Community

The 2nd Annual San Antonio Black International Film Festival (SABIFF) Presents Diverse and Engaging Virtual Events

Published

3 years ago

October 2, 2020

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The San Antonio Black International Film Festival presents SABIFF 2020, its second annual festival beginning October 1st through the 4th on sabiff.tv, their virtual platform, built by SuperLiveStreams.com. Last year SABIFF presented a 4-day inaugural film festival to San Antonians at prime venues on the Eastside, Downtown, and on the Riverwalk’s La Villita Arneson Theater. This year, due to COVID- 19 restrictions on venues and audience limits, the film festival has elected to go virtual keeping previous venues intact online. Daily schedules and offerings which include: films in competition, screenings, panel discussions, and workshops, that range from donation to fifteen dollars. Schedules can be found at both sabiff.com and sabiff.tv websites, and will be simulcast on multiple social media outlets during the festival run.

“Presenting SABIFF online allows SABIFF the opportunity to attract and present their events to a larger audience base, and we have lots in store,” commented Ada M. Babino, the festival’s Founder and Director. SABIFF 2020’s virtual opening night gala will be co-hosted by the Carver Community Cultural Center, a performing arts jewel on San Antonio’s Eastside. SABIFF proudly commemorates the 30-year anniversary of the classic film To Sleep With Anger starring Danny Glover. Veteran Director, Charles Burnett will be presented with SABIFF’s first annual Ankh (life) Achievement Award. Following the film’s watch party, will be a TSWA reunion with cast members discussion and reflections from this 1990 movie classic. Invited renowned cast members include: Dany Glover, Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha and The Mighty Quinn), Mary Alice (Sparkle A Different World), Carl Lumbly (Dr. Sleep, The Chi), and Richard Brooks (Law and Order, Being Mary Jane).

SABIFF 2020 will also include 2-days of independent film showcases submitted by 35 filmmakers international in scope, that explore taboo topics such as: mental health and America’s pathology through carefully curated film blocks entitled Blacklash Blues and American Illusions. On October 2 – 3, the festival also presents topics that we need more of, in these days and times. Themes such as LOVE and SOCIAL JUSTICE are showcased through the blocks Love: Under Construction, and BlackLining (presented in partnership with SA’s Black Lives, and Allies in Community (BLAC). Festival highlights the evening of October 2nd include the screening of A Genius Leaves the Hood, a documentary on businessman/music mogul JZ sponsored by Moguldom Studios, followed by a discussion with producer Jamarlin Martin, CEO and Founder of Nubia Ventures, LLC, and Moguldom.com. Martin will also conduct a workshop aimed to empower filmmakers to take their products to the next level — GAME ON: Indie Films to e-Commerce Remix – The Digital Master P. Model. Saturday morning (10am) delves into the topic of racism with the documentary, and a panel discussion of The American LOWS (Legacy of White Supremacy). Sunday’s conclusion of SABIFF 2020 begins with a discussion with Merawi Gerima, director of Residue, now airing on Netflix. A Film Competition Awards Ceremony follows, in combination with a virtual Sunday brunch streaming live from the SAPL’s Carver Library, another partner and cultural hub on the Eastside. Physical awards will be mailed to winning filmmakers, along with an option for filmmakers to air their films on Black Reflections Roku Channel. See sabiff.com for schedules.

SABIFF partnered with a team of committed volunteers, students, and a number of local community institutions and businesses. 2020 Grant awards were received from the San Antonio Area African American Community Fund (SAAAACF), and the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio’s Community Responsibility Endowment Fund (FUUC).

ABOUT SABIFF
The San Antonio Black International Film Festival (SABIFF) serves as a vehicle to support and advocate for quality Black films and filmmakers international in scope, and expose SA Audiences to diverse industry professionals, impactful events, and films created by, for and about people of African Descent throughout the Diaspora. SABIFF was founded by native indie filmmaker Ada M. Babino, and a group of community filmmakers and community movie enthusiasts who began meeting at the Carver Library in the late fall of 2018, with the purpose to create a Black independent film festival in the Alamo City. Birthed from mutual interests, the San Antonio Black International Film Festival was officially and successfully launched at the Carver Library on February 23, 2019, with the start of what will be an annual
endeavor. Fractured Atlas is the fiscal sponsor for SABIFF 2020.

