2008 Festival

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Click here to download a map of the RFF venues and full schedule

Workshops

Family Animation Workshop
Soup 2 Nuts, the producers of the acclaimed PBS show Word Girl will lead a workshop on the ins and outs of animation for the young and the young at heart. After a screening of the show they will engage youth in writing, character/background design, sound and storyboarding. Come join in the fun and put your creative spirit to work.

Date: Saturday, August 2nd, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where: Roxbury Center for Arts at Hibernian Hall
Cost: Free

One of Hollywood's premiere acting coaches Troy is a team player with special skills to assist artists in the areas of line memorization, choice work and problem solving. For years, Troy worked for The Disney Channel as an acting coach until he was assigned to work with Hilary Duff on Lizzie McGuire and then later worked on her management team and became Hilary's producing partner for eight years. Troy has formed TMR Entertainment Inc., which is dedicated to the cultivation and preservation of family-friendly television and film. Recent Projects Troy has been associated with are: Wa Inc, Material Girls, Cheaper By The Dozen 2. Troy also assisted Chip Fields for years on shows like "Hangin with Mr. Cooper", "Livin Single", and The Steve Harvey Show", Troy has also worked on The George Lopez Show, NYPD Blue and The Cosby Show.

Master Class with Troy Michael Rowland
Audition Technique; how to audition for film, television and theater. Cold Reading techniques and making great "hot" choices. Scene Study, Improvisation, Monologue work, Movement and Dance and Self Awareness. Topics discussed will be how to survive as an actor, how to set goals and plan a course for your life. How to successfully book and keep an agent and how to obtain a SAG card. The do's and don'ts of auditioning and how to make good healthy connections in the business and how to watch out for dream killers.

Date: Friday, August 1, 12 - 6 p.m.
Where: Roxbury Center for Arts at Hibernian Hall
Cost: $30
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Teen Workshop with acting coach Troy Michael Rowland
So you want to get in to the movies, well here is your chance to get some training under your belt. Disney Channel acting coach will teach a 2 hour On Camera acting workshop just for kids.

Date: Saturday August 2, 12 - 2 p.m.
Where: Roxbury Center for Arts at Hibernian Hall
Cost: $15
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Panels

Health Disparities in Black Communities
Sheryl Lee Ralph will moderate this discussion panel following film screenings on issues around health disparities in black communities.

Why are people in our communities suffering from the lack of proper health care?. This panel discussion addresses health disparities-the higher incidence of certain diseases and conditions, including HIV/AIDS, heart disease, mental health issues and other—in low-income communities and communities of color.

The discussion will reflect the key role that neighborhood factors play in determining health outcomes and explores the relationship between the communities in which people live and their health. The discussion will also propose principles and strategies to reduce health disparities that focus not only on individuals, but also on the neighborhoods and communities in which people live.

Date: Saturday, August 2, 2008, 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (following the short program on Health Disparities in our Community)
Where: Northeastern University, West Village F
Cost: $5
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"The African Pie" African Panel Discussion
Discussion will follow films Africa Unite & Nappy Heads.

In 1894 representatives from Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, and the Ottoman Empire convened in Berlin to discuss the methods by which each country would divvy-up and take a piece of the African pie. By 1914, all of Africa, excluding Liberia and Ethiopia, was under European colonial rule. By 1930, European colonialism was operating at full speed throughout the continent. But by 1954, and largely due to influences from the West, independent nation states, such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Kenya emerged to take back the African soil. Today, Africa is still divided by neocolonialism, class, ethnocentrism, religious intolerance, and gender superiority. How long before the unification of the African continent? What is the role of women, family, religion, class, ethnicity, age, and the African Diaspora in piecing together the fate of Africa?

This panel will bring together key stakeholders and distinguished voices on African affairs to answer questions and share ideas about the past, present, and future of the continent.

Panelists: Askia Toure, Barbara Brown, Ph.D., Charles Burnett, Dan Owusu, Joyce Hope Scott, and Yvettte Modestin