The Color of Conversation Film Festival

• Thursday, July 18th

6:30-8:00 – Opening reception – Sponsored by: Kettle One Vodka and Uncle Nearest

8:00-10:00 – Color of Conversation and screening of Emanuel followed by a Q&A with Julius Tennon of Juvee Productions ( Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s company)

Synopsis: On June 17, 2015, a white supremacist walks into a bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and guns down nine African Americans. This is the story of the victims and survivors of that night.

• Friday, July 19th

6:00-8:00 - Denver Spotlight Series: A celebration of local filmmakers.

Title: Her Turf: The Untold Story about Three Female Football Refs.
Director: Shantel Hansen
Synopsis: This short documentary follows three female football referees as they claim access to a powerful role in a male-dominated industry.
RT: 18 mins

Title: BLACKFACE: the story of nobody
Director: Cajardo Lindsey
Synopsis: A Black man in 1918 New York relegated to performing in blackface amazingly receives an opportunity to play William Shakespeare’s Hamlet on Broadway without blackface – and secretly struggles with whether he has what it takes.
RT: 6:31

Title: She Said She Loved Me
Director: Ali Jackson
Synopsis: (Spoken word poem made into a short film) A broken man is tortured by the love he lost.
RT: 6:27

Title: Everything I Whispered to Dorothy
Director: Fitzgerald
Synopsis: “Everything I Whispered…” is a meditation on ‘Black Love.’ It explores how the gaze, as well as images, language, and expressions we associate with love, change when situated within our cultural context.
RT: 6 mins

• Saturday, July 20th 

1:00-2:30 – Best in Shorts

Title: Influencers
Director: Raeshon Morris
Synopsis: An ambitious YouTuber must choose between her career goals, marriage and high risk pregnancy.
RT: 7 mins

Title: Moving On
Director: Nyasha Hatendi
Synopsis: The day of his Dad’s funeral Steve receive s a phone call. Harry’s Diner: 9pm…Apparently things aren’t as simple as they seem.
RT: 12 mins

Title: DisordHer
Director: Carlene Robinson
Synopsis: After the death of her mega pastor father, successful corporate attorney Dahlia White just wants to move on to bigger and better things.
RT: 15 mins

Title:  Engaged
Director:  David Scala
Synopsis:  ENGAGED is an LGBT comedic drama that follows Darren, who keeps trying – and failing – to propose to his boyfriend Elliot. 
RT:  17 mins

Title: A Happy Divorce
Director: Jamal Hodge
Synopsis: Intelligent, beautiful, defiant, Jenny has the courage to follow her desires to get what she wants, but at what price?
RT: 24 mins

3:00-5:00 – Centerpiece Screening 

Title: One Child Left Behind: The Untold Atlanta Cheating Scandal
Director: Jodi Gomes
Synopsis: In 2009, 1,176 Atlanta teachers were investigated for test cheating; 85 were indicted, 12 went to trial and 11 were found guilty on RICO charges, which are typically reserved for the mafia and drug lords.
RT: 90 mins
Followed by Q&A with director Jodi Gomes. Moderated by Atlanta Journal Constitution Race and Cultural reporter, Ernie Suggs.

6:00-7:30 – Best in Shorts 

Title: King Ester
Director: Dui Jarrod
Synopsis: Ester, a bold-living trans woman, must decide whether to stay or leave New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina approaches.
RT: 15 mins

Title: Zahra and the Oil Man
Director: Yucef Mayes
Synopsis: Zahra, the daughter of a street merchant, fights to save her father’s struggling business in a changing Newark.
RT: 20 mins

Title: It’s Snowing Outside
Director: Rayne Roberts
Synopsis: Abbie has just fallen in love with Corey, whose world is brand new to her. The night she discovers her father’s recent relapse from sobriety will shatter her dreams, she also discovers Corey has his own secret that will unravel everything she thinks she knows about love.
RT: 21 mins

Title: ASIA A
Director: Andrew Reid
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story. A recent spinal cord injury patient struggles to reconcile his sense of self-worth with his new reality as a paraplegic.
RT: 20 mins

Title: Con Alma
Director: Sam Henderson
Synopsis: Before the last the performance of his career, a celebrated jazz guitar has an unexpected visitor who will change his tune.
RT: 7 mins

Title: The Right Choice
Director: Tomisin Adepeju
Synopsis: With the help of The Adviser, a husband and wife must answer three seemingly harmless questions to create their perfect designer baby.
RT: 10 mins

8:00-9:30 – Color of Conversation and screening of Franks’s Place

With: Emmy-nominated actor, director and producer Tim Reid
Moderated by: Cultural Critic- Lisa Kennedy
Synopsis: Frank’s Place is an American comedy-drama series that aired on CBS for 22 episodes during the 1987-1988 television season. Set in New Orleans, Frank’s Place chronicles the life of Frank Parrish (Tim Reid), a well-to-do African-American professor at Brown University, an Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, who inherits a restaurant, Chez Louisiane. 

9:30 - Closing party immediately following