Art

Downtown SA Lights Up for the Holidays

Published

1 week ago

November 23, 2023

BLT Staff

Downtown San Antonio will sparkle this holiday season with an array of lights and holiday events.

Set against the backdrop of one of the city’s most historic and charming walkways, five blocks of Houston Street will buzz with twinkling lights, decorations, entertainers, and vendors from Nov. 24 and runs through January 2.

Additionally, on Nov. 24, kick off the holiday festivities with the Annual H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Travis Park. Festivities begin at 4 p.m. and include live entertainment, food trucks, letters to Santa, giveaways, holiday crafts, a special visit from Santa, and a movie screening of “The Grinch.” The tree-lighting ceremony begins at 6 p.m., followed by the movie at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Get front-row seats to the 42nd Annual Ford Holiday River Parade, which offers a spectacular one-hour parade along the San Antonio River Walk starting at 6 pm at the Tobin Center. This year’s theme, “Holiday Stories,” will kick off the San Antonio tradition. Always held the day after Thanksgiving, the parade and river lighting ceremony will feature 28 illuminated floats and over 100,000 lights (2,250 strands) illuminating the River Walk. The lights turn on from sundown to sunrise every day until the weekend following New Year’s Day. Seating ranges from $15 to $40. It is broadcast live at 7 p.m. at the Arneson River Theatre.

The Rotary Ice Rink, presented by Valero, will also return this fall at Travis Park in downtown San Antonio. Since 2019, nearly 200,000 people have enjoyed the rink and surrounding festivities. For more information, including hours of operation, pricing, and specials, visit (rotaryicerink.com).

For more events, go to (VisitSanAntonio.com).

Black Life Texas

Carver Annual Fundraiser Dec. 2

Published

1 week ago

November 23, 2023

BLT Staff

The Carver Development Board presents the Cavalcade of the Stars on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Center.

This annual fundraiser benefits the Carver’s School for Visual & Performing Arts’ Artist Residency/Master Class Program, summer camps, Youth Matinee Series, and supports the education programs of the Carver Community Cultural Center. The title fundraiser is Valero.

The night will start with a reception and silent auction at 5:30 pm. Dinner is served at 6:30 pm, and the show begins at 8 pm featuring Kiland Kyham, also known as Mr. Houston. Kyham is a gifted and powerful author, singer, and songwriter. He has performed and produced with such music legends as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Johnathon Butler, and Smokey Robinson. He has written over 400 song jingles and has produced numerous projects.

For over 75 years, The Carver Community Cultural Center (“The Carver”) has served as the San Antonio Eastside’s foremost gathering place of cultural exchange and performance arts. It was originally erected in 1918 as a community center for African-Americans. By the 1930s, the building was repurposed as the Colored Library and renamed the Carver Library and Auditorium in honor of Dr. George Washington Carver. From the 1940s through the Civil Rights Era, prominent African-American entertainers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong played at the Carver.

Individual tickets for the Cavalcade of the Stars are $250 or $2,500 per table. For more information, visit (TheCarver.org).

Black Life Texas

Free Native American Festival at the Briscoe

Published

4 weeks ago

November 6, 2023

BLT Staff

Highlighting the continued vibrancy and artistic traditions of Native American communities – and the local tribes who helped shape San Antonio – the Briscoe Western Art Museum invites everyone to enjoy its annual Yanaguana Indian Arts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10 am to 4 pm.

The event is free and includes admission to the Briscoe, making it a perfect way to celebrate the vital role Native Americans played in shaping the West while enjoying art and artifacts that highlight Native American history.

The community festival features live performances, storytelling, artist demonstrations, pottery and carving, as well as Native American-inspired food, including REZR’vation Only, a food truck featuring Native American-inspired cuisine that is owned and operated by a registered member of the Navajo Nation. The event starts with a Native American spiritual blessing, followed by a ceremonial drum circle that invites everyone to join.

The annual event is named in honor of the Payaya people, who were indigenous to the San Antonio area. “Yanaguana” was the word they used to describe what is now known as the San Antonio River. The festival has been held annually since the museum opened, with 2020’s event taking place virtually.

To learn more, visit (BriscoeMuseum.org).