BLOODFLOW

An Experimental Short Film directed by Ashley James

Available On Demand Throughout the Festival!

Inspired by the work of poet, playwright, filmmaker and long time 7 Stages Artistic Associate Robert Earl Price. Bloodflow, titled after Price’s latest book of poetry, is an experimental short film that takes an intimate look at the resilience of black and brown bodies from personal journeys to the family and generational bonds that offer strength.

This original short film, originally created for our Home Brew @ Home Series, was directed by Ashley James, one of 7 Stages’ new Associate Artistic Directors. Ashley is a producer, director, and creator, originally from Mobile, Alabama. In 2015, she received the Princess Grace Theatre Honorarium Award to continue her work as an emerging director with Double Edge Theatre in Massachusetts. She graduated from Florida State University with a BA in Theatre and returned in 2018, earning her MFA in Film Production. Her latest short film FO[U]R has recently screened at the Toronto Black Film Festival and Through Women’s Eyes International Film Festival. It was also awarded the Honourable Mention for the Jury Award for the 10th Annual Breakthroughs Film Festival and will screen June 2021 in Canada.

Art of Activism

Intersections of Criminal Justice and Race.

1:00 – 3:00 PM ET

Virtual Brunch Conversation

Sunday June 20, 2021 1-3 (EST) Art of Activism brings together community experts, artists and patrons for a COMPLIMENTARY VIRTUAL dialogue as we examine our role beyond the art. We welcome all voices to join the VIP’s in connecting across our differences while sharing in commonalities. GA Innocence Project’s John White – who was wrongfully incarcerated for over 27 years, members of Reforming Arts Theatre Re-Entry Project and DUVAR’s producer Natalie Brady & filmmaker Brittney London will discuss the themes of these stories and the intersections of criminal justice and race.  The online event will begin with “MAN”, a poem about John by Theresa Davis leading into the short film DUVAR, thus kicking off this vital conversation.

Duvar

1:00 – 3:00 PM ET

Virtual Film Screening – In conjunction with Art of Activism

A MAN TRIES TO SAVE HIS DAUGHTER AND IS ARRESTED…And then things go from bad to worse. Based on a true story, this film serves as a catalyst for conversation about the intersection of criminal justice and race.  

“Now, more than ever, is the time to challenge social and structural inequity. This is why I pushed to shoot this film in the middle of a pandemic. Telling this story will challenge the media narrative surrounding this particular case.” – Brittney London, Director of Duvar

Brittney London is a Dallas, TX native and the middle child of five. In a family full of big personalities, her need to be heard gave birth to a creative outlet–performing, a craft her mother strongly supported. Brittney is a multi-hyphenate creative who has worked across film, theatre, and new media. She has worked as an actor, script consultant, a teaching artist, a director, and most recently, a writer and filmmaker.

To My Drag Queer Dad in Heaven

4:00 PM ET

by Kāli Quinn – Virtual Film Screening & Talkback

This alchemy of images, poetry, and music attempts to conjure the filmmaker/poet/visionary’s deceased dad after two decades apart in order to relate anew through their evolving gender identities, bask in their common non-binary approach to life, and to embody an age of justice with you.

Kali Quinn is a facilitator of creative discovery, innovative storytelling, physical play, and community dialogue. Trained as a physical ensemble-based theater practitioner, Kali’s work spans collaborating with theater and circus artists to business and healthcare professionals. Kali values creating a welcoming space for participants of all ages and professions to practice this kind of empathy together through: Solo Performances, Workshops, and Mentorship Services. These access points give participants the opportunity to connect, share experiences, gather resources, reconnect to their personal creativity, and dream up compassionate and innovative ways to better care for one another.

Deconstruction & Reconstruction

5:00 & 6:30 PM ET

by Lucy Eden and Nicolette Emanuelle – Live Indoor Circus Performance

Deconstruction & Reconstruction is a blend of sculpture, live music, and virtuosic balancing acts. Lucy Eden and Nicolette Emanuelle explore the link between death and rebirth as they build an organic altar to the pieces of ourselves that we might once have seen as discarded rubble; here, they find new life. In this bittersweet symphony, every new beginning does, in fact, come from some other new beginning’s end. 

色，静 (Color, Quiet)

6:00 PM ET

by Steven Hao – Indoor Film Screening

色, 静 is a black and white mostly silent film that follows four young Asian-Canadians’ separate journeys amidst Anti-Asian violence happening worldwide while reconstructing the dialogue shared with the generation prior. 

Steven (郝邦宇) Hao, born and raised in China, is a Toronto-based actor, singer/songwriter and writer currently enrolled in Ryerson’s Performance Acting program. Steven believes in the power imagery and he aims to create visually stimulating work that leaves ever-lasting imprints inside the minds of his audience. He’s an Artistic Director of Precipice Productions.

Noodles, White Rice and Fruit Loops

6:15 PM ET

by Jacquelyn Pritz – Indoor Dance Performance

Hate speech, vandalism of Asian-owned restaurants, and acts of violence towards elderly Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed America’s racist and xenophobic underbelly. In this dance work that incorporates traditional forms, hiphop, and movement research, an ensemble of Asian American artists take a stand against bigotry and injustice and vulnerably explore their complex, layered, unique selves. Through sharing their individual identity and culture, they reject the one-sided stereotypes and embrace the power of community to heal a broken political reality. 

Dancers: Patrick Otsuki, Lena Premero Curtis, Joana “Jam” Cruz, Ellie Tsuchiya, Perlizbeth De Leon, EC Fajardo, Niko Tioseco

This work was sponsored in part by the Center for Creativity and Arts at Emory University.

Nafs – Harnessing the Seed of Our Ego

7:30 PM ET

by Aysha Waheed – Art and Live Poetry

Aysha is a Pakistani American artist based out of Atlanta, specializing in a style inspired by realism and impressionism. For 25 years, she has exhibited her oil paintings and sculptures in Dubai, England, France, Pakistan and the U.S, including the High Museum in Atlanta. Her most recent series, Nafs, focuses on the architects of Sufism, particularly depicting the ancient traditions of the 11th-12th Century sufi saints, teachers and alchemists. Portraying their journeys of harnessing their ego, while struggling to be in the real world.