By Maria Esteves – October 14, 2015 The 53rd New York Film Festival 2015 (NYFF53) Closing Night Premiere of MILES AHEAD, press conference with actor/director Don Cheadle, cast members Emayatzy Corinealdi and Michael Stuhlbarg, moderated by festival director Kent Jones, NYFF, was held at the Walter Reade Theater Saturday, October 10, 2015. Questions posed to actor/director Cheadle, Corinealdi and Stuhlbarg by moderator Jones and members of the press included "Can you talk about findin...

By Maria Esteves – October 12, 2015 MILES AHEAD is explosive, passionate, romantic and provocative! Actor Don Cheadle is Miles Davis incarnate. Cheadle’s directorial debut, a decade in the making, is truly a masterpiece. Set in the late 1970s, this creative music biopic captures the legendary Miles Davis (1926-1991) personal life, sense of humor and experience during his absence with the recording industry that ultimately led him to take the law into his own hands. Miles music s...

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The BlackStar Film Festival took place August 2-5, 2012 in Philadelphia. Its mission was to celebrate the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and to showcase film and video works by and about black people from across the globe. Other obligations did prevent me from attending all but one event, but it was a good one - A Conversation with Ava DuVernay.    Ava DuVernay, is the first African American woman to take home the U.S. directing award at Sundance Film...

“I’m really nervous,” said Duvernay as she introduced the film. “Maybe it’s because this is my hometown. Maybe it’s because there are over 1,000 of us here...But it’s probably the Angela Bassett factor.” Bassett showed up just to support the film. DuVernay is the first African American to win the Sundance award for Best Directing.  "Stephanie Allain is a doer," said DuVernay. "She said, 'This is a small story, but it&rsquo...