DoubleTree by Hilton, 1000 NE Multnomah St., Portland, Oregon
Celebrating Our Differences Together
Portland has diverse cultural offerings, beautiful scenery, award-winning food, and more!
1Be the first to screen carefully curated new films and experience powerful play readings.
3Meet industry professionals and talent from all over the U.S. Make memorable connections.
2Learn more on your craft from nationwide experts. Classes are presented in small groups.
4PNMC Festival Ambassador, actress, director, playwright, educator & activist
TV credits include: Taylor in her TV role as Lily Harper in "I'll Fly Away” received a Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actress, 3 NAACP Image Awards and 2 Emmy Award nominations. Taylor was first African American lead in Masterpiece Theatre’s "Cora Unashamed”, starred as Anita Hill in HBO’’s “Strange Justice” (Gracie Award), “A Good Day to Die” (Sidney Poitier), “The Unit”, “CSI Vegas", “Justified”, “First Lady”, “Love Craft Country” and “The Wonder Years”.
Film credits include: "The Negotiator,” (Samuel Jackson), "Courage Under Fire,” (Denzel Washington), “Clockers,” (Spike Lee), “Losing Isaiah” (Halle Berry) "Lean on Me”, (Morgan Freeman), and “Saturday Church”.
Taylor was the first Black woman to play Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" on Broadway.
Playwright credits include: “Crowns” (Helen Hayes award Best Director), "Oo-Bla-Dee," (Jeff Award, Steinberg-ATCA award) and "Drowning Crow," (Broadway, MTC), “The Trinity River Plays” (Edgerton Award) and “stop.reset” (Signature Theater Residency Five), “Bread” (Edgerton Award), “Magnolia” and “The Ties That Bind” (Goodman Theater).
PNMC Festival Executive Producer
Jerry Foster is an actor and director actively involved in the arts within the Portland Metropolitan area for 30 years. Jerry co-founded the Inner City Youth program in 1992. In 1995, he became PassinArt: A Theatre Company’s Artistic Director and currently serves as Board President.
His stage credits and performances include Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, A Soldiers’ Play, Deceptive Love, The Pews, Pill Hill, A Sunbeam, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, Driving Miss Daisy, Big River, and Two Trains Running.
Directing credits include Black Nativity, Juneteenth & Kwanza Celebration for the North Portland library, and the Peace Festival for Black Women for Peace.
Jerry has worked in news media for over 28 years. In 2019, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Zeta Sigma Omega Chapter presented Jerry with the prestigious Emerald Award for the Arts honoring African American Men for community contributions and leadership.
PNMC Festival Curator
Leasharn M. Hopkins is a multi-disciplinary artist. She is a literary (playwright/screenwriter) artist; performance (actor) artist; director (stage and film); and an acting coach. Over the years, Leasharn has written a book of poetry, over thirty full-length theatrical productions (which have been performed and produced across the U.S.), and nine screenplays.
In 2016, she wrote, directed, and produced her first self-produced film short, A Mother’s Plea. The dramatic short’s theme was wrongful incarceration. A Mother’s Plea is available for purchase on YouTube Movies, Amazon Prime, ITunes, and BluRay.com. Leasharn has written, directed, and self-produced her sophomore film short project, Nightmare. This short deals with the emergence of a civil rights icon evaluating today’s African-American society.
In 2022, Leasharn was hired to write two (2) short films. The education film short, African American History Through Our Eyes, was funded by the WeGOJA Foundation and the SC Arts Commission. The film is being shown in all South Carolina schools. The second film short project was an episodic HIV/AIDS project for Arizona State University titled I Knew Better. She has served as line producer on the film short After The Rose for B.O.M. Entertainment and directed and filmed (IPhone) the first season of a web series titled Urban Call for F.L.A. Filmz.
Her television spec script, Felicity Finds Love: Chronicles of A Reluctant Cougar, was a 2024 Essence Film Festival finalist; selected as a quarter-finalist in the BET and ColorCreative Screen Competition. The same television spec script was placed third at the 2018 Urban Media Makers Film Festival in Atlanta, GA.
Leasharn served as curator for the Pacific Northwest Multi-Cultural (PNMC) Readers Series & Film Festival for 2011 and 2023. Also, she serves as Coordinator for the Garland Thompson, Sr. Readers Series Festival for the International Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC.
One of her valued accolades was being chosen as the first African American female recipient for the 2018 Media Screenwriting Fellow in South Carolina. This fellow was awarded through the SC Arts Commission.
As a playwright, she has written four (4) plays which addressed stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in the African American community. Her first play, To Touch God’s Hands, was performed across the U.S. and was the recipient of the 2005 SC DHEC Office of Minority Health Award and funded by the Ford Foundation along with Pfizer Pharmaceutical for a seven-city tour in South Carolina addressing HIV/AIDS Stigma.
Locally, she has received numerous awards and accolades for her work as an HIV advocate and most recently introducing arts rehabilitation in the prison systems in South Carolina.
Leasharn completed the New Scroll Bearers Playwrights Workshop at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Also, she’s is an alumni of the Artist University associated with the SC Arts Commission and an alumni of Bill Dukes Actors Boot Camp.
She is the recipient of the following grant, awards, and accolades: 2017 recipient of the Artist Initiative Grant; Literary Instructor for the SC Arts Commission’s Artist Roster; 2010 recipient of the “Passing the Torch” Award by the Renaissance Foundation; and recognized for her activism in promoting HIV/AIDS Awareness.
PNMC Festival Readings Curator
PNMC Festival Film Curator
Kathryn Mobley is an award-winning broadcast journalist, crafting stories for more than 30 years.
Her other interest is films. Over two decades, she created and nurtured the International Black Theatre Film Fest.
It celebrates a broad array of genres in the form of shorts, mini-docs, web-series, documentaries and features.
She's thrilled to curate films for the Pacific Northwest Multicultural Festival.
