On Saturday, September 25, 1999, from 5:30-7:30PM, a Special Event Screening of three short films featured in this fall’s RAW STOCKtm Film Festival will take place at Oakland’s Mills College Fine Arts Building, Danforth Auditorium,Rm. 120 . The THREE SHORTS include Mary Jane Tapalla’s film, Crossroads; Samm Styles & Chris Webber's, Do You Have The Time?; and Stace Pyles’, Combin’ Thru The Kinks. A fund raiser for RAW STOCKtm, Celebrating Cinema, Oakland, CA, a new film/video festival focusing primarily on filmmakers of color in the Oakland/Bay Area, these shorts are a sample of some of the films being shown during the festival in November. Tickets are $12 general admission, and $7 for seniors and students. This includes the screening, a discussion on "Cultural Imagery & Stereotypes" with the filmmakers and, a Champagne/Dessert reception following the screening.
As stated above, RAW STOCKtm focuses primarily on filmmakers/ videographers of color in the Oakland/Bay Area. In the simplest of terms, RAW STOCKtm exists for it acknowledges: 1) the opportunity to present independent works by filmmakers of color to the very communities the works were created for; 2) the need for these artists and their respective communities to come together exploring their differences and similarities through an education based forum of screenings and discussions; 3) the necessity for a permanent film/video event focusing long needed attention on the multitude of artists of color within the
Oakland/Bay Area. In so doing, RAW STOCKtm represents a clear and present need for such a venue as well as affording the opportunity to establish the bonds of inter-community dialogue between multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-socio-econmic groups in an education-based atmosphere. The goal is to establish RAW STOCKtm as an annual event placing a positive light on the collective artistic richness that is Oakland while acting as a bridge into on-going dialogue between all inclusive Oakland/Bay Area communities.
RAW STOCKtm participants help foster a foundation of open communication. To assist in this new dialogue, screenings followed by interactive discussions between the audience, the filmmaker(s), and various scholars and writers, are planned for Festival Week which also includes papers presented by various scholars, graduates & undergraduates of Mills and other area colleges and universities (SF State, USF, Cal State Hayward, UC Berkley, Merrit College, Laney, etc.) and discussions focusing on a variety of issues including "Responsibility and the Media: Truth or Consequences"; "Cultural Imagery & Stereotypes" and our featured panel on the theme of "Race, Gender, Culture, Image: Who Owns It? Who Defines It?" featuring award-winning documentarian, Orlando Bagwell, producer of Africans In America and A Hymn to Alvin Ailey, both for PBS.
RAW STOCKtm is supported in part from the Mills College Multicultural Curricular Enhancement Program, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Department of Dramatic Arts & Communications; the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with more funding being sought. Media Sponsors to date include BAY-TV/KRON and the East Bay Express Newspaper. Further endorsements include Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown’s Office; the Oakland City Council; the Oakland Film Commission; KTOP TV; and our Advisory Committee and Board of Directors representing such organizations as Cini Accion; California Newsreel; Frameline, the American Indian Film Foundation, and others.
