7th Annual Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival

NOTE: THIS FILM SCREENING IS IN AKRON OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

Tough, but diva fabulous, Leo, an aspiring drag superstar, is stuck working in a fish cannery in Alaska. He and his twin sister are trapped in the monotony of fist fights and fish guts. Out of necessity, Leo learned to fight back, which catches the attention of the local boxing coach. When a new boy moves to town and wants to be his sparring partner, Leo has to face the real reason he's stuck in Alaska. 

NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

Father Divine was born in poverty, the son of emancipated slaves. At his peak, he was one of America’s most controversial religious leaders. He preached that he himself was an incarnation of God, and that by following his rules of purity and celibacy, you can live forever in “heaven on earth.” His movement, dedicated to integration and communal living, was an innovator in desegregating neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and the ballot box in the 1930’s and 40’s, through his radical program of empowerment. He commanded hundreds of properties and businesses, all funded by the work of his thousands of followers. But scandal, suspicion, and racism lead to clashes with the law. Though he was once a celebrity, and was decades ahead of his time fighting for civil rights, he has largely been written out of history because of the audacity of his religious claims, and doubt about his motives.

Today, Father’s few remaining followers live as a communal family on a magnificent estate outside Philadelphia. As time and mortality confront the followers, they struggle to preserve Father’s legacy. Through unprecedented access to this unique and reclusive community, the film explores the line between faith and fanaticism, between a religion and a cult. Father’s revolutionary ideas on race and identity still resonate today.

NOTE; THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

When young Abraham gets arrested for a petty crime he raises his status in prison by captivating the hardened gangsters with his knack for telling stories. He becomes the "prison cinema" whilst his childhood friend becomes the concubine of a gang boss. On their release from jail 'AB' finds romance with his childhood sweetheart and starts a new path in life as a writer but his friends rope him into a murder for which they all face the hang-man's noose. Set in Cape Town, South Africa in the 1960s. The film is based on the life story of the scriptwriter Mr. John W. Fredericks

NOTE: THIS FILM SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at  THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

A thrilling look at the lives of two teenage best friends from Montreal who become entangled with the mob after a car they stole is involved in a fatal accident.

NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OH at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

After his son is denied enrollment by the local elementary school for not identifying his “primary race,” a multiracial father journeys through America’s maze of Identity Politics to better understand our relentless preoccupation with race.

NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

Paulo Gale is a black Brazilian man, a typical “day-by-day survivor”, always doing his best to bring some happiness in his life, and by happiness he means money. When finding himself a dead end, he discovers the opportunity to become a football manager by leading some boy from the neighborhood to becoming the new Neymar of international soccer. Going through the suburbs of Rio, he finds Glanderson, a young boy with an enormous talent for soccer given the absence of two toes in his right foot. With good humor, high hopes, and a lot of missteps the quixotic duo tries their best to get to their dream to come true. 

Commercial artist Neal Stewart takes an animation class with a mysterious professor that connects him to the ancient Griots of West Africa and the power to draw the future. When his girlfriend commits suicide, he learns he can erase the past with chilling consequences.

Directed by: Logan Hall and Julian Jones | Produced by: Roberta Jones | Written by: Roberta Jones | Starring: Levenix Riddle, McKenzie Chinn, Phillip Edward Van Lear, Anita Chandwaney, Geno Walker

 NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA
A Swazi girl embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. This animated African tale is born in the imaginations of five orphaned children in Swaziland who collaborate to tell a story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character’s journey is interwoven with poetic and observational documentary scenes to create a genre-defying celebration of collective storytelling. Awards: Grand Jury Award Best Documentary - LA Film Festival; Jury Award for Artistic Bravery - Durban International Film Festival

NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

Set in the capital of Ghana, the film captures the relationship between a happy couple, Nii and Afua, as they navigate the anxiety of their upcoming nuptials and question what it takes to ensure a long and happy marriage. The story reflects a modern-day African love story that can be universally understood by millennials around the world.

NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

“Who IS the foreigner?” So asked Toni Morrison at “The Foreigner’s Home,” her 2006 exhibition at the Louvre. Morrison invited artists whose work addressed the experience of migration and displacement to join her in conversation about issues she had long examined in her own writing and teaching. Through extensive archival footage, music, and animation, this film expands that conversation. Neither biography nor traditional documentary, it is instead a provocative and timely meditation on some of humanity’s oldest divisions, exploring Morrison’s artistic and intellectual vision through a series of candid and incisive exchanges about race, identity, “foreignness,” and art’s redemptive power. 

NOTE: THIS FILM SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at The Nightlight Theater

Two rival record collectors attempt to con an old lady out of a rare but cursed 1930s blues record. When a series of unfortunate circumstances lands them in jail, the feud festers for over 20 years until they are released from prison and get a second chance at snagging the vinyl – this time from a more formidable foe..

NOTE: THIS SCREENING IS IN AKRON, OHIO at THE NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA

After a kidney transplant, Jake Warren experiences reoccurring nightmares he believes to be visions of his donor's violent murder, sending him on a dark path of deranged vengeance, leading to an unbearable truth.