GET EXPERIENCE
The PNMC Festival is presented by PassinArt: A Theatre Company, Oregon’s longest producing Black theater company.
The PNMC Festival is celebrating its second year with an in-person festival in the City of Roses, Portland, Oregon. Click on the circle of the day you'd like to view.
Online Passes Pick-up, Youth Artists, or Purchases
Festival Office
Opening remarks/press conference
Oregon Room
A panel of veteran directors discuss the directing process: preproduction, auditions/casting, communicating with designers, the production and performance. Followed by question-and-answer exchange.
The panel will be led by Actor-Director Allie Woods, a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company.
Oregon Room
Allie Woods
Project Nexus; Time: 5:46; Genre: Animation, SciFi
Four misfit teens - each with a troubled past - discover they have superhuman gifts. Gifts that could ignite a revolution and change the social order…if they can stay alive.
Executive Producer, Director: Kellita Smith; Writers: Tony Bracy, Carlos Dixon, Eric Smith, Kellita Smith
Follow the Water; Time: 22:20; Genre: Environmental Conservation
An exploration of our collective connection, disconnection and `re-connection' to native waters told through an indigenous lens. Discover the ripple effect of being physically and spiritually disconnected and what we can learn from the original keepers of global water ways.
Producer: A MetroEast Community Media Production for the Clean Rivers Coalition in association with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Karen & Her Judgement Day; Time: 12:12; Genre: Comedy
If Archie Bunker had a granddaughter, standup comedian Karen would be it. Hiding behind her racist jokes, the ‘Queen of Mean’ falls from her throne into a world she least expected.
Writer, Director, Producer: Joy Shannon
Hamilton Room
Red Bicycle; Time: 15:08; Genre: Animation
This stop-action animation explores themes such as memory, aging, and the passage of time through the story of an elderly man who revisits his youth through surreal encounters with a red bicycle.
Director, Producer: Rodolpho Pinotti Centopeia Piá Collective
Only the Fruit; Time: 8:53; Genre: Light Drama
A woman must choose between her love for her mother and freedom from the cult controlling them.
Director: Mike Hodge; Writers: Kenneth Darling, Laura Hodge; Producers: Mike Hodge, Giovanna Cossalter-Walters
Rock Island Prison; Time: 6:49; Genre: Historical Drama
It’s 1864 and the Civil War is raging. A runaway slave becomes a Union soldier but discovers his hardest fight for freedom sits behind bars.
Writer, Director and Producer: Joy Shannon
Washington Room
Young & Naïve; Time: 4:42; Genre: Drama, Child Trafficking
Pulling back the curtain on child sex-trafficking. “Daddy said this game was just for two.”
Writer, Creative Director: Tuesday Conner; Producers: Lynne Conner Smith, Nina Womack, Samuel Morris, Eliza Roberts, Malcolm Synigal, Sr.
Collateral Breakup; Time: 6:26; Genre: Comedy
Ending a relationship can be painful. But for Yamil and Estrella, their lovers’ quarrel ignites into panic after an unexpected encountering in the woods.
Director: Philip A. Anderson; Producers: Rose Bianco, Dee Riete
Eclosion; Time: 2:24; Genre: Mental Health
A teenage girl fights against a powerful darkness that attempts to consume her.
Writer: Bella Diekman
Minutes to Go; TRT: 17:04; Genre: Light Drama, comedy
The clock ticks at the end of a couple's life-long journey, as the love they've shared for nearly 70 years propels them into what comes next. Starring award-winner Starletta DuBois
Writer, Director: Rick Page
Hamilton Room
BBL: Big Black Labrador; Time: 5:55; Genre: Comedy
This comedy keeps you ‘bouncing’ with laughter as a woman frantically tries to get rid of a failed surprise for her guy. Then he shows up and catches her in the act.
Writer, Director, Producer: Candace Color with Candace Color Productions
One Small Step; Time: 13:18; Genre: Drama
A 9-year-old girl attempts to juggle the responsibilities of school and her younger siblings after her mother goes missing.
Writer: Travis Rush; Director: Aqsa Altaf
Do It for Grandma; Time: 8:41; Genre: Comedy
The death of their grandmother catapults two women down a slippery path. Ms. Goody-Two Shoes picks up her Ride-or-Die cousin from the bank, only to discover the “withdrawal” wasn’t exactly legal.
Writer, Director, Producer: Ashley C. Thomas
Student Accomplice; Time: 5:50; Genre: Animation, Comedy
Letty is an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old. But when a bank robber hijacks her driver’s test, she must grab her fears with both hands and turn things around.
A BYU Center for Animation-Student Film
The Great Organizer: Ella Josephine Baker; Time: 33:16; Genre: Historical Profile
During the Civil Rights Movement, Ella Josephine Baker was an amazing organizer. She united ordinary men and women under one simple motto, "Strong people don’t need strong leaders. The people are The Movement”. She was also a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). But her persuasive influence came at a cost.
Writers, Producers: Larry ‘Syid’ Wright & Glenn Jones; Pitchvine Entertainment; C.J. Creative Enterprise, LLC
Washington Room
Youth Actor Bentley Lewis known for films Forward Thinking (2025); Grace for a Gangsta (2024); and The Dragonfly Tale (2023)
Halsey Room
Bentley Lewis
Written By: Jane Mantiri
See Jane Run takes the reader from the tragedies of life in the late 1800's in Indonesia, through temporary escape and life in the Netherlands, to ultimate success and joy of living in America. This is the story of one woman's struggle to overcome family trauma, racism and sexism. She selflessly shares some of the darkest moments of her life, and some of the unspeakable traumas suffered by her family because of their Indo heritage.
Jefferson/Adams Room
Jane V Mantiri
Instructors: Brennan Collins & Bryce Mackie
Worldwide, five percent of adults struggle with depression. However, it is treatable. Brennan Collins & Bryce Mackie have both tackled this condition. They’ll talk about how artists can explore this issue in film.
