FRESH BLACK FILMS returns with a special edition!
We’re spotlighting NYC filmmaker and actor Ellie Foumbi, who began her career acting in films like “Say Grace Before Drowning” and “Evolution of a Criminal,” before stepping behind the lens to write and direct. Her films center on the outsider experience, locating surprising moments of poise and serenity, even as her protagonists cope with a modern, reckless world.
Ellie’s unexpected, yet inviting work gives us fresh perspectives captured with fresh cinematography. Take in this program of short films, capturing the generative early years of a filmmaker on the cusp, as she takes her fresh perspective into her first feature.
Our first day of screenings is FREE (with an option to Donate to our efforts), so RSVP for the special 1-day only code. Only a limited number will be available.
MARCH 28th to APRIL 3rd
100% virtual
watch our March 31st Q&A
FILM LINEUP
ZENITH
When an adopted Black Mennonite has an unexpected connection with a migrant worker, she is torn between her faith and her desire to explore the outside world.
NO TRAVELER RETURNS (D’ou Nul No Revient)
A young African immigrant's struggles to adjust to life in America push him towards an existential crisis.
LAST DAY IN PARADISE
An insecure young woman battles her own fears as she tries to manage the pressures of her job.
HOME
Moving is always hard, especially when the new neighborhood turns against you.
THE ARTIST
Ellie Foumbi is an actor/writer/director from Cameroon. She holds an MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts in Directing. Foumbi made her TV directorial debut on BET’s Tales. She was a finalist of the 2019/2020 Venice Biennale Cinema College with her first feature, “Our Father, the Devil”, which will be presented at the 78th Venice International Film Festival and will participate in IFP’s 2020 Project Forum. In this new film, a reserved African refugee’s quiet existence in a sleepy mountain town in the south of France is upended by the arrival of a charismatic Catholic priest, whom she recognizes from her past.
Ellie’s projects have been supported by the Venice Biennale College-Cinema, SFFILM Kenneth Rainin Foundation, IFP’s No Borders Project Forum, Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, and Tribeca Film Institute's Untold Stories. She’s a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America.
The Luminal Theater's Fresh Black Films is sponsored in part by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, and by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).
images courtesy of Ellie Foumbi