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by Jon Peters, special to LAist
This Saturday night, the Egyptian Theatre is presenting its annual African American Filmmakers Celebration, a collection of shorts curated by Hollywood Shorts, a local film outreach organization. This year features five selections, many of which have already racked up awards on the festival circuit.
This will be the event’s eighth year, and the second at the Egyptian in Hollywood. According to Kimberley Browning, founder of Hollywood Shorts and programmer for the event, the celebration aims to “showcase Black filmmakers who are doing fantastic work.” She is thrilled that with the help of the American Cinematheque the celebration has since moved out of micro-cinemas and to the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood; “To be able to show these works in such a great venue…is a tremendous opportunity.”
As for the shorts themselves, Browning gushes that “each filmmaker represented in this program is going to make important American cinema.” One of the highlights of the night promises to be Michael Johnson’s “Brothers Incorporated,” a period piece tackling Philadelphia’s Black Mafia during the 1960s. This was Johnson’s thesis film for the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Another stand-out will be Rashaad Ernesto Green’s “Choices,” which played at Sundance last year. Several of the directors will be on hand for what will surely be an enlightening post-show discussion. Come out this Saturday night so you can say you knew them when.
African American Filmmakers Short Film Celebration
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre
[Spielberg Theatre]
Tickets: $11
