NYWIFT is proud to co-present an in-person screening of Flower at the 2023 UrbanWorld Film Festival! Followed by an intimate conversation with featured performer and ballet legend Misty Copeland and executive producer Nelson George. Moderated by NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez.
Date: Friday, November 3rd, 2023
Time: 5pm ET
Location: AMC 34th Street 14 – Theater 14 (312 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001)
Use code SAVE20TIX for a discount
About the Film
In homage to Black silent films of the 1920s, filmmaker Lauren Finerman directs a poignant story about a young woman named Rose (Misty Copeland), who has had to place her dreams on hold to care for her mother, Gloria (Christina Johnson), living with dementia. A potent subtext to the film is the housing affordability crisis that’s devastated the Bay Area. As Rose struggles to keep a roof over their heads, she watches the neighborhood around her fade away much like her mother’s memory, until the mysterious Sterling (Babatunji Johnson) helps to highlight the power of community and the strength found through unity, bringing Rose renewed hope for the future.
Runtime: 28 minutes
Panelists:
Misty Copeland is a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, the first Black woman to be promoted to the position in the company’s 75-year history in 2015. She has performed some of the most iconic classical ballet roles, including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake; Juliet in Romeo & Juliet; Giselle; Manon; Coppelia; Kitri in Don Quixote; and Firebird. Copeland is an avid philanthropist and an ambassador for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, of which she is also an alum, and is the founder of The Misty Copeland Foundation. She is a bestselling author of several adult and children’s books, and is co-founder of Life In Motion Productions, as well as the athletic wear brand Greatness Wins alongside Derek Jeter, Chris Riccobono, and Wayne Gretzky. Copeland is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Time Magazine Time 100 Most Influential People in the World, Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year, Black Girls Rock! Award, and most recently, the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP’s highest honor.
Nelson George is an award-winning author, filmmaker, television producer and critic with a long career in analyzing and presenting diverse elements of African American culture. His books have been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Before Columbus Foundation. As a filmmaker, George was a producer on the Emmy Award-winning The Chris Rock Show (HBO) and executive producer of the highly rated American Gangster crime series (BET). He directed Queen Latifah to a Golden Globe in the HBO film Life Support, which he also co-wrote, and was a writer/producer on The Get Down (Netflix); he does most of his work through his production company, Urban Romances.
NYWIFT CEO Cynthia López (Moderator) is an award-winning media strategist, and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where she implemented strategies to support film and TV production throughout the five boroughs. López is the recipient of many coveted industry awards including: 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, a Special Emmy Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, three Peabody Awards, and two duPont-Columbia Awards. In addition, she received the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Award for Commitment to Corporate Diversity. Prior to working as Commissioner, López was Executive Vice President and co-Executive Producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series American Documentary | POV, and was involved in the organization’s strategic growth and creative development for 14 years. Her ability to forge strategic partnerships among corporate and public interest media has been a signature of her work. Notable partnerships include: New York Times, Reuters, Al-Jazeera Network, Discovery Communications, The Moth, Story Corps, Harpo Studios and ABC News, NIGHTLINE with Ted Koppel. López is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), and is proud to have spent her career collaborating with independent filmmakers across all portions of the film and television industry. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center, NYC & Company, Museum of the Moving Image and the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Latino Public Broadcasting, Manhattan Neighborhood Network and Hunter College IMA Program.
Thank you to our friends at:
Urbanworld is a five-day festival, based in New York City, showcasing narrative and documentary features, short films, web originals, music videos, spotlight screenings and conversations, and live staged screenplay readings.
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NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
