The Best of CaribbeanTales 2010 : Film Festival, Symposium, Marketplace, Workshops.

Life Lessons – A short film program brings to light storytelling at its best — “life lessons” of style, substance, and creativity.

A Departure from A Love directed by Ishmael Islam – 2009/10 mins.produced by Reel Works Teen Filmmaking program

A young man takes a walk through his beloved Brooklyn while reciting his spoken word to an unknown lover. His journey takes us on a visual “love-fest” throughout the borough, connecting the people, places and emotions that inspire his poetry.

Sticks and Stones by Rehema Imani Trimiew – 2006/9 mins.

A six-year old Rehema can read, but her teacher refuses to accept this reality because of her own misperceptions about young black children. Based on the filmmaker’s own experiences in a public school system, this short narrative exposes the influence a teacher can impart on a student’s abilities and emphasizes the crucial role parents play in their child’s education.

The Lesson Plan by Eddy Duran – 2009/30 mins

In 1712, a British slave owner from the West Indies named William Lynch, wrote a letter with instructions to American slave owners on how to make and keep slaves. Obsessed with this letter, Nix Dunn, a Brooklyn public school teacher/scholar, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, creates a Lesson Plan to teach his students about the psychological damage he believes enslaves African Americans today. In Nix’s state of mind, the lesson turns out to be one the students will never forget. The film just returned from its premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival, Short Film Corner, May 2009.

Premature by Rashaad Ernesto Green – 2009/15 mins

Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, receives unexpected news. When she discovers she’s pregnant and her boyfriend rejects her, she has nowhere to turn and is faced with the most difficult decision she will ever make.  The world premiere of “Premature” at the 2008 American Black Film Festival won the Grand Prize for Best Short Film in the HBO Short Film Competition.

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