For those of you who are unfamiliar with BADWest Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers West, feel free to visit the About page and read our mission statement.

For BADWest members as well as people with an interest in documentary film making in general, and BADWest in particular, we hope that this site will become a useful resource, news and information center for your film endeavors. With that in mind, know that this site is made for the membership by the membership and we strongly encourage your participation and contributions.

The First Step Is To Register

It’s really easy and once approved, you will be able to join in the discussions and perhaps post your contributions as well.

CLICK HERE to register.

Mini Blogging Beginners Tutorial Soon To Come..

We’ll soon have a page or post up giving you the bare basics about WordPress blogging and how to post on this blog. We’ll link to it from here.

Is there anything you’d like us to talk about?
We become better when you make comments. So help us help you.

BADWest is pleased to bring back “St. Clair Bourne’s Fourth Monday,” a
free film series held the fourth Monday of every month. Named in honor of
our late founder, this program screens political and issue-oriented films
having significance to the African diaspora. Just as St. Clair had envisioned it
during his tenure as the head of BADWest, we see it as a gathering for artists
actively working in media arts to stimulate discussion on culture, political
principles, and creative techniques. Ultimately, it’s the exchange of ideas that
can help us make the most powerful work possible to help create a culture of
resistance in these important times – something that St. Clair believed
strongly. The St. Clair Bourne Fourth Monday Series will be presented at the
new Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum (MCLM) facility in Culver
City with the first screening happening on May 24, 2011. This is the
beginning of fruitful collaboration between MCLM and BADWest. Watch
for next month’s newsletter to reveal the exciting news around the film we’ve
selected for screening!

Black Association Of Documentary Filmmakers West

‘DAY OF BLACK DOCS’
The Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers and the “Education as a Civil Right” Committee invite you to a “Day of Black Docs” on July 24, 2010 at the
American Film Institute from 11am to 4pm

All Day Event Tickets Only $12

Food for purchase will be available.
FREE PARKING
*****
Visit http://www.DayOfBlackDocs.org
For Tickets and Information.
Or call 213/534-6635.

Always Learning more about BADWest at:  http://www.BadWest.org

Kickstarter.com

Post your film’s trailer and set a goal of monies to raise and an end date.  Your friends, family and hopefully their friends will sign on and pledge.  If you don’t meet the goal by the due date, kickstarter keeps the funds.  Consider it motivation.

IndieGoGo.com

“Let those who love your idea the most get behind you early.”  Here you keep all the money you raise regardless of meeting the goal.  Also, here you’re awarded a 5% bonus for every dollar you raise if you meet your goal.

It’s common for filmmakers to combine these online methods with traditional fund raising from investors and grant funding.  Use everything in your arsenal!

A sports and entertainment production company is seeking a director for an independent film entitled The Champion Inside. Filming will take place in the summer 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. Prefer directors who live in PA, NY, NJ or DE. The film center s on a professional female boxer, who is forced

to retire after she learns she has cancer. Her return to b ox i n g t o r e g a i n h e r c h a m p i o n s h i p t i t l e i s complicated by her age; she’s 33, and her fear of entering the ring after five years in boxing exile. We are looking for someone who has had experience directing action/sports as well as drama. If you are interested, please mail your resume and a reel to Jaguar Productions, Inc.,
216 S. Carol Blvd., Ste. A3, Upper Darby, PA 19082 (Reels will not be returned).

Writers, Cartoonists , Videographers, Copy  Editor and Mac-Pros!

We have amazing news: The Goddess Training Academy is GROWING! Thus, we need your help! We have amazing new projects coming up to give to you, but we need a few independent contractors/freelancers to assist us.

We are seeking(male/female): Writers Videographers for events- with own equipment copywriters Animators/ Cartoonists Copy Editor Photographers-with stock images Mac – professionals with imovie and Garageband Virtual Assistants Some positions are paid per job and others are pro-bono.

