planned by a Selection Committee, which includes such notables as screenwriter and playwright Richard Wesley, who wrote the screenplays for "Let's Do It Again", "Uptown Saturday Night","Native Son","Deacons for Defense" and "Mandela & DeKlerk". Other Committee members, to name of few, include Jeff Friday, CEO and Co-founder of Film Life's American Black Film Festival, and Dr. Clement A. Price, noted historian, author and educator to name a few.
Festival Participants 1974-2009
| Anthony Abulu |
Lisa France |
Jess Mowry
|
| John Amos |
Al Freeman, Jr. |
James Mtume
|
| Amiri Baraka |
Marcus Garvey, Jr. |
Dr. James Mutambirwa
|
| Ras Baraka |
Danny Glover |
Mweze Ngangura
|
| Keith Beauchamp |
Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby-Grant |
Gil Noble
|
| Camille Billops |
William Greaves |
Dr. Velile Notshulwana-Mqota
|
| Donald Bogle |
Sam Greenlee |
Euzhan Palcy
|
| Coach Herman Boone |
Pam Grier |
Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Trenton
|
Pearl Bowser
|
Lisa Gay Hamilton |
Gordon Parks
|
| Charles B. Brack |
Thomas Hart |
Kae Thompson Payne
|
Cesar Braga-Pinto
|
Isaac Hayes |
William Payne
|
| Carl Brashear |
Chester Higgins, Jr. |
Brock Peters
|
Jim Brown
|
Tracey Higgins |
Miriam Petty, Ph.D.
|
Prof. Marcia Wilson Brown
|
Rainette Holomon |
Bob Pickett
|
N.L. Akili Buchanan
|
Reggie Hudlin |
Dr. Clement Alexander Price
|
Charles Burnet
|
Warrington Hudlin |
Sheryl Lee Ralph
|
| Rev. Gilbert Caldwell |
Byron Hurt |
Jules Ramsey
|
| Richard Cammarieri |
Mayor Sharpe James, Newark |
Paul Robeson, Jr.
|
Roy Capanella, Jr.
|
Barry Jenkins |
Jeppe Ronde
|
Sonny Carson
|
James Earl Jones |
Noliwe Rooks
|
| Pete Chatmon |
Skip Kelly |
Zina Saro-Wiwa
|
| Benjamin Chavis |
Dr. Akil Kokayi Khalfani |
John Sayles
|
| Ayoka Chenzira |
Jerry LaMothe |
Sham |
| Kathleen Collins |
Eriq LaSalle |
Darien Sills-Evans |
| Fatoumata Coulibaly |
Malcolm D. Lee |
Bob Slade |
| Julie Dash |
Robinne Lee |
Percy Sutton |
| David Davidson |
Spike Lee |
Tobias Truvillion |
| Bridget Davis |
Abbey Lincoln |
Dr. Yvonne Thornton |
| Roy Decarava |
Laura Lomas
|
James Van Der Zee |
| Ira Deutchman |
Shola Lynch
|
Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker |
| Ernest R. Dickerson |
Paula J. Massood
|
Junius Williams |
| Jane Dowell-Barton |
Matthew Miele
|
Giles R. Wright |
| Amber Edwards |
Winthrop McGriff
|
|
| Hafiz Farid |
Darnell Moore
|
|
| Chris Fetchko |
Luis Moro
|
|
| Kim Fields |
Joe Morton
|
|
Newark Black Film Festival Selection Committee
N.L. Akili Buchanan
Director/Producer/
Documentary Filmmaker
Gloria Hopkins Buck, LCSW
Public Relations Consultant/
NBFF Chairperson
Anthony G. Clark
Coordinator of Library Programs
The Newark Public Library
Patricia Faison
Marketing Associate and
NBFF Coordinator
Newark Museum
Karen A. Flinn
Asst. Curator of Archaeology/
Ethnology
New Jersey State Museum
Jeff Friday
President
The Film Life, Inc.
Wilma J. Grey
Director
Newark Public Library
LeRoy Henderson
Visual Artist/Photographer/Arts Educator
Theodore T. Johnson, Ph.D.
Vice President, Human Resources
New Jersey Institute of Technology
|
Tynesha McHarris
Director of SNLP-Newark Institute
Lisa Payne
Filmmaker
Miriam Petty, Ph.D.
Asst. Prof., Dept. of Arts, Culture and Media
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey/Newark
Clement Alexander Price, Ph.D.
Professor of History and Director
of the Rutgers Institute on Ethnicity,
Culture, and the Modern Experience
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey/Newark
Mary Sue Sweeney Price
Director
Newark Museum
Eric Pryor
Executive Director
New Jersey State Museum
Jane Rappaport
Former NBFF Festival Coordinator
Ralph R. Waller
Manager of Housing Production
Newark Housing Authority
Richard Wesley
Screenwriter/Playwright
|
Majahid C. Ali
Flora B. Baldwin
John Gregory Clemons
Oliver Franklin
Gustav Henningburg
|
