what they're saying about ella...
montreal haitian film festival review
superblackwomyn
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The third year of the Montreal Haitian Film Festival is in mid swing but it's not too late to view some of the finer films. This year there are multiple documentaries dedicated to the story of Haitian workers in the sugar industry. In fact one of the films, "The Price of Sugar", directed by Paul Haney is narrated by screen legend Paul Newman. Canada is well represented as director Brian McKenna also directs a documentary based on the subject entitled "Big Sugar" which is more about the history of the industry itself.
But not all the films are about the subject. "Failing Haiti" by Rod Paul is about the American supported coup in 2004 against then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. There will also be a tribute to well known Haitian actor Francois Latour who was murdered last year. The one that peaks my interest the most is by American director Ella Turenne. "Woodshed" is a semi-silent film where music and art do all the communicating. "Amours, mensonges et consequences; Vers le sud" is a film starring great British actress Charlotte Rampling with a story that partially takes place in Montreal.
Full schedule can be found here and most films are in French or Creole with English subtitles.
Picture from: Filmmakers Library
Some '07 Apprearances!
Art or Die :: October 07!!!
Blackout 10th Anniversary!
Wednesday, Ocotber 31, 2007
7:00pm - 9:00 pm
Nuyorican Poets Cafe
236 East 3rd Street
*
New York University
Gallatin Writers in Progress
November 8, 2007
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Featuring
Bob Seidman
and
Ella Turenne
*
Reel Sisters Film Festival
NY Premiere of woodshed
September 30, 2007
12:30 pm
Long Island University Performing Arts Center
Brooklyn, NY
(PS - That's Jessica Nyel Willis on the homepage!!)
*
International Haitian Film Festival of Montreal
woodshed's international premiere!
Nominated for best short film.
*
Roxbury Film Festival
August 1-5, 2007
Boston, MA
*
Hollywood Black Film Festival for the world premiere of woodshed! June 9, 2007.
*
Celebrate National Poetry Month with Cave Canem
April 18, 2007
Cave Canem New York Workshop Poets
at McNally Robinson Booksellers
52 Prince Street
New York, New York 10012
7pm, FREE
Reading by Monica A. Hand, Edward Toney and Ella Turenne, three Cave Canem workshop participants.
from a great friend, john k!
http://jstheater.blogspot.com/2007/06/ramblings-ella-turennes-woodshed.html
Ramblings + Ella Turenne's Woodshed + Toussaint + Elections Have Consequences
Blogging, slogging. Summer's bearish days haven't arrived yet, and every sentence already requires a battery charge. Well, every sentence I type on this blog. The quarter ends this week, and then I and the rest of the faculty will be bidding a number of undergraduates and graduate students farewell and best wishes on their futures. I'll save my congratulations for next week, but as with every year, I will be sad to see so many of the students depart, though I am always excited about the various paths they take or find themselves on once they leave the academic groves.
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From former students to former colleagues: one of my friends and former colleagues, the multitalented Ella Turenne, will be premiering her first film, Woodshed, at the Hollywood Black Film Festival. She was discussing making films back when we worked side by side about seven years ago, and has been working on this film with several of her close friends for five years. (I still walk around in the Soulfinite T-shirts she created back then.) Now it's done and will finally hit the big screen. Ella is one of those people who makes things happen; when I met her she was painting, writing and performing her poetry with the Blackout Collective, thinking about acting, and contemplating graduate school. She has since completed one grad degree, appeared in a play in NYC, and published a commemorative anthology in 2004 to mark the 200th anniversary of Haiti's independence (she's Haitian-American). Somehow, amidst all of these activities, she managed to complete her film, and when she's not teaching, she runs a program at a New York-area university. As one of my good friends always says, "amazing!" Congratulations, Ella, and I hope to catch the film as it makes its way around the country. If you are in Los Angeles this weekend, however, you'll be able to catch its debut.
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Ella and I discussed the recent news that Danny Glover had received $18 million from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to make a film about Toussaint L'Ouverture. The news of Chávez's support impressed me, because a L'Ouverture film--and feature films in general about the Haitian Revolution--is long overdue, and independent Haiti provided Simon Bolívar, Chávez's avatar, with some of the resources he needed to liberate Gran Colombia. I told Ella that I'd checked out the film's IMDb.com page, and was surprised to see there did not appear to be many Haitians or Haitian-Americans involved with the film. Neither of the film's writers appear to be Haitian or Haitian-American, and none of the high-profile (and highly talented) Hollywood actors, like Don Cheadle, Angela Bassett, Mos Def, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, who are "rumored" to be in the film, are either. I also heard that it will not be filmed in Haiti or the neighboring Dominican Republic, but in Venezuela. I understand the problems of filming in Haiti (or DR, for that matter, where many, many Haitians live), but just think of the jobs (even temporary) that such a production would provide. But then again, who knows how things might turn out. There are many notable scholars of the Haitian Revolution (including several colleagues of mine), as well as Haitian and Haitian-American actors, writers, musicians, and so forth, so I hope some (many) of them will be part of this film as it develops.
hollywood here i come!
well, it's official...woodshed has been accepted into the hollywood black film festival!
i've been working on this film for about 5 or 6 years. i can't believe it's actiually done. this is such an amazing testiment to the work that so many people put in to make this work. jason, tureka, karamuu, jessica, pat, sanley, obed, ali, rachel and patricia, althea. you all are angels.
why did we decide to do woodshed? jason and i were auditioning and were frustrated about the roles that were available for actors of color. we thought to ourselves, we HAVE TO do our own thing. in comes tureka with this amazing script. something told me i just had to do it. its been a very bumpy ride, but all worth it. stay tuned for more!