Please send all inquiries/ samples/resumes to: info@goddesstrainingacademy.com

* BADWe s t i s N O W ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for our DAY of BLACK DOCS event to be held in April of 2010. Please submit your documentaries to T i f f a n y J u d k i n s @
badwestla@gmail.com

* If you haven’t already- Don’t forget to join BADWest’s googlegroup at: http://groups.google.com/group/badwest – In the future, all BADWest c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , announcements, etc will go through this list.

Please sign up to stay current with our events

Is there anything you’d like us to talk about?
We become better when you make comments. So help us help you.

It’s been reported that Rock had this film in mind for many years but the point of no return came when his eldest daughter asked, “Why don’t I have good hair?” So, Rock presents this cultural dilemma to us for all of our children. The film weaves around the annual “Bronner Brothers International Hair show in Atlanta”. The show puts on quite the spectacle and brings in big big money. Part of the phenomenon that is the multi-billion dollar black hair care industry is the lack of black manufacturers and distributors involved but Rock doesn’t spend too much time on that. Rock’s concern is with Black women’s obsession with “good” hair and part of that quest takes him to India. India is one of the largest exporters of human hair. Indians sacrifice their hair in a religious ceremony as a gift to God. The women in the row behind me were more horrified by this fact than any other in the film.

Back in L.A. and New York, Rock talks to celebrities and working class women who: admit their addiction to the “creamy crack” aka the relaxer, pay upwards of $1,000 for human hair, and don’t let there men go near their heads. Knowingly, these women admit their dependence to straight hair over their own but say it’s their choice.

Ice T, Rev Al Sharpton (creamy crack devotee) and men in barber shops all have their take on black women’s hair. Rock questions them in terms of financial burden and intimacy. One guy says that he seeks out women with “less maintenance”. That’s not the same as him saying I love women in their natural state or it doesn’t matter what’s on a woman’s head. Surely, men are as indoctrinated with the same standards of beauty as their women.
We black woman are diverse, no curl is the same. When the issue is hair, there is no faster way for us to bond together: hair, hair products, who does your hair and most recently, where was it purchased. It’s refreshing to consider why “Good Hair” is so important. Rock’s film does this while being objective, informing and very entertaining.

- Tiffany Judkins

Born in 1939 in Trinidad, Horace Ove is a British filmmaker, painter and writer, and one of the leading black independent film-makers to emerge in Britain since the post- war period. He holds the Guinness World Record for the first Black British film-maker to direct a feature-length film, Pressure (1976), and has documented racism and the Black Power movement in Britain over many decades through photography and in films such as Baldwin’s Nigger (1968) or Pressure and Dream to Change the World (2003). His documentaries such as Reggae (1971) and The Skateboard Kings have also become models for emerging filmmakers. In 2006 he was one of five winners of the £30,000 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Visual Arts, and in 2007 was awarded a CBE, Commander of the British Empire, for his contributions to film in the UK.

Despite all these accolades, Mr. Ove remains quite humble, which was evident at the reception. In addition to chatting there with Mr. Ove, filmmakers had the opportunity to sample wine and cheese while viewing an exhibition of modern and contemporary work of artists from the African Diaspora, which gallery owner Alitash Kebede specializes in.

BADWest founder St. Clair Bourne was a friend of Ms. Kebede, and prior to his death, was exploring the possibility of screening works at her gallery. Ms. Kebede is interested in pursuing this working relationship with our organization, and as a result, BADWest is now planning a series of screenings in this lovely, intimate setting. There has been a resurgence of interest in Horace Ove’s race-related works, due to recent racial issues surfacing in the U.S. and the UK, and ideally we will screen one of his docs at the gallery in the future.

- Denise Hamilton

Representatives from the various organizations instrumental in getting the youth involved in filmmaking were also present to discuss their programs, including Covenant House, Breese Community Center, Echo Park Film Center, and the Center for Digital Storytelling. It was encouraging to hear that despite drastic cuts to many community arts organizations, these groups were managing, with difficulty, to provide these teens with a vision about filmmaking.

Big ups to BADWest member S. Pearl Sharp for recommending this opportunity for us to share our knowledge with young people. It’s the continued involvement of members like S. Pearl and Clarence Williams that helps our organization be supportive of the next generation of documentary filmmakers.

- Denise Hamilton