Now in its 15th year, the BronzeLens Film Festival gets underway on Wednesday, Aug. 21, with more than 140 films including shorts, features, documentaries, music videos and web series on the schedule. The fest is a celebration of Atlanta’s growing industry influence and brings more attention to films produced by people of color.
Among the films that will be screened are 28 that were produced in Georgia, including “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.”
The first episode of “Fight Night,” an eight-episode limited series from Peacock, will be shown on the festival’s opening night. The show is based on an iHeart true-crime podcast about an armed robbery that happened on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight in Atlanta. The series stars Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard and Chloe Bailey.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
That screening is sold out, but the series will premiere on Peacock on Sept. 5. Still, there are plenty more festival highlights to add to your calendar.
At 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, catch a showing of “The South Got Something to Say,” AJC Films’ feature-length documentary chronicling the rise of Atlanta hip-hop with AJC reporters DeAsia Paige and Ernie Suggs interviewing many of the city’s musical luminaries.
“The Dancer” (1:10 p.m. Aug. 24), written by Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Matt Kempner, tells the story of a professional modern and ballet dancer who ended up homeless in Atlanta. It will screen alongside “City of Kings: Atlanta,” which takes a look at Atlanta’s graffiti culture and how it influenced the city’s street art movement.
Both “The Dancer” and “The South Got Something to Say” were directed by AJC staffers Ryon and Tyson Horne. Along with their brother Byron, they created the independent short, “A Hero Among Us” (12:22 p.m. Aug. 23), which recounts the life of George Axam, who was the oldest Black barber in the city of Atlanta at the time of his death.
The festival will mark the premiere of the new documentary short “Zora Head: The Life and Scholarship of Valerie Boyd.” It will debut at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24.
Credit: File Photo
Credit: File Photo
Boyd was a beloved AJC arts editor, journalism professor and the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence at the University of Georgia. She was the author of “Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston.” The new documentary shines a spotlight on her contributions as a writer, researcher, journalist and educator.
IF YOU GO
15th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival
Aug. 21-25. $10-$15 per film. $75 student pass; $200 Bronze pass; $400 festival pass. Tara Theatre, 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta. bronzelens.com.
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