August 2 - 5, 2012 The 1st Annual BlackStar Film Festival

The 1st annual BlackStar Film Festival is the only event of its kind in Philadelphia-a celebration of cinema focused on work by and about people of African descent in a global context.BlackStar 2012 will feature narratives, documentaries, music videos, and experimental films highlighting the global black experience. The inaugural festival will take place August 2-5, 2012 at the African American Museum, Art Sanctuary, and International House, and feature work by Ava Duvernay, Byron Hurt, Nelson George, dream hampton, Pierre Bennu, Andrew Dosonmu, tiona.m., Jason Orr, and Nelson George, among many others.

Tickets are $8 General Admission, $5 Students/Seniors, $75 Festival Pass

There will be screenings of two Brazilian documentaries:

Chamber of Echos Dir. Raphael Xavier, Brazil, 45 min

Thursday, August 2nd, 5:30pm - African American Museum (701 Arch St.)

When an African-American Hip Hop dancer visits Brazil to teach his technique to a group of dancers from the Favelas of Rio, it becomes a history lesson all to familiar. Prejudice, discrimination and poverty are universal obstacles reflected in a powerful dance theater work.

Raphael Xavier will be present for Q&A after the screening!

Capoeira: Fly Away Beetle Cosmos Corbin & Ri Stewart, Brazil, 71 min

Friday August 3rd, 1:00pm - International House (3701 Chestnut St.)

Three world renowned masters tell of the blood and treachery of Capoeira in its early days after slavery. A young man gets off the ghetto streets of Salvador, Brazil, and redeems his life by teaching Capoeira to other troubled youth. In their stories, the surprising history and essential truth of Capoeira as a modern self-defense art form is revealed.