Oregon Room
Written By: Larry Americ Allen Jackson
A mother has dinner with the son she had aborted 30 years earlier.
Jackson Room
Larry A. Allen
Written By: David Hodges
Psychological thriller. From the moment mother and son open their shed to a stranger, the final terrifying climax is the least likely but inevitable outcome.
Roosevelt Room
Intimate Conversation with Actor, Director,
Playwright, Screenwriter & Producer Javon Johnson
Description: Hosted by multi-disciplinary artist, Javon Johnson.
An audience-driven in-depth conversation with this multi-disciplinary artist.
Oregon Room
Javon Johnson
Keepers of the Flame; Time: 17:10; Genre: Historical, Drama
On the eve of the 1913 inaugural Women’s Suffrage parade, a group of African American women refuse to allow racism to exclude them from this national movement.
Writer: Judy Tate; Producer, Director: Shari Lynette Carpenter, Tia Dionne Hodge ; Executive Producers: Ed Wheeler & Messeret Stroman Wheeler
Who’s With Me?; Time: 4:29; Genre: Social Justice
Another senseless police shooting. This spoken word artist now challenges others to act.
Writer, Director: Darryl Dillard; Producers: Darryl Dillard, Nicholas Marrinson, Tadas Stapona
HOLLA; Time: 13:04; Genre: Comedy
Jasmine was excited when Brandon finally popped the question. Now, the only thing between them and holy matrimony is getting permission from her parents. What could go wrong?
Writer, Producer, Director: Victor Jones
Hamilton Room
Written By: Jae Carlsson
Los Angeles 1962 – a place of dreams for many. For arts columnist Craig August of son– L.A. is instead a fertile reality. For independent-spirited Whitney Connors – just a way station in her life-plan. Their mismatched attraction to each other threatens to undermine each’s sense of purpose in the world... Raising questions about the very meaning of life.
Grant Room
Finger Paint; Time: 15:29; Genre: Light Family Drama
A brother and sister proudly serve in the U.S. Marine Corp. In the aftermath of a devastating explosion, the fragile bond between them is tested as they confront buried memories and begin a journey of healing.
Writer, Director: Angel Yvonne; Producer: Javon Johnson Productions
Counted; Time: 11:00; Genre: Light Family Drama
A mother fights to lead her children out of financial despair forges an unlikely bond with a stranger-- forcing her to face a harsh reality for herself and her children.
Writer, Director: Deborah Franco
Oregon Room
Regina Taylor
FILM: Minutes to Go; TRT: 17:04; Genre: Light Drama, comedy
LOGLINE: The clock ticks at the end of a couple's life-long journey, as the love they've shared for nearly 70 years propels them into what comes next. Starring award-winner Starletta DuBois
Writer, Director: Rick Page
Hamilton Room
Starletta DuPois
Make A Circle; Time: 1:29:10, Genre: Documentary
This film follows three California childcare providers who are determined to change how society values the education of its youngest citizens as well as the people who teach them.
Filmmakers: Jen Bradwell, Co-Director, Editor; Todd Boekelheide, Co-Director, Cinematographer; Rebekah Fergusson, Producer; Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Consulting Editor
Hamilton
Written By: Kenthedo Robinson
Play Synopsis: York was enslaved man who was the only African American member with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. A lifelong slave of William Clark, York participated in the entire exploration and made a significant difference. This is his story.
Jackson Room
Dedicated time for groups to receive and discuss the previous session, Recapping overall schedule, and plan for the next two (2) days
Halsey Room
Jefferson/Adams Room
Written & Performed By: Regina Taylor, 2025 Fest Ambassador
Play Synopsis: Exhibit is a sharing with community’s stories of Black Resilience. Raw and Straightforward storytelling about how we have and can survive these difficult times- knowing that even in the darkest hours there is the hope and presence of light.
With Exhibit I want to have a conversation with the communities- Here and Now. How do we weather this present moment into the next. As the threat of Erasing "Black History" is hurled out-What do we need to hold onto? What's left? What's next?
Oregon Room
Regina Taylor
Presenters: Lynn Dow
Lynn Dow is the writer and creative brain behind the feature, Bull Street. Part of her amazing team to bring this massive project to film is executive producer Wendy Tucker Tannock. Dow will discuss the challenges of landing a distribution deal and when it’s best to create your own system.
PNMC Film Fest Opener: Bull Street
Jackson Room
Bull Street; Time: 1:58:00; Genre: Drama
A 39-year-old personal injury lawyer fights to save her family home and land from a vengeful neighboring landowner and from the legal shenanigans by her recently revealed, half-sister. Based on true events.
Starring award-winning Loretta Devine & Amy Madigan
Writer, Director: Lynn Dow; Executive Producer: Wendy Tucker Tannock
Jackson Room
Written By: Javon Johnson (2023 Fest Ambassador)
The Spanish Jade is a fascinating theatrical ménage tois of three unlikely displaced characters brought together by fate when a mentally challenged AL takes in his new best friend. The Spanish Jade forces us to search for a deeper truth and equality for all, no matter race, age, affliction or gender."
Roosevelt Room
Javon Johnson
Online Passes Pick-up, Youth Artists, or Purchases
Festival Office
Conversation with Bobby Yan
Description: An audience driven in-depth conversation with 7-time Emmy Award winning film director
Madison Room
Bobby Yan
Instructor: Bianca LaVerne Jones
Unlock your inner star with Acting Alchemy, the spirit-led acting training that will transform your craft and lift you to the next level! Get ready to channel your characters with electrifying precision, master your objectives, and absolutely crush every audition that comes your way.
Bianca LaVerne Jones, an expert guide with a passion for helping actors shine, will lead you through this incredible journey. You’ll deep dive into the core of what makes a performance unforgettable – Actions, Objectives, and Intentions—with personalized one-on-one or dynamic group guidance. You’ll be provided with sides, so you can start putting these powerful techniques into practice right away.
