Urban Mediamakers Film Festival (UMFF) 2009

Atlanta's own Dwayne Boyd's new movie "4 Minutes" starring Pierre, Bobby Valentino and others. Great new comedy.

In 1793, a girl in Venice, Lea, is about to turn 13. On the eve of her Bat Mitzvah, she learns the truth about her father's disappearance from the ghetto. Plagued with nightmares, she commits the story to a diary. There she'll sort it out and pass it on. In 2008, a girl in Venice, Elena, is about to turn 13.She dreads her upcoming Bat Mitzvah. Stifled by her close-knit family, she feels like a fish out of water. And water is everywhere. Venice is steeped in the history of Catholic expression, and when Elena ventures beyond the Jewish community, she still can't breathe. Then her aunt shows Elena a leather-bound book.Over 200 years ago, the diarist's father delivered his infant daughter into the hands of priest he paid to baptize her. As a Catholic, Lea would have something her parents could not -- a life outside the ghetto walls.But something went wrong.Overwhelmed, Elena closes the book, and sneaks out. Exhausted from writing and remembering, Lea extinguishes her candle. It is 1793. As she wanders the streets of contemporary Venice, Elena loses herself in the city. In a dark alleyway, she is accosted. The diary is torn from her hands. Shaken, she returns home. She knows how the story ends. Elena is a direct descendant of the diarist. But the diary itself, is gone. Feeling violated and ashamed, Elena draws herself a bath...and then immerses in an ancient ritual. Can Elena now embrace the paradox of her ancestry, of being a Venetian Jew?

A single mother is forced to come to grips with her daughter's murder. Waterbury, CT

When Hurricane Katrina’s waters receded, they washed away vital components of the New Orleans school system -- facilities, libraries, records, buses and much more were totally destroyed by the storm. The extent of the damage was not limited to material resources. The city also lost manpower. Seventy-five hundred teachers and staff members were fired. In the aftermath of Katrina, the New Orleans Public Schools system faced an inconceivable dilemma, how to keep kids in school and provide a quality education with next-to-no resources. In just over a year following the storm, the city of New Orleans renovated the two biggest entertainment attractions: the Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Almost all of New Orleans hotels were rebuilt and opened for business. But what about the city’s schools? The New Orleans education system continued to struggle with inadequate facilities; there were understaffed schools, a shortage of technology and students who suffered the paralyzing affects of depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress. New Orleans has a unique opportunity to start over, re-vamping an education system long-mired by corruption, failing test scores and financial woes. Will they do it? “After the Waters Receded: Rebuilding New Orleans Public Schools” chronicles the accounts of teachers, students, the President of Xavier University, Dr. Norman Francis, a local musician, specialized crisis counselors and various other New Orleans residents.

A documentary about aspects of American history as experienced by elders coming from different traditions. "Command of Sankofa-Servant Leader" focuses on historian Dr. David. Anderson, who has devoted his life to raising the consciousness of the African American community in Rochester, New York. He is considered by many to be a Maulana, a master teacher. In "Command of Sankofa," he talks about the influence African American Rochesterians such as Frederick Douglass and Austin Steward had on American history. Anderson believes that every human being an find themselves by studying their ancestry, and he talks about his search for his own past. A deeply spiritual man, Anderson also believes in the redeeming value of community service. In this film, we learn abouot the long term effects of community service carried out by a group of teenagers in the 1960s. Led by Dr. Anderson, their research resulted in legislation banning lead from paint and other products in the United States. The film has been accepted at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center Library.

This emotionally gripping documentary explores families from a wide mix of backgrounds who learn that their children are gay, how they come to terms with it, and accept it, leading to renewed family dynamic.

Showcases the most exciting undiscovered talent in Tokyo, Japan. The show gives guests an opportunity to shine.

Two middle-aged infomercial hosts ('Tony Butts', based on the late Billy Mays, and 'Veronica Uptight'...not really based on anybody...) have been working together for a long time. They finally 'lose it' with each other and wage an all out war using the products they advertise as weapons! This hilarious short film was created by a crew of about twenty students at the Art Institute of Atlanta, including African descent students Edgar Ernest, Edward Ernest, Shayla Hall and Larry Walker, Latino student Alex Roman, and Asian student Chi Duong.

'Of Barbed Tongues and Razor Wire' deals with the many emotional aspects of women in society who have taken the wrong path in their life and ended up behind prison walls. Actually what leads these women into a life of prostitution, drugs, pimps and behind the wall. Noone says while growing up, 'I want to be an inmate' Take a look while this project speaks to you. San Diego, California