My Mind Words Paper + events - literary

Opens June 15 | The 5th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival (Los Angeles)

Date: 15 - 17 June 2012

The Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival will take place at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles (369 East First Street), June 15-17, 2012.

The Festival celebrates stories of the Mixed experience and stories of multiracial Americans, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. A free two-day public event, the Festival brings together film and book lovers, innovative and emerging artists, and multiracial and multicultural families and individuals for workshops, readings, performances, and film screenings.

The Festival, a fiscally sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts, a non-profit organization, is produced by the co-hosts of the award-winning weekly podcast, Mixed Chicks Chat (www.mixedchickschat.com).

The event is free and open to the public; however, pre-registration is strongly encouraged. The complete Festival schedule can be found online at www.mxroots.org.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

The Festival hosts the largest West Coast Loving Day celebration, Saturday, June 16, 2012, at 6:30pm with the annual Loving Prize presentation. Mixed Unplugged—a live event with comedy, music, and spoken word—will be hosted by acclaimed TV and film actress Erica Gimpel (Fame, Profiler) and will feature comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Key & Peele. The presentation is held in conjunction with the 1000-person New York City Loving Day celebration, which is hosted by Loving Day (www.lovingday.org). Free.

Included in the program is a series of Special Family and Youth Events, which will take place on Saturday, June 16, 11am-4:00pm. Sarah Jamila Stevenson, author of the Latte Rebellion, will read and also lead and Create Your Own Movement workshop. Families can also enjoy interactive craft activities all day.

Scholar G. Reginald Daniel and children’s authors Kim Wayans & Kevin Knotts and will each receive a Loving Prize, the Festival's annual award for inspirational storytelling of the Mixed experience during the Saturday night Loving Prize Presentation, June 16, 2012, at 6:30pm.

The Festival will present several feature films including Oscar-shortlist selection The Loving Story (dir. Nancy Buirski), the definitive account of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage. This evocative documentary, which incorporates luminous, newly discovered 16mm footage of the Lovings and their young Jewish lawyers as well as first-person testimony and rare documentary photographs by LIFE magazine photographer Grey Villet, recounts the little-known story of the Loving family. The Festival is also pleased to present several award-winning short films.

The Festival includes author readings by award-winning writers Mat Johnson (Pym, Incognegro), Faith Adiele (Meeting Faith), and many others.

Filmmaking and Writing workshops will be held by published authors and professional filmmakers. For example, Moviola (post production rental house and digital arts institute) will host Making the Microbudget Film: Pre-, Production, and Post- for Under $200,000. Award-winning poet Neil Aitken will present a workshop and Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse will guide emerging artists in how best to direct actors.

Festival sponsors include: Japanese American National Museum (www.janm.org), Zerflin.com, Moviola, Greenhouse Productions, the Flourish Foundation and MyJennyBook.com. Skylight Books is the Festival’s official bookseller.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For inquiries: mxrootsfest@gmail.com

Website: http://www.mxroots.org

diaspora literature, and more:

Opens June 15 | The 5th Annual Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival (Los Angeles) + events - literary