This isn’t just an acting class; it’s an exhilarating adventure of self-discovery, and you’re invited to bring your people with you on this incredible ride. Join Acting Alchemy and dare to transform!
Roosevelt Room
Bianca LaVerne Jones
Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times; Time: 12:11; Genre: Light Drama
Over decades, the life threads of two men intersect five times. Each randomly influenced by cultural prejudices. Can life experiences and wisdom eventually mold them into friends?
Director: Marcus Markou; Producers: Sara Butler, Sophie Andrea Mitchell
Lotus; Time: 14:54; Genre: Mental Health, drama
A young man teeters on the edge of despair. While isolating himself in a remote cabin, he discovers hope.
Writers: Bryce Mackie, Brennan Collins; Directors: Bryce Mackie, Brennan Collins
Tell Me Where It Hurts; Time: 7:07; Genre: RomCom
Daily, one couple demonstrates the ‘feeling’ of love, honor and respect. Because actions always speak louder than words.
Producer, Director: Brittney Brackett
Minutes to Go; Time: 17:04; Genre: Light Drama, Comedy
The clock ticks at the end of a couple's life-long journey, as the love they've shared for nearly 70 years propels them into what comes next.
Starring award-winner Starletta DuBois
Writer, Director: Rick Page
Hamilton Room
Starletta DuPois
Faith the Conqueror; Time: 15:48; Genre: Comedy
Faith wants to marry and has his sights set on Ipek, much to her surprise! Although, his declaration of love doesn’t land as he anticipates.
Writer, Director: Onur Yagiz
Boxnard; Time: 5:11; Genre: Animation
This animation shows how a young Latinx boxer ‘knocks out’ some of the negative images overshadowing his California town.
Producer, Writer, Director, Narrator: Martín Alberto Gonzalez; Illustrator/Animator: Kiran Shrinivaspur; Consulting Producer: J. J. Vasquez
Superman Doesn’t Steal; Time: 19:00l Genre: Youth Drama
Between 1979-1981, The Atlanta Child Murders terrified African American residents. 29 African American children, teens and adults—mostly boys—were kidnapped and killed. One family protectively shields their young daughter and son. However, the lure of comic book superheroes pierces the bubble, causing the youth to question the meaning of heroes, villains, Superman and themselves.
Based on true events.
Writer, Director: Tamika Lamison; Producers: Tamika Lamison, Chris Beal, Dominique DeLeon,
Carol Shine, Ben Ephraim
Washington Room
The Present; Time: 4:19; Genre: Animation
A young boy cocoons himself in anger and hurt—isolating himself from family and friends. One day, his mother breaks through the barriers with a unique present.
Director, Animation, Screenplay: Jacob Frey; Producer: Anna Matacz, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects & Digital Postproduction of Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg
Keepers of the Flame; Time: 17:10; Genre: Historical, Drama
On the eve of the 1913 inaugural Women’s Suffrage parade, a group of African American women refuse to allow racism to exclude them from this national movement.
Writer: Judy Tate; Producer, Director: Shari Lynette Carpenter, Tia Dionne Hodge; Executive Producers: Ed Wheeler & Messeret Stroman Wheeler
Who’s With Me?; Time: 4:29; Genre: Social Justice
Another senseless police shooting. This spoken word artist now challenges others to act.
Writer, Director: Darryl Dillard; Producers: Darryl Dillard, Nicholas Marrinson, Tadas Stapona
HOLLA; Time: 13:04; Genre: Comedy
Jasmine was excited when Brandon finally popped the question. Now, the only thing between them and holy matrimony is getting permission from her parents. What could go wrong?
Writer, Producer, Director: Victor Jones
Hamilton Room
Rebel Wise: Land Back; Time: 6:13 Genre: Environmental Conservation
Weaving ancient wisdom with modern music inspiring people to re-indiginize and to reconnect with this world’s native resources. Conservation for future generations.
Music producer, director, cinematographer, editor: Quincy Davis
Interception: Jayne Kennedy American Sportscaster; Time: 13:00; Genre: Bio
When a bronze-skin bombshell rocks the world of Sunday Morning Football, millions tune in. But few know the tumultuous story of Jayne Kennedy, the first Black woman to boldly run interception on the racial lines of American sports broadcasting.
Writer, Director: Safiya Songhai
Student Accomplice; Time: 5:50;
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Letty is an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old. But when a bank robber hijacks her driver’s test, she must grab her fears with both hands and turn things around.
A BYU Center for Animation-Student Film
Washington Room
Instructors: Mike & Laura Hodge
Description: AI has long been used in medical advancement, manufacturing and quality control, and as assistive technologies for the disabled. The promise of machine learning and pattern recognition is transformative. Now, some want to use AI in the arts.
IT experts Mike & Laura Hodge will discuss the idea of using an ethically licensed and trained AI model to create film/video projects.
Hamilton Room
Participants from different groups get to know each other
Feedback
Dedicated time for groups to receive and discuss the previous sessions overall schedule, and plan for the next couple of days.
Halsey Room
Facilitators – William Andre Buchanan and Ray Jenkins
Description: "Dobermans Genesis" is an intimate documentary chronicling the ambitious journey of two visionary filmmakers, William Andre Buchanan and Ray Jenkins to become the first African American producers to complete an independent full-length 3D animation project for theatrical release. Buchanan & Jenkins show clips from the documentary and explain live the highs and lows of their arduous path, moments of triumph, disappointment, and resilience while sharing advice on funding film projects and attracting investors for all filmmakers.
Oregon Room
Ray Jenkins
William Andre Buchanan
Written By: Nancy Gilliam
The play takes place in the 1960s at the height of the Black Power movement when the FBI targeted Black independent booksellers.
