The San Diego Black Film Festival is one the largest and well recognized black film festivals in the country. Their goal is to recognize African American movies and production. It started in 2003 in a hotel with only three films shown, and less than 100 people attended, but has grown in popularity every year.
People from all over southern California and even across the United States attend this festival every year and in the year 2010, famous musical artist, Jay-Z attended. By the year of 2011 15,000-30,000 attended the festival.
Their motto is “Spotlight on African American & African Diaspora Cinema.” We screen over 100 films each year: Comedy, Drama, Documentaries, Animation, GLBT, Horror, Religious, Foreign/African Diaspora, Shorts, Feature Films and music videos.
One of the selections for the San Diego Black Film Festival 2017 is Soul On Ice: Past, Present & Future. A film directed by Damon Kwame Mason retells the virtually unknown contributions of black athletes in ice hockey.
At the heart of the story is Jaden Lindo, a young man chasing after his lifelong dream to play in the NHL. The film follows Jaden in the most important year of his hockey life, mirroring the journey that many other black athletes have faced to make it to the NHL.
Ice hockey is not a popular sport among African Americans, so the community does not really know a lot history of the contributions that have been made or the African Americans that are currently playing in the NHL.
This movie really takes a in depth look how the face of hockey is changing. They interview former players, writers, and current players from the National Hockey League.
The San Diego Black Film Festival begins April 26, 2017 in San Diego, California. For more information please the website www.sdbff.com for ticket information. Also check out all the film submissions.
I you live in the area I encourage everyone to attend and support.
