San Diego Black Film Festival Opens This Week

This is KPBS Midday Edition I am Maureen Cavanaugh. The 2016 black film Festival Ginsu night with a screening of a world premiere movie with music called the prodigal song. KPBS news editor Tom fudge spoke with the director of the black film Festival Karen Willis, and filmmaker Henderson Maddox hears that interview. How long has the silty gay go desk of San Diego been going get has changed during the years? We are entering our 14th year now. And how it has changed over the years, the filmmakers we are considered Oscar buzz Festival. The only black film Festival in the country that is considered Oscar buzz Festival. We feature Selmer doing the Oscars. You have to be your Festival must care between the important category announcement time before the Academy votes. But it has changed. We are one of the Oscar festivals. Also over the years we are offering and working more with major studios. Universal this year. Last year we worked with Paramount. It has changed tremendously over the years. And is you showed Salman Rushdie? Yes we did. Looks at you get more studio films and independent films? Yes our bread and butter for our Festival, considered a filmmakers Festival. We focus on independent food makers, 99% of what we do. And we deserve normally 1 to 2 slots per year to feature what we call major films. Okay Henderson Maddox filmmaker. He is on his way to San Diego. Right now he is now late. Henderson had a film in the Festival. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a filmmaker. I am Henderson Eric's. Right now deciding Los Angeles California. By the way of Atlanta Georgia. I moved to LA of about one year and a half ago. Basically I have always had a love for telling stories. Telling stories to people that do not want to tell. From an early age I was always engaged in that type of stuff. Writing new stories but did not realize I wanted to be a director/filmmaker until I got my first seen in high school. And I wanted to be a doctor. I went with the matter, and I do what I love. And ever since I fell in love with this. Now your film showing the black film Festival in San Diego deficiency notice and it looks at the Atlanta school cheating scandal. Was that difficult subject for screenplay? I would say was only difficult because I lived it. You did? Yes, the story is loosely based on my tenure as an educator and in the city of Atlanta. And I taught film. How high school teachers were affected by as the children that were were really affected they were in that classroom. They could not read, they could not back pass basic scores as for all these years that kept getting pushed along because some of the things that will go now the school system. My film tells a story of a teacher, and basically when you are teacher you find yourself being selfless as you have peace kids that you want to be successful, you want them to succeed. And you find yourself giving you all important that into them as they make it. My struggle, basically is that trying to open their eyes and expose them to another environment. Along with telling the stories. Some of the colleagues that were affected but more than me, the big thing that made a lot of teachers in the high school upset is that, they would get a child in ninth grade math and they were not prepared for it, in the classroom. At the end of the year, they had to take course test which basically decide how successful the child was. The problem came when they tied in the teacher's evaluations with the success of this test. And so you would have situations where a child would come onto a fifth or sixth grade math level, but as a teacher you have to give them to where they need those benchmarks by the time they have to take the test. If you have so many combat affects your score. I have to ask this question, is deficiency notice as a documentary or as a fictional film? When you are filmmaker, I am always curious to ask, how they assemble the money. Making movies. You love storytelling but it is a very expensive kind of storytelling. Would you do to get the money together? Honestly, it was blood, sweat and tears. I've made a lot of films. This was sort of a baby of mine. This is the last thing that I had done before I moved to California. And really there were days where it was just me the counter desk of camera. And it was a labor of love. And we were blessed to be able to finish and complete the job. But it was a tough task. Well, Karen, what are the goals or what would you say the goals of the San Diego black film Festival? Is it promoting black filmmakers? It is. That is our number one goal is to provide a vehicle for filmmakers like Henderson to actually exhibit there will looks. There films at the San Diego black dome Festival. That is our number one goal. Give them the audience and give them attention. Henderson are you still looking for a distributor for your movie? Yes we are. This is our first stop the world premiere of the film. And that is what we are looking for to get exposure and get the movie into the right-hand so we can get it out to the world. Good luck with that. One thing I would like to ask the both of you, Karen and Henderson Conway shirt reaction to Spike Lee and Jay to pick it Smith's announcement that they will boycott the Oscars this year because of lack of diversity in the acting nominations? Henderson would you like to go first work I believe in supporting things that they believe in. Standing up for something that they feel is right. The us a feel milker, I feel like when our energy needs to be put into making the our, and our film, for me, I do to heal people. My reward is sitting the glare in my audience is I and bridge gaps between someone's life. While it will be a prestigious honor to ever be nominated or to win an award, it is not the focus of who I am as a filmmaker. However, I think for the most part, we know that with diversity, it is gray and it's a great push forward. But there has to be on a level than higher than us. Karen, what about you? African Americans, whether they are the talent in the films the actors or actresses directors. They are in the mainstream of the motion picture industry, just like they are in the mainstream of the recording industry. And, so what of the most prestigious award in the music industry Grammys just recklessly is 100% white, people were not extend for that. What we are seeing is the audience that is involved, actors and actresses in the motion picture industry saying look, we are concerned that every year since we are such a major part of this, our films are just as important, but every year is 100% white and you throw in one or two tokens. They are lashing out. And it appears that the Academy is making changes that will likely result in more of these African-American actors and filmic his spirit diced. We are almost out of time. Tell us what is happening tonight. You have any bent. Yes, Wednesday, is the preopening reception at the Jacob center. This gives the public an opportunity to come out learn more about the film Festival and we will give them a preview. You can meet the directed Henderson Maddox and he will be on the panel discussing deficiency notices. Come out it as at 6 PM tonight and on market Street. Karen Willis is the director. Henderson Maddox is a filmmaker and director of the movie that will be shown at the festival called deficiency notice. And Henderson thank you to you. Inc. you for having me.