Growing up in the Catholic Church, The Pope always felt like this bigger than life figure-head who had a main line to the big guy – GOD. I often wondered if he could get married, fall in love or if his life was totally devout to the almighty and spreading the gospel globally. I also wondered how his name was selected and what drives them to assist church followers in “living biblically.” Pope Francis: A Man of His Word sheds the light on our current Pope. The first from Argentina. The first to be openly critical of church policy regarding homosexuality, ecology and other government heads of state. The first…
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Meghan Markle: An American Cinderella and The Royal Wedding
I remember well waking up at 5am to witness Princess Diana marry Prince Charles. The pomp and circumstance, glamour and fairytale element of it all was absolutely fascinating to me as an American. It was the first time my generation had an opportunity to see witness such an event. Well, today little girls worldwide witnessed American Actress Meghan Markle marry Diana’s son Prince Harry, who will both now be known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. There has only been one Duke of Sussex and his legacy is known for campaigning for the abolition of slavery. Meghan Markle, a Southern California native will make a fantabulous addition to the…
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Coming To My Senses Shares Struggle of Motorcross Racer Aaron Baker
One night while performing in my first Broadway show, someone came through the stage door to announce that Christopher Reeve had endured an injury from horse riding. Apparently, his spinal cord had been severed. What this meant is this man the world had come to know as Superman was now not able to walk…let alone fly. Due to the lack of knowledge or funding for this type of injury, Reeve and his wife Dana started the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which still thrives today. Spending most of my career as a dancer in Broadway shows, cruise ships, USO tours, when my knees finally started to turn on me, total…
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Tribeca Film Festival 2018: Ellis Haizlip’s Niece Pay Tribute in Mr SOUL documentary
Before Oprah, Arsenio or even Soul Train, Ellis Haizlip and the Corporation for Pubic Broadcasting gave us SOUL! on September 8, 1968. It was SOUL! that introduced America to a young former Alvin Ailey dancer turned choreographer – George Faison. Before “Amen”, Anna Maria Horsford was spitting poetry rhymes and Sesame Street’s “Susan” (Loretta Long), Ashford & Simpson, The Last Poets, Carmen de Lavallade, Amiri Baraka, Al Green, Earth, Wind and Fire and a young Patti Labelle along with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash were all given a television platform through Ellis Haizlip. A graduate of Howard University, Haizlip set the vibe of the times and changed the minds of…
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Adorable and Endangered Pandas are Delightful in New IMAX Documentary
This 45 minutes documentary narrated by Kristen Bell gets down to the nitty-gritty of what it takes for this adorable creature to survive in its natural habitat after being nurtured and taken care of by Chinese scientist Rong Hou and "the bear whisperer" himself...wildlife biologist Ben Kilham.
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The Final Year Shares Insider View of a Presidential Transition
Barack Obama made history as the first person of color to become President of the United States...twice. It goes without saying that in these dark days we are dwelling in, longing for the days when I turned on the news and saw POTUS singing some Al Green, dancing with his Queen Michelle, joking around with Jimmy Kimmel or giving a speech that ALL Americans could be proud of would be an understatement.
- Coming Attractions, Documentary Film Review, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Sundance Film Festival
Tell Them We Are Rising is a Love Letter to HBCU’s on PBS
Being a graduate of "The Mecca" Howard University, you know I had to check out the Stanley Nelson directed Tell Them We Are Risingculminating the rise and (in some instances) the fall of Historical Black Colleges and Universities such as Howard University, Hampton Institute,Morgan, Morehouse, Spellman, Fisk and so many other Historical Black Colleges and Universities.
- Coming Attractions, Documentary Film Review, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Sundance Film Festival
Joan Jett Has Earned Her Bad Reputation in Rock ‘N’ Roll
What do you do when your parents buy you a guitar from Sears at 13 years-old? You start a rock band, become one of the few women to make rock ‘n’ roll history and are named Joan Jett!!! With a look infused from a love of Liza Minnelli from ‘Cabaret’, Hollywood and rock n’ roll, this ground-breaking chick has endured cracked ribs just because she was a girl who wanted to play her favorite music – ROCK!!! Bad Reputation chronicles the rise of fall of Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers from being the hit record on the back of a cereal box to starring opposite Michael J. Fox in Paul…
- Coming Attractions, Documentary Film Review, entertainment, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Sundance Film Festival
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
A few years ago, I attended a live-taping of “The Odd Couple” in which the creator Gary Marshall loved to interact with the audience during taping breaks. He shared tale after tale of all the now famous people he discovered from Julia Roberts to Henry Winkler to Robin Williams. Williams had just passed a few weeks before and Marshall gleefully spoke of how Williams’ character of Mork was born on “Happy Days” because his son wanted to see a martian on the show. Mork from Ork was only the beginning for the shooting comet we knew as Robin Williams. Robin Williams was hands down one of the most creatively,…
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King in The Wilderness Explores Martin Luther King’s Final Years
As a young girl in St. Louis, when I realized my school didn’t recognize Dr. King’s Birthday as a National Holiday, I was livid. Livid enough to convince all of my classmates of color to stay home in protest. While my Mom admired my activism, when she found out it was not a good thing and I was strongly encouraged to go back to school. As a young woman at Howard University, I was protesting again for the King Holiday. This time, through my creativity and my senior project…two-part documentary on the process of making Dr. King’s birthday a national holiday. One of the subjects I interviewed was former Congressman…
