News Spotlight: THE 18TH ANNUAL AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL (ABFF) SEEKS COMEDIC TALENT FOR 2ND ANNUAL COMEDY WINGS COMPETITION SPONSORED BY HBO

  


New York, NY (BlackNews.com) — Today, Film Life, Inc. announced the launch of the second annual Comedy Wings Competition, a national search to identify the next outstanding comedian. Submissions are now open, with full details atwww.abff.com. The pool of entries will be narrowed down to up ten semi-finalists, from which four finalists will be selected to receive a trip to 2014 ABFF, in NYC, June 19-22, where they will perform live before the festival audience, for the chance to win an audition with HBO.


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Globetrotters Score Smiles at the Breslin

 Globetrotter’s “Flight Time” gets a confetti splash from team captain Special K Daley at the Breslin Center during their show. 

 
Photo by Rick Garcia

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Michigan Travel: Ziibiwing Center Preserves Tribal Heritage

 

Top  Photo:Every culture seeks to tell their story.  The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s story is told at the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways. 
Courtesy photo
 
Bottom Photo:  Through the presentation of  selected cultural textiles,  the cultural center teaches about the vibrant lifestyle.
Courtesy photo
 
 
 

 

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Movie Review: “The Hobbit: The Desolution of Smaug”

  Studio:  Warner Bros. (2 hr. 41 min.)   

Plot:    The continuing adventure of Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and 13 Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.  
Cast:   Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly
Rating: PG-13    
Bottom Line:  ***1/2  
 
By Laurence Washington
 

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Michigan Artist Named “Male Vocalist of The Year” at 2013 Tejano Music Awards

Ricky Valenz from Lansing, Michigan is 
making waves in the Tejano music industry.
 
Courtesy photo
 
SAN ANTONIO, TX–  The 33rd Annual Tejano Music Awards held at the Lila Cockrell Theater on October 19th, proved to be a big night for Tejano newcomer Ricky Valenz. Valenz, who won last year’s “Best New Artist Male-2012” walked away with two awards, including “Male Vocalist of the Year”, making Valenz the first male artist to win “Best New Artist Male” and “Male Vocalist” back to back.
 
 

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Movie Review: Baggage Claim

Studio:     Fox Searchlight (96 minutes)
Plot:     A single flight attendant embarks on a thirty-thousand-mile expedition mission to find a potential suitor.
Cast:     Paula Patton, Derek Luke, Taye Diggs, Jill Scott, Boris Kodjoe, Adam Brody, Trey Songz
Rating:     PG 13
Bottom Line:     ****
 

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My Michigan: Local Screen Writer Returns Home to Promote Debut Film

Left:  Jazmen Darnell Brown is a screenwriter born and raised in Lansing, MI with his mother, Dawn Brown at the screening of his feature film, “The Citizen”.    Courtesy photos
 
By Deborah M. Walker
 
LANSING, MI — For the past five years, Jazmen Darnell Brown a 2003 J.W. Sexton High School graduate had been waiting anxiously for what would be his inauguration into the world of feature film writing. Since 2008, Brown had been working on his project trying perilously to explain his cinema venture to friends and family who were perplexed as to the extent of his work. Brown tried countless times to clarify and the grand scale of his work and now he can finally reveal the result of his endeavor. 

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Movie Review: Things Never Said

By Samantha Ofole-Prince
 
Studio: Raising Kane Films (112 minutes)
Plot:   An aspiring poet in a troubled marriage starts a new relationship with a new man who helps her find her artistic voice.
Cast:  Shanola Hampton, Elimu Nelson, Omari Hardwick, Tamala Jones, Dorian Missick, Michael Beach
Rating:   R
Bottom Line:     ****

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