Grant Room
Nancy M. Gilliam
Opportunities for individuals or small groups to create and rehearse short pieces
Halsey Room
Written By: Jeanette Hill
These neighborhood women form an unlikely bond as they struggle to salvage the broken pieces of their shattered lives into some semblance of normalcy. This is a journey of love, loss and learning to love again that goes beyond our traditional ideas of family, relationships and generational lines.
Jefferson/Adams Room
Jeanette W. Hill
Project Nexus; Time: 5:46; Genre: Animation, SciFi
Four misfit teens - each with a troubled past - discover they have superhuman gifts. Gifts that could ignite a revolution and change the social order…if they can stay alive.
Executive Producer, Director: Kellita Smith; Writers: Tony Bracy, Carlos Dixon, Eric Smith, Kellita Smith
Follow the Water; Time: 22:20 Genre: Environmental Conservation
An exploration of our collective connection, disconnection and re-connection to native waters told through an indigenous lens. Discover the ripple effect of being physically and spiritually disconnected and what we can learn from the original keepers of global water ways.
Producer: A MetroEast Community Media Production for the Clean Rivers Coalition in association with the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Karen & Her Judgement Day; Time: 12:12; Genre: Comedy
If Archie Bunker had a granddaughter, standup comedian Karen would be it. Hiding behind her racist jokes, the ‘Queen of Mean’ falls from her throne into a world she least expected.
Writer, Director, Producer: Joy Shannon
Hamilton Room
Opportunities for individuals or small groups to create and rehearse short pieces.
Halsey Room
Written By: Ron Talarico
In a family ripped apart by forbidden desires, secrets, crossfire communications, and crippling fears that together create a stranglehold on their willingness to forgive, its members descend into a whirlwind of anger that threatens to destroy them.
Grant Room
The Ebony Canal; Time: 27:00; Genre: Bio, Black Infant Mortality
Narrated by Academy Award winner Viola Davis, The Ebony Canal is a poignant documentary exploring the disparities of infant mortality and maternal health among Black and Brown women. Their powerful stories of healing and hope strive to transform the future of maternal care.
Executive Producer/Facilitator: William Andre Buchanan; Director: Emmai Alaquva; Production Company: Ya Momz House, Inc.
Rock Island Prison; Time: 6:49; Genre: Historical Drama
It’s 1864 and the Civil War is raging. A runaway slave becomes a Union soldier but discovers his hardest fight for freedom sits behind bars.
Writer, Director and Producer: Joy Shannon
Do It for Grandma; Time: 8:41; Genre: Comedy
The death of their grandmother catapults two women down a slippery path. Ms. Goody-Two Shoes picks up her Ride-or-Die cousin from the bank, only to discover the “withdrawal” wasn’t exactly legal.
Writer, Director, Producer: Ashley C. Thomas
Washington Room
William Andre Buchanan
Young & Naïve; Time: 4:42 Genre: Drama, Child Trafficking
Pulling back the curtain on child sex-trafficking. “Daddy said this game was just for two.”
Writer, Creative Director: Tuesday Conner; Producers: Lynne Conner Smith, Nina Womack, Samuel Morris, Eliza Roberts, Malcolm Synigal, Sr.
Eclosion; Time: 2:24; Genre: Mental Health
A teenage girl fights against a powerful darkness that attempts to consume her.
Writer: Bella Diekman
Collateral Breakup; Time: 6:26; Genre: Comedy
Ending a relationship can be painful. But for Yamil and Estrella, their lovers’ quarrel ignites into panic after an unexpected encountering in the woods.
Director: Philip A. Anderson; Producers: Rose Bianco, Dee Riete
Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times; Time: 6:19, Genre: Light Drama
Over decades, the life threads of two men intersect five times. Each randomly influenced by cultural prejudices. Can life experiences and wisdom eventually mold them into friends?
Director: Marcus Markou; Producers: Sara Butler, Sophie Andrea Mitchell
Hamilton Room
Red Bicycle; Time: 15:08; Genre: Animation
This stop-action animation explores themes such as memory, aging, and the passage of time through the story of an elderly man who revisits his youth through surreal encounters with a red bicycle.
Director, Producer: Rodolpho Pinotti Centopeia Piá Collective
Only the Fruit; Time: 8:53; Genre: Light Drama
A woman must choose between her love for her mother and freedom from the cult controlling them.
Director: Mike Hodge; Writers: Kenneth Darling, Laura Hodge; Producers: Mike Hodge, Giovanna Cossalter-Walters
Talk to Me; Time: 6:49; Genre: Drama, Suicide
As a young mother drives with her son, each mile unravels painful memories. Along the journey, she grapples with love, loss, and the flickering hope for a brighter future.
Writer, Director: Paris Nicole; Producers: Paris Nicole, Ben Merdith
One Small Step; Time: 13:18; Genre: Drama
A 9-year-old girl attempts to juggle the responsibilities of school and her younger siblings after her mother goes missing.
Writer: Travis Rush; Director: Aqsa Altaf
Counted; Time: 11:00; Genre: Light Family Drama
A mother fights to lead her children out of financial despair forges an unlikely bond with a stranger-- forcing her to face a harsh reality for herself and her children.
Writer, Director: Deborah Franco
Washington Room
Opportunities for individuals to further explore the arts
Halsey Room
Written By: Lorey Hayes
Senator Franklin Wright is living the American Dream. Propelled to political stardom by a campaign manager who is Asian American and female, he stands on the threshold of making history: becoming California’s first African-American Governor. Or does he?
It is a question Franklin must answer when, as campaign front runner, he finds himself thrust in the midst of a scandal that threatens to ruin the election, his career, his marriage and forces him to make a life and death decision.
The chilling fact is: the scandal is based on a secret his wife has harbored for 17 years. Power Play is about the women behind this powerful man who find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of personal and political intrigue that threatens to destroy them all.
