Hometown Dekalb - News From Dekalb County GA

The producers of the Juneteenth Atlanta Film Showcase are pleased to unite with the Atlanta Juneteenth Organization Inc. (AJOI) in the campaign to make June 19th – or Juneteenth –a national holiday. As a celebration of the end of slavery, “Juneteenth is America's 2nd Independence Day,” says Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D., Founder & Chairman of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF). “It is currently recognized as a state holiday or state holiday observance in 29 states. The time has come for Juneteenth to be recognized as a state holiday observance in Georgia and a National Holiday in America!”

The Juneteenth Atlanta Film Showcase takes place June 18-20, 2008. In addition to a selection of mainstream feature films, the showcase will include documentaries and short and feature films by local and regional independent filmmakers that celebrate the diversity, strength and survival of African Americans. Film screenings are FREE to the public, and all are welcome!

“As we remember the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 40 years ago, the need to celebrate this event that helped to make the Civil Rights Movement possible is paramount,” says Carletta Hurt, IKAM Productions and Juneteenth Atlanta Film Showcase Produce. “Juneteenth encourages us to remember not only our history,” says Nancy Howard, another of the event's producers, “but the fact that we survived it. Occasions like this open up the opportunity for us to celebrate the positive aspects of our past, such as our contributions to American culture.” In addition to the film showcase, the event will feature two very special exhibits – a display of African American Inventors at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, and also a showing of quilts by African American women used during the Underground Railroad, which will be on display at the Southwest Regional Library.

The Film Showcase and the Atlanta Juneteenth celebration will be hosted by the Apex Museum and the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History from June 19th-21st. This year’s celebration will include: Panel Discussions, a Youth Leadership Summit, Film Showcase, Vendors, Exhibits, Historical Presentations, Children’s Activities, Storytelling, Live Performances- including R&B, Jazz, Spoken Word, Hip Hop & Gospel Music, and much more!

A pre-event will be held in honor of Ossie Davis and his many accomplishments in celebrating the power of the African American spirit. A reception on Wednesday, June 18 will feature noted author, Ronda Penrice, and a special presentation to the Ossie Davis Endowment at 6 pm. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Ossie Davis Endowment. Mr. Davis' grandson, Muta Ali Muhammad, will be in attendance to receive the donation.

For more information on the reception and the Juneteenth Atlanta Film Showcase schedule of events visit us online at www.juneteenthatlanta.com. For additional information regarding volunteering or sponsorship, call 404-914-7936, or email films@ikamproductions.com.

The Big Picture Film & Video Foundation is a Georgia nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established to support, utilize and retain students and newcomers in film and the visual arts in Georgia and across the southeast. The Foundation also produces the bi-annual Georgia BIG PICTURE Conference (GABPC), a film & video convention targeting future filmmakers, animators, editors, actors, writers, sound techs, game techs, and digital media artists for two days of networking with peers and industry professionals. The next GABPC takes place in Atlanta spring 2009. For additional details or to register, visit www.gabpc.com.

IKAM Productions is an Atlanta based production company specializing in projects in film/video, theatre and television, with an emphasis on providing opportunities for youth to create images using all mediums while encouraging them to realize the power of their voice and fostering their creative spirit. Past productions have included For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, The Vagina Monologues, CROWNS and El Hajj Malik: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. For a schedule of events and productions, visit www.ikamproductions.com.