Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng co-directed the film Invisible Beauty, which will be released in theaters on September 15th.
The Central Park Conservancy, in partnership with National Geographic, kicked off their 20th Annual Central Park Conservancy Film Festival on Tuesday, August 15th with a screening of National Geographic’s The Space Race.
A pre-screening reception took place across the street at Central Park’s premier restaurant, The Tavern Green, just right across the street where the screening would later take place in Sheep Meadow. Among the guests in attendance were directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, along with NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, who not only shared his insights and experiences in the film, but also served as one of the doc’s producers. Enjoying a selection of charcuterie and small bites, along with a pasta bar and a wine bar, guests mingled as a jazz band played in the back.
Attendees were then directed to head over to Sheep Meadow to a private viewing area to watch The Space Race on an inflatable screen. Each guest received a National Geographic swag bag with a waterproof blanket and a selection of sustainable and plant-based snacks to enjoy during the film.
The Space Race, which made its official premiere at the Tribeca Festival back in June, was an eye-opening deep-dive into the history of Black Americans in NASA, and the unjust barriers they had to overcome that, ultimately, prevented some trailblazers, such as Captain Ed Dwight, from taking part in our country’s earliest space missions. Yet, it came with much satisfaction to hear everyone cheer for Nichelle Nichols (who passed away in July of last year) as the film featured a PSA in which the Star Trek star spoke to everyone, including “minorities and women alike,” to apply to NASA. “Now is YOUR time,” she said, giving the brilliant minds she had already inspired as Lt. Nyota Uhura the push they needed to shoot for their dreams.
Thanks to a documentary like The Space Race, every Black astronaut who answered that call, and those who paved the way for them to find their place in NASA, now have their legacy cemented in the stars—where future astronauts can look up to them in awe.
Hubert Davis directed the documentary Black Ice, which will be exclusively released at AMC theaters on July 14th.
The 11th annual Annapolis Film Festival announced its award winners. Maryland Hall held the glamorous ceremony. Festival co-founders Lee Anderson and Patti White gave opening remarks. They spoke about the value of independent award shows and the importance of films. This film festival enticed diverse community members.
Hip Hop pioneer and Public Enemy founder Chuck D is helping to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop by joining with PBS and BBC Music for a docuseries called Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World. The four part docuseries examines not only the history of hip hop, but also how the music genre helped change the world.
The Knockturnal was recently on the scene of an early exclusive fan screening of “Camilo: Camilo: El Primer Tour de mi Vida | El Documental.” These early premieres occurred at the Rooftop Cinema Club Miami and Rooftop Cinema Club Los Angeles.
Camilo Echeverry, commonly referred to as Camilo, is a Colombian singer, musician, and songwriter. Camilo was born in Medellín, Colombia in 1994 and married Evaluna Montaner in 2020. Camilo’s nominations include a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance and more. The top singles he is known for are “Tutu”, alongside Pedro Capó and Shakira, and “Desconocidos”, with Mau y Ricky and Manuel Turizo. His music is generally categorized as Latin pop with a mix of urban music and is noted for his romantic lyrics and soprano voice. Camilo is currently signed to Sony Music Latin.
The Knockturnal was on the scene of the Miami screening. The night started off with cocktails, photo ops, and grabbing your favorite movie candy and freshly popped popcorn. The drinks were on theme with drink names such as “la tribu”, “mis manos” and “amar es nuestra revolucion.” My personal favorite was the “la tribu”, this cocktail was a tequila-based drink with passion fruit, lime, agave, and triple sec. La tribu was a refreshing and flavorful drink to have while enjoying the documentary. We also had to make sure we grabbed some of the sweet candy and fresh popcorn. After grabbing our goods we captured videos (reel on our IG) and pictures in front of the many great photo ops. There was a tent, car, and more places to capture content with the documentaries name on it.
Lastly, we all went into the rooftop movie theater and watched the documentary under the beautiful Miami stars. To keep up with the documentary make sure to follow the hashtag #CamiloHBOMax and follow @palantehbomax and @camilo.
Photo credit courtesy of HBO Max.
Pain, power, and purpose filled the evening for the premiere of the ‘Aftershock’ documentary in New York City.
On Monday December 13th, I attended an HBO Originals screening of Music Box: Juice WRLD series documentary. Hosted at Neuehouse Hollywood, the screening was followed by a Q&A with director Tommy Oliver hosted by Michael Ealy.
The documentary was an intimate look at the life of Juice WRLD as he navigated newfound fame and riches. His artistry was unmatched. Producer Benny Blanco is featured in the documentary and talks about Juice WRLD’s talent, which was unlike any other artists he had worked with before.
Writing his own songs, Juice WRLD was able to record music within minutes of hearing a beat in the studio. He was able to view lyrics in his head before saying them out loud. Truly a gift. His music touched on anxiety, mental health, and addiction. Oftentimes his music alluded to the overall pain and loneliness he was experiencing in his real life.
Music was an outlet for him to express his feelings and be vulnerable. For him, he was expressing his most difficult feelings. His fans saw him as a relatable figure who allowed them to feel seen when listening to his music.
The documentary highlights the ups and downs of his short yet extremely successful career. Director Tommy Oliver tells the life and story of Juice WRLD leading up to his passing. Throughout the documentary you can see his joy being surrounded by his girlfriend whom he loved dearly, his excitement to make music, and his true enjoyment to give and create art to his fans.
You can stream HBO Original Music Box: Juice WRLD documentary on HBO Max starting December 16th.
Spirits were high on the night of November 20th as HBO Max presented the screening of DMX’s documentary “Don’t Try To Understand” and the launch of Scene in Black.
Scene in Black is HBO Max’s home for creators, change-agents, taste-makers, doers and dreamers. Leveraging our rich history in amplifying Black stories and talent, this platform spotlights the visionaries amongst us, and collectively promotes and supports the telling of stories from the Black perspective.
The documentary covers Earl Simmons better known as DMX- as he transitioned from his last prison sentence back into the world of DMX.
Don’t Try To Understand- highlights Simmons instrumental role not only to his friends and family of the Yonkers community he was raised in but his impact on a global scale with his music both in the past and the present.
Highs and lows are instrumental in someone’s growth; DMX was no different. He was the first artist to debut an album at No. 1 five times in a row on the Billboard 200 charts. And yet, he still found himself incarcerated several times during the heights of his fame.
Cameras followed DMX as he went city to city performing his hits, greeting fans and also coming to terms with the path that he had to take to become the person who was DMX.
As pressure makes diamonds the documentary is a glimpse into the immense pressure that goes into being DMX- not just the artist but DMX the father.
The spirits remained high well after the screening, as performances from R&B sensation Asiahn and former Ruff Ryders superstar Jadakiss commemorated the memory of DMX.
Jadakiss went so far as reminding everyone in
attendance before he began performing that they were all in the building to celebrate the life and the memory of the late great DMX.
As the night came to an end, everyone in attendance was elated to be a part of such a momentous celebration for something so necessary.
Sabaya is a documentary produced by Hogir Hirori and Antonio Russo Merenda, and it is about the fight that two brave men, along with their colleagues and family, face when rescuing Yazidi women from ISIS in Syria.
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