Jefferson/Adams Room
Lorey Hayes
Opportunities for individuals or small groups to rehearse short pieces
Halsey Room
Written By: Glen Alan
The story explores the impact of addiction, abandonment, the search for identity, and the journey toward healing. Crackbaby follows the emotional and transformative journey of Hope, a woman born, addicted to crack cocaine, as she searches for the mother who abandoned her in the hospital.
The play is a narrative piece that traces her entire life, beginning with her birth, through her childhood in foster care, adolescence, and ultimately, her adult search for her mother. Along, the way Hope grapples with her own identity, the psychological scars of being left behind, and the pain of not knowing.
Roosevelt Room
Glenn Alan
Make A Circle; Time: 1:29:10, Genre: Documentary
This film follows three California childcare providers who are determined to change how society values the education of its youngest citizens as well as the people who teach them.
Filmmakers: Jen Bradwell, Co-Director, Editor; Todd Boekelheide, Co-Director, Cinematographer; Rebekah Fergusson, Producer: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, Consulting Editor
Roosevelt Room
A Taste for Turkish Caviar
Written By: Stephen Jared
It was simple. Reggie and Bob were to pick up a man and keep him safe until the American Consul could get him out of Turkey. Then they found out he was a Nazi. And now there’s a dead man at the rendezvous. Teeming with refugees and spies, plunging into a deadly game of survival at any cost, postwar Istanbul proves to be a place for cunning and courageous men. Unfortunately, Reggie and Bob were tasked with this assignment while possessing neither of those qualities.
Apron Strings
Written By: Allie Woods
Play Synopsis: A coming-of-age family story featuring a single mother and her adult children. She is wearing many hats and has different challenges with each child in their different stages of development.
Just For the Horror of It
Written By: Stephen R. Stewart
A successful businesswoman interviews a high-priced call girl for the position of having an affair with her unknowing husband of many years. He has his own ideas about the arrangement.
Secret Men Keep
Written By: Glen Alan
A day in the life of couple having a tough conversation. Their relationship is based on love, but conflict appears to be threatening. The couple have a surprise which could be the biggest obstacle.
Running Late
Written By: Robert H. Miller
This play is about a boycott demonstration about to take place at a department store in North Carolina in the 1960’s. MARCUS CHANDELIER, African American college student, is intensely writing slogans on the placard boards. Marcus meets an unexpected ally for the cause and is concerned about her motives. The two have a heated exchange of ideas and experiences concerning the Civil Rights protest about to take place.
The Store
Written By: Jeannine Foster-McKelvia
An urban tale from the 1970s in East Liberty neighborhood, Pittsburgh, PA. Neighborhood store with grocery staples in the front, bread, milk, a few canned goods, pop, snacks, etc. from the middle of the store back is a lunch counter they serve simple breakfast, eggs, home fries, bacon, coffee, hamburgers, French fries and the most popular ice cream and milk shakes. At the very back you can see part of an office, a chair and a file cabinet. Come to Booker’s store and learn of the different experiences from his colorful neighbors like Big Jim, with whom his was incarcerated for a period of time.
Oregon Room
Stephen Stewart
Glenn Alan
Allie Woods
Jeannine Foster-McKelvia
Online Passes Pick-up, Youth Artists or Purchases
Festival Office
Instructor: Pat Battistini
Description: Through discussion and participation, you will learn what you can expect during an audition, how to prepare compelling monologues and what can you do to help raise the odds of booking the job.
Roosevelt Room
Instructor: Glen Alan
Madison Room
Glenn Alan
Keepers of the Flame; Time: 17:10; Genre: Historical, Drama
On the eve of the 1913 inaugural Women’s Suffrage parade, a group of African American women refuse to allow racism to exclude them from this national movement.
Writer: Judy Tate; Producer, Director: Shari Lynette Carpenter, Tia Dionne Hodge; Executive Producers: Ed Wheeler & Messeret Stroman Wheeler
Who’s With Me? Time: 4:29; Genre: Social Justice
Another senseless police shooting. This spoken word artist now challenges others to act.
Writer, Director: Darryl Dillard; Producers: Darryl Dillard, Nicholas Marrinson, Tadas Stapona
HOLLA; Time: 13:04; Genre: Comedy
Jasmine was excited when Brandon finally popped the question. Now, the only thing between them and holy matrimony is getting permission from her parents. What could go wrong?
Writer, Producer, Director: Victor Jones
Hamilton Room
Opportunities for individuals or small groups to rehearse short pieces
Halsey Room
The Ebony Canal; Time: 27:00 Genre: Bio, Black Infant Mortality
Narrated by Academy Award winner Viola Davis, The Ebony Canal is a poignant documentary exploring the disparities of infant mortality and maternal health among Black and Brown women. Their powerful stories of healing and hope strive to transform the future of maternal care.
Executive Producer/Facilitator: William Andre Buchanan; Director: Emmai Alaquva; Production Company: Ya Momz House, Inc.
Rock Island Prison; Time: 6:49; Genre: Historical Drama
It’s 1864 and the Civil War is raging. A runaway slave becomes a Union soldier but discovers his hardest fight for freedom sits behind bars.
Writer, Director and Producer: Joy Shannon
Do It For Grandma; Time: 8:41; Genre: Comedy
The death of their grandmother catapults two women down a slippery path. Ms. Goody-Two Shoes picks up her Ride-or-Die cousin from the bank, only to discover the “withdrawal” wasn’t exactly legal.
Writer, Director, Producer: Ashley C. Thomas
Washington Room
William Andre Buchanan
Young & Naïve; Time: 4:42 Genre: Drama, Child Trafficking
Pulling back the curtain on child sex-trafficking. “Daddy said this game was just for two.”
Writer, Creative Director: Tuesday Conner; Producers: Lynne Conner Smith, Nina Womack, Samuel Morris, Eliza Roberts, Malcolm Synigal, Sr.
