A qFLIX Foreign Film Showdown - Romance vs. Religion

The documentary 'A Sinner in Mecca,' directed by Parvez Sharma is playing Saturday 5pm at the qFLIX Film Festival.Going to film festivals is like speed dating. There usually comes a time when you must choose between at least two equally promising love interests. It's a fun problem to solve and one that I'm not surprised to be facing at the qFLIX film festival taking place this week in Philly, now through Sunday, July 12th.

Ever since Joseph Graham's romantic drama Beautiful Something set this summer attraction in motion, the 2015 qFlix program lineup has remained so strong that I have yet to come across a movie I didn't enjoy watching. For those of you who like foreign films, there are some tough choices to make as the festival schedule gets busier by the hour, complete with parties at nearby taverns and Q&A sessions with filmmakers.

Among the candidates are Parvez Sharma's documentary A Sinner in Mecca playing at The Prince Theater while husband-wife directors Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guman's romantic drama Sand Dollars lights up the screen at The University of the Arts' Caplan Theater. Both East Coast Premieres, these Centerpiece Films are showing at 5pm on Saturday. So, which one gets the dinner date? This is a tough call since each movie looks like it has a lot to offer audiences. Shot in the U.S., India and Saudi Arabia, A Sinner in Mecca follows Sharma as he embarks on his Hajj pilgrimage, the greatest accomplishment and aspiration within Islam.

Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guman's romantic drama 'Sand Dollars' is playing Saturday 5pm at the qFLIX Film Festival. The journey for Sharma, a gay muslim, is risky because filming is forbidden in Saudi Arabia and homosexuality is punishable by death. This documentary is described by Sharma as telling the story of Islam "like it has never been told before, having endured the biggest jihad there is -- the struggle with the self."

Shot in the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Mexico, Sand Dollars is about an older wealthy European woman's enchantment with a young Dominican girl trying to escape poverty. qFlix describes this unconventional story as involving "turmoil and entanglements over issues of class, money, control, power, jealousy, possessiveness, inequality and exploitation."

To me, the appeal of A Sinner in Mecca comes in part from it being a dangerous Middle Eastern documentary that a man risked his life to make. One the flip side, I find Sand Dollars  to also be worth watching, not just because of it being a Latin American narrative about a complex relationship rarely told on the big screen, but also because it is among a very limited selection of lesbian films playing at this year's qFlix festival. Still, much like finding a romantic partner, everyone has their own preferences in movies.

WATCH the movie trailers here and decide: 

Which of these two qFlix selections is the best match for YOU?

Tickets are available online at qflixphilly.com and at the Box Office!

6 Good Reasons to Join Troop 491 at the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta

The Muddy Lions cast with director Praheme on the set of "Troop 491: Adventures of the Muddy Lions."It’s Official! "Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions" directed by Patrick “Praheme” Ricks is screening in Atlanta, GA this month at the 5^th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival.

For those who are unfamiliar with this movie, it is a family adventure about an artistic middle school student whose mother signs him up for the Boy Scouts, to keep him out of trouble. After witnessing a murder, he must decide whether to follow the “no snitching” code of the streets or the code of the scouts. He quickly learns that doing the right thing isn’t easy.

I’ve covered this film several times because not only do I like it (I’ve watched it a number of times, in various settings and enjoyed every single viewing), I also know for a fact that many parents and youth could benefit from watching this movie. Having been present during a post-screening Q&A session of this film where people from all walks of life thanked director Patrick “Praheme” Ricks for making this movie, there are many reasons you should watch it; more than I can name right now but let’s start with a few good ones (in no particular order).

1. It has a gritty story that takes viewers through a myriad of emotions, inciting laughter, fear, disappointment, anger and joy before coming to a surprising conclusion.


2. Troop 491 boasts a hip movie soundtrack that the whole family can enjoy.


3. The movie provides an antidote to the stereotypical images of inner city youth – and their parents – that are often portrayed in more mainstream films.


4. There are uplifting messages of people exercising strength, honesty and faith while facing adversity.


5. It contains adult characters who take personal responsibility and interest in steering youth in a constructive direction.


6. Troop 491 shows the harsh realities of how the witness intimidation that runs rampant throughout inner cities has neither an age requirement nor any boundaries.

If you or someone you know is in the Atlanta area, I encourage you to go check out this movie.

Troop 491: The Adventures of the Muddy Lions is playing Saturday, October 25^th, 11:00am (EST) at the Georgia Pacific Auditorium in Atlanta, GA. This screening is hosted by the BronzeLens Film Festival.

Beyond the Lights – Everyday Heroes Unite at Urbanworld

(l-r): Actor Nate Parker and English actress attend the opening night screening of "Beyond the Lights," directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, at the 18th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival.While introducing her opening night film at the Urbanworld Film Festival this week, director Gina Prince-Bythewood says it has been a fight getting her latest movie, “Beyond the Lights” made.

The narrative feature, about a superstar singer who is on the edge until she meets an aspiring politician who encourages her to find herself, received a standing ovation last night – hopefully validating the struggle to breathe life into a project formerly titled “Blackbird” that she penned in 2007.

When learning about the movies I want to watch over the next few days, it appears that Urbanworld’s 2014 lineup demonstrates that the fighting spirit is very well alive, on the screen and behind it.

In almost every premise I read and every trailer I watch on this festival’s schedule, it seems like men and women all over the world are fighting – either for themselves or someone else. The festival’s short film program is among the most interesting and must-see screenings along these lines, such as Indian American filmmaker Puja Maewai’s “Jaya.” Shortlisted for a Student Academy Award, this narrative drama follows a young girl’s path to reclaim her identity after posing as a boy to survive gruesome gang life in Mumbai.

Like many film festivals, there are good movies in the lineup that either share a showtime or overlap one another by 30 minutes to an hour. This means attendees have to pick and choose since being in multiple theaters at once is impossible. The choice, however, is clear when a movie such as Charysse Tia Harper’s “12 Months” is on the schedule. Her documentary is about a Los Angeles man who rented his 3-bedroom home to a family of four who never met, at the price of $1 per month, giving them a chance to get back on their feet. My interest in Harper’s feature stems from it being one of those stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

It ceases to surprise me that documentaries with strong lessons of bravery and hope for a brighter future -- or better yet – a promising now, are in full force at Urbanworld this weekend, considering that Laura Checkoway’s “Lucky” stands out among them. The movie’s synopsis piqued my interest but it’s the trailer that won me over, in high anticipation of this screening at AMC Theatres. “Lucky” follows a homeless mother who masks her pain in tattoos while yearning to overcome darkness. I’m especially drawn to Checkoway’s documentary because this is one of those movies where you're like “woah! I HAVE to see that shit!” All films should be like that.

(l-r): WBO lightweight champion Terence Crawford attends the opening night screening of "Beyond the Lights" at the 18th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival. The overall message I’m getting from the movies playing in this year’s Urbanworld lineup is that all hope is not lost if you believe in yourself enough to fight through hardships and seek out the possibility of something different; something greater than the unfortunate nature of the predicaments in which you find yourself, or others. We not only have the power to save ourselves from falling off of the edge, we possess an ability to show our communities that they can do the same. That is, without a doubt, the type of message I can get behind.

What mark do YOU want to leave on the world?