2018 ImageNation Outdoors Film & Music Festival
9 Nights of Soul Cinema and Music Under the Stars
June 15th to September 7th in Harlem!
FREE! Music begins at 6:00PM; Films at 8:00PM or sundown.
Presented in partnership with the NYC Parks Department.
Friday, June 15, 2018 – in association w/ NYC Parks Dept.
Marcus Garvey Park, NYC
Pacific Rim: Uprising
Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, 110 min., USA
Preceded by a short film from the HCCI/Tribeca Teen Filmmaker
Bootcamp. In partnership with ImageNation Outdoors.
When the Kaiju invade Earth again, Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) must lead a new team of Jaeger pilots. Aided by Mako Mori, Dr. Gottlieb and Dr. Geiszler, the young pilots must face more advanced monsters to save the world.
MUSIC: Family friendly R&B/Soul and conscious Hip Hop by DJ Mike
Friday, June 29th, 2018 – SOUL TRAIN TRIBUTE
Marcus Garvey Park, NYC
BAADASSSS
Directed by Mario Van Peebles, 109 min., USA
Baadasssss is an American biopic, written/produced/directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles, as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the Blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.
The film will be preceeded by a short film from the HCCI/Tribeca Teen Filmmaker Bootcamp.
MUSIC: Earth Wind & Fire interpreted by artists: Bruce "Big Daddy" Wayne, Keith Anthony Fluitt, Rachel Walker, Barry Antione and more--backed by this year's Soul Train Tribute House band led by drummer extraordinaire Les Cleveland.
Friday, July 20th – in association w/ NYC Parks Dept.
St. Nicholas Park, NYC
FENCES
Directed by Denzel Washington, written by August Wilson, 139 min, USA
Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son's (Jovan Adepo) chance to meet a college football recruiter. The film also stars Viola Davis and Stephan Henderson.
The film will be preceeded by a short film from the HCCI/Tribeca Teen Filmmaker Bootcamp.
MUSIC: Playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and musician Suzan-Lori Parks & the Band + R&B Soul by DJ Mike
Saturday, August 11, 2018 – in association w/ NYC Parks Dept.
Colonel Young Park (145th Street & Lenox Avenue), NYC
Black Panther
Directed by Ryan Coogler, 134 min., USA
After the death of his father, T'Challa (returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people. The film stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.
MUSIC: Sydmac and Family friendly R&B/Soul and conscious Hip Hop by DJ Mike
Thursday, August 23rd
Marcus Garvey Park, NYC
Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind
Director by Stanley Nelson, 90 min., USA
MARCUS GARVEY: LOOK FOR ME IN THE WHIRLWIND uses a wealth of archival film, photographs, and documents to uncover the story of this Jamaican immigrant who between 1916 and 1921 built the largest black mass movement in world history. It explores Garvey's dramatic successes and failures before his fall into obscurity. Among the film's most powerful sequences are interviews with people who witnessed the Garvey movement first hand more than 80 years ago. These interviews communicate the appeal of Garvey's revolutionary ideas to a generation of African Americans, and reveal how he invested hundreds of thousands of black men and women with a newfound sense of pride.
MUSIC: Family friendly Caribbean, Soul, Worl Music spun by DJ Mike
POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN! NEW DATE - Monday, August 20th
Marcus Garvey Park, NYC
Whose Streets?
Director by Sabaah Folayan, 100 min., USA
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. When unarmed teenager Michael Brown is killed by police and left lying in the street for hours, it marks a breaking point for the residents of St. Louis, Missouri. Grief, long-standing racial tensions and renewed anger bring residents together to hold vigil and protest this latest tragedy. Empowered parents, artists, and teachers from around the country come together as freedom fighters. As the national guard descends on Ferguson with military grade weaponry, these young community members become the torchbearers of a new resistance. Filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis know this story because they are the story. Whose Streets? is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live.
MUSIC: Family friendly R&B/Soul and conscious Hip Hop by DJ Mike
Saturday, August 25th – KIDS NIGHT OUT
St. Nicholas Park, NYC
A Wrinkle in Time
Director by Ava DuVernay, 109 min., USA
Meg Murry and her little brother, Charles Wallace, have been without their scientist father, Mr. Murry, for five years, ever since he discovered a new planet and used the concept known as a tesseract to travel there. Joined by Meg's classmate Calvin O'Keefe and guided by the three mysterious astral travelers known as Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, the children brave a dangerous journey to a planet that possesses all of the evil in the universe. Cast Includes: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Michael Peña
MUSIC: Family friendly R&B/Soul and conscious Hip Hop by DJ Mike
NEW RAIN DATE: BLACK & GREEN FILM SERIES
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 – in association w/ WEACT
West Harlem Piers Park (Marginal Street & West 132nd St), NYC
Not Without Us
A film by Mark Decena & Kontent Films, 94 min., USA
Not Without Us follows seven grassroots activists from around the world to the 21st U.N. Climate Talks in Paris. The effects of climate change on their lives reveal what’s at stake if a strong agreement to limit carbon emissions is not reached. Yet, the landmark Paris Accords, signed by 192 nations, is non-binding and fails to mention the main cause of global climate change: fossil fuels. How could this be?
Not Without Us demonstrates the importance of grassroots groups to empower mass movements to create the systemic change we need. Real change that comes not from top down, but the bottom up, organized by social movements to harness the greatest force we have: humanity.
MUSIC: DJ at 6:30PM & Live Music or Panel Discussion at 7PM
NEW RAIN DATE: BLACK & GREEN FILM SERIES
Thursday, August 30, 2018 – in association w/ WEACT
West Harlem Piers Park (Marginal Street & West 132nd St), NYC
DOLORES
Directed by Peter Bratt 95 min., USA
Dolores Huerta is among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Dolores tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice alongside Chavez, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century—and she continues the fight to this day, at 87. With intimate and unprecedented access to this intensely private mother to eleven, the film reveals the raw, personal stakes involved in committing one’s life to social change.
MUSIC: DJ at 6:30PM & Live Music or Panel Discussion at 7PM
Friday, September 7th – BLACK GIRL MAGIC!
St. Nicholas Park, NYC
Celebrating the Superflyness of Black Women & Girls
Love Beats Rhymes
directed by RZA, 106 min, USA
When struggling rapper Coco (Azealia Banks) enrolls in a poetry class, she thinks her rhymes will impress her teacher, Professor Dixon (Jill Scott). Instead, Dixon challenges Coco to seek real meaning in her lyrics, setting her on a journey of discovery that takes her through rap clubs and poetry slams, leading her to find her true voice - and true love - in this uplifting movie costarring Lucien Laviscount and Common
The film will be preceeded by a short film from the HCCI/Tribeca Teen Filmmaker Bootcamp.
MUSIC: Surprise Special Guest Artist performance to be announced.