Collateral Breakup; Time: 6:26; Genre: Comedy
Ending a relationship can be painful. But for Yamil and Estrella, their lovers’ quarrel ignites into panic after an unexpected encountering in the woods.
Director: Philip A. Anderson; Producers: Rose Bianco, Dee Riete
The Present; Time: 4:19; Genre: Animation
A young boy cocoons himself in anger and hurt—isolating himself from family and friends. One day, his mother breaks through the barriers with a unique present.
Director, Animation, Screenplay: Jacob Frey; Producer: Anna Matacz, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects & Digital Postproduction of Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg
Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times; Time: 12:11; Genre: Light Drama
Over decades, the life threads of two men intersect five times. Each randomly influenced by cultural prejudices. Can life experiences and wisdom eventually mold them into friends?
Director: Marcus Markou; Producers: Sara Butler, Sophie Andrea Mitchell
Hamilton Room
BBL: Big Black Labrador; Time: 5:55; Genre: Comedy
This comedy keeps you ‘bouncing’ with laughter as a woman frantically tries to get rid of a failed surprise for her guy. Then he shows up and catches her in the act.
Writer, Director, Producer: Candace Color with Candace Color Productions
One Small Step; Time: 13:18; Genre: Drama
A 9-year-old girl attempts to juggle the responsibilities of school and her younger siblings after her mother goes missing.
Writer: Travis Rush; Director: Aqsa Altaf
Red Bicycle; Time: 15:08; Genre: Animation
This stop-action animation explores themes such as memory, aging, and the passage of time through the story of an elderly man who revisits his youth through surreal encounters with a red bicycle.
Director, Producer: Rodolpho Pinotti Centopeia Piá Collective
The Great Organizer: Ella Josephine Baker; Time: 33:16; Genre: Historical Profile
During the Civil Rights Movement, Ella Josephine Baker was an amazing organizer. She united ordinary men and women under one simple motto, "Strong people don’t need strong leaders. The people are The Movement”. She was also a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). But her persuasive influence came at a cost.
Writers, Producers: Larry ‘Syid’ Wright & Glenn Jones; Pitchvine Entertainment; C.J. Creative Enterprise, LLC
Hamilton Room
Facilitator: Pat Battistini
Description: In this workshop, you'll explore opportunities on how to create interesting and believable dialogue for your characters through discussion and various hands-on exercises.
Oregon Room
Written By: Jeannine Foster-McKelvia
When five college friends gather for a reunion, homecoming weekend on the campus of a Southern HBCU, these mature African American women discuss old times, the nature of friendship, sex, marriage, and men. Closely held secrets are revealed that alternately bring them closer together and tear at the fabric of their life-long friendship. But when tragedy occurs, they find strength and courage in each other and ultimately find true friendship endures the hard times.
Jefferson/Adams Room
Jeannine Foster-McKelvia
Facilitators: Lynn Dow
Description: Lynn Dow is the writer and creative brain behind the feature, Bull Street. Part of her amazing team to bring this massive project to film is executive producer Wendy Tucker Tannock. Dow will discuss the challenges of landing a distribution deal.
Washington Room
Written By: James Flores
BIDDY MASON (A historical person) tells of being born into slavery, raped by her Master but loving the three daughters which she bears. She talks of traveling to Salt Lake City with her Master and then settling in San Bernardino in California at a Mormon encampment. When she travels into town for provisions in the burgeoning little town of Los Angeles she learns that slavery has been abolished in California. Her Master threatens to claim her daughters as family and take them to a slavery state. Biddy must choose freedom or staying with her daughters.
Madison Room
Written By: Richard Pierce
Jackie Robinson has just signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The other players in the Negro League sensing that his signing will open the floodgates for other Black ballplayers and tired of the mistreatment by their owners, decide to form their own team, (with the disapproval of their owner who they are still under contract). The best of the best from around the league join together to for the Immortals and take on all comers. Their aim is to showcase their talents for the Major Leagues, although the owners are doing everything in their power to stop them.
Jackson Room
Richard LaMonte Pierce
Written By: Nikhil Kashyap
SARASU, a maid (late thirties), works in a large mansion owned by AKKA (late fifties). Along with her daughter NAMRATA (twelve), she lives in the mansion’s garage. Over the last ten years they’ve formed an unconventional family with Akka helping as a tutor for Namrata. A few years ago, Akka’s own son Nicky had left to America for university. The unconventional family relations unravel to reveal an interesting dynamic among this characters.
Lincoln Room
Opportunities for individuals or small groups to rehearse short pieces
Halsey Room
Written By: Richard Strompl
The play is an existential dramedy about life choices and possibilities, the life chosen and the lives left behind. It touches upon intimacy, relationships, higher education, abortion and mortality. The play features five characters, two male and three female. They include Duncan, the main character, who appears throughout the play. He is in his late 30s and a professor at a prestigious institution in New York City. He is very philosophical in his thinking (to a fault) and has a chronic problem making choices and decisions in his life, especially when important and life changing.
Roosevelt Room
Project Nexus; Time: 5:46 Genre: Animation, SciFi
Four misfit teens - each with a troubled past - discover they have superhuman gifts. Gifts that could ignite a revolution and change the social order…if they can stay alive.
Executive Producer, Director: Kellita Smith; Writers: Tony Bracy, Carlos Dixon, Eric Smith, Kellita Smith
Two Strangers Who Meet Five Times; Time: 12:11; Genre: Light Drama
Over decades, the life threads of two men intersect five times. Each randomly influenced by cultural prejudices. Can life experiences and wisdom eventually mold them into friends?
Director: Marcus Markou; Producers: Sara Butler, Sophie Andrea Mitchell
Lotus; Time: 14:54; Genre: Mental Health, drama
A young man teeters on the edge of despair. While isolating himself in a remote cabin, he discovers hope.
