All posts by filmadmin

For My Sister Skillfully Navigates Mental Illness Stigma

For My Sister, the formally ambitious micro-budget debut feature from Miami-based filmmaker Gabriel Rhenals, tackles the stigma related to mental illness with aplomb. Rhenals (who wrote, directed, shot, and edited the picture) navigates emotionally dense terrain with a gentle hand and light touch, providing a film that is both socially useful and surprisingly fun.

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Art House Theater Day a Chance to Recognize Art Houses in Miami

Exterior of the Tower Theater in Miami, FL.

Hosted by Art House Convergence, Art House Theater Day is an annual celebration of culture and community. September 18th gives us the chance to celebrate the many Miami art houses that have enriched the South Florida film scene. In an era where technology has taken over media, we have become accustomed to entertainment being digital and solitary. However, art theaters inspire film lovers to gather and encounter new ideas, cultures, and experiences. Continue reading Art House Theater Day a Chance to Recognize Art Houses in Miami

Confronting Social Misconceptions in “Talking Black in America”

For most of my childhood, the difference between “axe” and “ask” was unnoticeable. Although I hear many within my own African-American community more commonly use “axe,” I was often scolded for pronouncing it “wrong.”

However, this is one of many social misconceptions tackled in the documentary Talking Black in America, which will be showing Tuesday, September 24 at 6 PM in GC 140 on the FIU campus. As executive producer Walt Wolfram explains, ‘axe’ comes from an archaic form of English, while ‘ask’ is the more modern form of the word. He elaborates that its use by white folks would simply be seen as linguistic retention rather than mispronunciation. Continue reading Confronting Social Misconceptions in “Talking Black in America”

A Look at La Haine – Kanopy Classics

On April 6, 1993, a seventeen-year-old Zairian immigrant, Makome M’Bowole, was killed while unarmed and handcuffed to a radiator in police custody in Paris, France. What the French police would go on to call an “accident” became another incident in a widespread problem in France at the time, where over three hundred detained and unarmed people had been killed in police custody since the early 80s. Riots were commonplace after these killings in the communities of the victims, which were impoverished and comprised of racial and ethnic minorities as well as immigrants.

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