Dallas Film & Ties at the DBFF

The Denton Black Film Festival starts today and has shifted to 100% virtual. Watch film, music, TEC Institute Talks, comedy and more on your time thru February 6. The DFCIO has put together a list of projects made in or near Dallas and those with Dallas ties. So check them out below and buy your tickets today.

Made in or near Dallas and those with Dallas Ties

Features and Shorts:

Caged Birds
Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office is a Community Sponsor for this screening
Filmed and produced in Dallas.

Jordan Lucas is an affluent, Black, high school senior counting down the days until he can escape high school and the bullies that plague him there to attend his dream college, Princeton. When his prideful cousin, EJ, is humiliated by a white bully, Blake, he recruits Jordan, and Kevonte, a bussed-in student from the other side of the tracks, to play a robbery prank on Blake. When the prank goes bad, and two white students are left dead, the three boys struggle to avoid being caught. In the process, they are each forced to confront the personal demons that come with being black in the suburbs. PLEASE NOTE: On Friday, January 28th, we invite you to watch Caged Birds with us at 8:00 pm Central and at 9:30pm Central join us for a recorded conversation with the Director Frederick Leach. Can’t watch the film at 8:00pm you can still tune in for the Q & A and then watch the film at your leisure. It will be available until Sunday, January 30th at 8:00pm Central. MORE DETAILS

A Deficit of Virtue: Healthcare in America (Documentary Feature)
Showing during the screening of Texas Films – A Deficit of Virtue: Healthcare in America examines with unflinching poignancy the history of healthcare in the United States and for whom it has been preferentially designed. MORE DETAILS

Kafi (Short)
A telepathic FBI agent uses unconventional methods to find her nirvana while investigating the corporation that murdered her family. MORE DETAILS

In Spite of These Things: A History of Black Theatre Companies in Dallas (Short Documentary)
Showing during the screening of Texas Films – In Spite of These Things explores the inequalities Black theatre companies have faced in Dallas dating back to the days of vaudeville. Since Dallas’ inception, Black theatres have and continue to struggle to be heard, recognized, and respected among their counterparts. MORE DETAILS

Music Experience

Ashleigh Smith – Music Experience
Dallas Jazz Vocalist Ashleigh Smith premieres Thursday Jan. 27th with a virtual music Experience.

“My sound is not so much straight-ahead jazz,” Ashleigh Smith claims. “It’s very R&B and funk infused. That’s a part of my upbringing and I love that about my singing.” The 27-year-old Dallas-based singer and songwriter was reflecting on what set her apart from other singers at the 2014 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition of which she won. “I noticed it more when I was competing against other people. You are what you listen to.” MORE DETAILS

Original Music Videos:

Depression

Singer/Songwriter Jade Massentoff’s song “Depression” is a song that tells the story of depression and suicide. After losing her brother to suicide, she wrote this song to help release the pain she felt while personally dealing with depression after already losing a loved one to suicide the year before. Unfortunately, after her brothers’ death she never got the opportunity to say goodbye. No Funeral…No memorial. All she has left of her brother are his ashes, which she wears in the form of a necklace close to her heart. This song delivers a powerful message letting everyone know that “DEPRESSION” can win if not treated. MORE DETAILS

“A Little Love” Madukwu featuring Sy Smith
Music Video for “A Little Love” by Madukwu feat. Sy Smith MORE DETAILS

Put It On Me
In this music video we are taken away to the dance floor where the boy across the room cannot take his eyes off of you. MORE DETAILS

World’s A Pen’
The state of the world today is like being in prison, the penitentiary or “the pen” for short. MORE DETAILS

You Do
When love is the only thing on the brain, being lost in the fantasy of your wedding and wedding night becomes your entire world. MORE DETAILS

The full schedule is available at https://dbff.eventive.org/schedule