Writers: Bryce Mackie, Brennan Collins; Directors: Bryce Mackie, Brennan Collins
Tell Me Where It Hurts; Time: 7:07; Genre: RomCom
Daily, one couple demonstrates the ‘feeling’ of love, honor and respect. Because actions always speak louder than words.
Producer, Director: Brittney Brackett
Minutes to Go; Time: 17:04; Genre: Light Drama, Comedy
The clock ticks at the end of a couple's life-long journey, as the love they've shared for nearly 70 years propels them into what comes next.
Starring award-winner Starletta DuBois
Writer, Director: Rick Page
Hamilton Room
Starletta DuPois
Faith The Conqueror; Time: 15:48; Genre: Comedy
Faith wants to marry and has his sights set on Ipek, much to her surprise! Although, his declaration of love doesn’t land as he anticipates.
Writer, Director: Onur Yagiz
Boxnard; Time: 5:11; Genre: Animation
This animation shows how a young Latinx boxer ‘knocks out’ some of the negative images overshadowing his California town.
Producer, Writer, Director, Narrator: Martín Alberto Gonzalez; Illustrator/Animator: Kiran Shrinivaspur; Consulting Producer: J. J. Vasquez
Superman Doesn’t Steal; Time: 19:00; Genre: Youth Drama
Between 1979-1981, The Atlanta Child Murders terrified African American residents. 29 African American children, teens and adults—mostly boys—were kidnapped and killed. One family protectively shields their young daughter and son. However, the lure of comic book superheroes pierces the bubble, causing the youth to question the meaning of heroes, villains, Superman and themselves. Based on true events.
Writer, Director: Tamika Lamison; Producers: Tamika Lamison, Chris Beal, Dominique DeLeon, Carol Shine, Ben Ephraim
Washington Room
Written By: Lorey Hayes and Bobby Crear
1964. In a small Texas town, still reeling from the Kennedy assassination, a Russian immigrant and an African American war veteran risk their freedom and lives to save a young boy and his mother from the vicious cycle of domestic violence.
Humor, laughter and lighthearted moments sprinkled in the mix of an abusive marriage, a forbidden relationship and memories of death and bigotry suffered by Black Soldiers during World War II, hold the lid on tensions that threaten to fuse an emotional powder keg.
Winner 2007 Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writer’s Award. Finalist for 2006 Eugene O’Neill Playwright’s Conference
Jefferson/Adams Room
Lorey Hayes
Keepers of the Flame; Time: 17:10; Genre: Historical, Drama
On the eve of the 1913 inaugural Women’s Suffrage parade, a group of African American women refuse to allow racism to exclude them from this national movement.
Writer: Judy Tate; Producer; Director: Shari Lynette Carpenter, Tia Dionne Hodge; Executive Producers: Ed Wheeler & Messeret Stroman Wheeler
Who’s With Me?; Time: 4:29; Genre: Social Justice
Another senseless police shooting. This spoken word artist now challenges others to act.
Writer, Director: Darryl Dillard; Producers: Darryl Dillard, Nicholas Marrinson, Tadas Stapona
HOLLA; Time: 13:04; Genre: Comedy
Jasmine was excited when Brandon finally popped the question. Now, the only thing between them and holy matrimony is getting permission from her parents. What could go wrong?
Writer, Producer, Director: Victor Jones
The Present; Time: 4:19; Genre: Animation
A young boy cocoons himself in anger and hurt—isolating himself from family and friends. One day, his mother breaks through the barriers with a unique present.
Director, Animation, Screenplay: Jacob Frey; Producer: Anna Matacz, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects & Digital Postproduction of Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg
Minutes to Go; TRT: 17:04; Genre: Light Drama, comedy
The clock ticks at the end of a couple's life-long journey, as the love they've shared for nearly 70 years propels them into what comes next. Starring award-winner Starletta DuBois
Writer, Director: Rick Page
Hamilton Room
Starletta DuPois
REBEL WISE: Land Back; Time: 6:13; Genre: Environmental Conservation
Weaving ancient wisdom with modern music inspiring people to re-indiginize and to reconnect with this world’s native resources. Conservation for future generations.
Music producer, director, cinematographer, editor: Quincy Davis
Interception: Jayne Kennedy, American Sportscaster; Time: 13:00; Genre: Bio
When a bronze-skin bombshell rocks the world of Sunday Morning Football, millions tune in. But few know the tumultuous story of Jayne Kennedy, the first Black woman to boldly run interception on the racial lines of American sports broadcasting.
Writer, Director: Safiya Songhai
Student Accomplice; Time: 5:50; Genre: Animation, comedy
Letty is an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old. But when a bank robber hijacks her driver’s test, she must grab her fears with both hands and turn things around.
A BYU Center for Animation-Student Film
Finger Paint, Time: 15:29; Genre: Light Family Drama
A brother and sister proudly serve in the U.S. Marine Corp. In the aftermath of a devastating explosion, the fragile bond between them is tested as they confront buried memories and begin a journey of healing.
Writer, Director: Angel Yvonne; Producer: Javon Johnson Productions
Washington Room
Bull Street; Time: 1:58:00
Genre: Drama
A 39-year-old personal injury lawyer fights to save her family home and land from a vengeful neighboring landowner and from the legal shenanigans by her recently revealed, half-sister. Based on true events. Starring award-winning Loretta Devine & Amy Madigan.
Writer, Director: Lynn Dow; Executive Producer: Wendy Tucker Tannock
Roosevelt Room
Opportunities for individuals or small groups to rehearse short pieces
Halsey Room
Happy Hour Reception @ 6:00 PM
Oregon Room
1000 NE Multnomah St., Portland, OR 97232
August 17-20, 2023
DoubleTree by Hilton is in Portland’s Lloyd District, within a half-mile of the Oregon Convention Center and the Moda Center. We’re one block from Lloyd Center shopping, and the local MAX Light Rail station is next door, linking to downtown Portland and the airport. Enjoy our 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool, and a warm welcome cookie on arrival.
