Urban
world!The crowd was spectacular and the enthusiasm was tremendous! The folks who organize the Urbanworld Film Festival had no idea what hit them. New York showed up in full force for the two screenings of Civil Brand Friday August 9th and Saturday the 10th. The lines were around the block and at least a thousand strong, as they came to show support for a movie that wasn't supposed to be made, much less seen. Many who came down to see the film were turned away, partly due to lack of organization on behalf of Urban World, but also because no one could predict how anxious African-American audiences would be to finally witness a film of substance. Especially after the years of mindless comedies and pointless thug flicks that are continuously produced from Hollywood. However, if left up to Lions Gate Films, the same distributors that produced such forgettable films as "The Wash", "State Property" and "Gang Tapes", the Urban World Film Festival screenings will be the last. Lions Gate who acquired CB through a merger, shows absolutely no interest in releasing the film despite winning the Blockbuster award at the American Black Film Festival this pass July.
Audience Award along with an Special Jury Award at the Urban World Film Festival
final luncheon this past Sunday. Warrington appeared on the Tom Joyner
morning show on New York's Kiss FM on Wednesday to promote what he calls the "
Save Civil Brand Campaign", in an effort to help the film get distribution in
theaters across the country. Judging by the massive amount of e-mails that LTG
is receiving in response to the film this pass weekend, many of you already
taking up the charge! We will be constantly posting updates in regards to the
many efforts on behalf of Civil Brand. Our site will give you the most
up-to-date info and we want you to post your reviews or comments about the film
so we can send them to the distributors regularly. Director Neema Barnette asked
that we express her appreciation for all of those who turned out to see her film
and even if you are the many who could not, she is determined to bring the film
back to her home town, New York, very soon, even without the support of Lions
Gate.
Artistic
Director) is a businessman who attempts to fatten his pockets by increasing his
labor pool to attract more private business at the inmate's expense. The
Captain (Clifton Powell) is a troubled and demented small time crook who uses
these women for his own personal pleasure. The female guard, Cervantes, (MC
Lite goes strictly by the book and Michael, (Mos Def) the new young law
student/part time guard, is troubled by the treatment of the women and curious
about the presence of private business.