83rd Annual Academy Awards Winners

The Oscars have come and gone. The biggest complaint circulating the wire this year was the exclusion of African-Americans from the nominees. Actors like Anthony Mackie and Idris Elba say the black film communities are getting lazy and need to step up their game, pull the resources together and make more movies. I can agree with this and we also need to get in the theaters and support these movies also because it is a business and the monetary success of one leads to others receiving a green light.

As I take a look at the list, The King's Speech and Inception had the most wins followed by The Social Network. I was disappointed that Waste Land for best documentary and Black Swan for editing didn't win, but I have not seen the winning movies Inside Job and Social Network. Here is the list of winners:

Best Picture - The King's Speech
Actor in a Leading Role - Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Actor in a Supporting Role - Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Actress in a Leading Role - Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Actress in a Supporting Role - Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Animated Feature Film - Toy Story 3
Art Direction - Alice in Wonderland
Cinematography - Inception
Costume Design - Alice In Wonderland
Directing - The King's Speech
Documentary Feature - The Inside Job
Documentary Short Subject - Strangers No More
Film Editing - The Social Network
Foreign Language Film - In A Better World
Makeup - The Wolfman
Music (Original Score) - The Social Network
Music (Original Song) - Toy Story 3
Short Film (Animated) - The Lost Thing
Short Film (Live Action)  - God of Love
Sound Editing - Inception
Sound Mixing - Inception
Visual Effects - Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - The Social Network
Writing (Original Screenplay) - The King's Speech

Fifth Annual Texas Black Film Festival Begins

The Fifth Annual Texas Black Film Festival begins tomorrow running from Feb 23 - Feb 26 at the Studio Movie Grill in Dallas. This is a good film festival to meet and greet filmmakers and the only festival in Texas that caters to the African-American niche. Ya'ke Smith's Katrina's Son will screen on Wednesday and Thursday starting at 8:00 PM. Katrina's Son won the Jury Prize at the 2010 Austin Film Festival. Also playing, will be a feature film from the UK, Sus. This film is set in 1979 on election night and mostly takes place in a police interrogation room where a suspect is questioned after his pregnant wife is found dead. It will close the festival on Saturday.

To see the full list of official selections click here.

Here is a previous article about TBFF:
Texas Black Film Festival Accepting Submissions

Blacktino Trailer Released

It's finally here! The full trailer has been released for the dark teen comedy Blacktino. Sad, fat, black, latino, nerd. It doesn't get any worse than that reads the tagline. Blacktino is scheduled for a world premiere on the opening night of the SXSW Film Festival on March 11, 9:30 PM, at The Paramount Theater. The film stars Austin Marshall, Devyn Ray, Tiger Sheu, Denise Williamson, Bryan Jackson, Conrad Gonzalez, Timeca Seretti, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey, Selma Pinkard and Daryl Sabara.

This is Aaron Burns first directorial debut from a screenplay he also wrote. It's produced by Spy Kids and Sin City's Elizabeth Avellan. This movie was filmed in Austin and will premiere in Austin. It should be well received by the locals who can pass on the buzz to the thousands of attendees during SXSW.

Here is the synopsis:

Blacktino is a dark teen comedy about an overweight half-black, half-hispanic nerd named Stefan Daily. He was raised by his black grandmother in a medium sized suburb of Austin, TX. Struggling to find his place in a mostly white high school, Stefan finds sanctuary among the eclectic mix of social outcasts in the school's theatre department. In the tradition of the great teen comedies of the last thirty years Blacktino will ensure that the torch of teen angst continues to burn bright. 

Here are previous articles written on Blacktino:
Dark Teen Comedy 'Blacktino' Set For Production
Extras Needed For Funeral Scene in Blacktino