The story of a female rapper inspired by the Diary of Anne Frank.
Winner of multiple film festivals,and two Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Directed by Lisa France
A Luis Moro Production
Starring:
Janice "Jaynce" Richardson, Carlos Leon, Jackie Quinones, Sherri Saum, Ernie Hudson, Luis Moro, Charles Holt, David Zayas, Ephraim Benton, Eric Smth, Jackie Martling, Antonio Macia
A Reve Entertainment Group presentation of an Urban Dream production. Produced by Josselyne Harman-Saccio, Luis Moro, Jeanine Rohn. Executive producers, Lenny Bier, Moro, Herman-Saccio. Coproducers, Felice Schachter, Michael Saccio, Lisa France. Co-executive producers, David Cera, Antonio Macia Sr., Jackie Martling, Nancy Sirianni. Directed by Lisa France. Screenplay, Antonio Macia, France; screen story, Luis Moro; story, Macia.
Cynthia - Janice Richardson
Juan - Carlos Leon
Janet - Sherri Saum
Deuce - Eric Smith
Kitty - Jackie Quinones
Darius - Geronimo Frias
Michael - Antonio Macia
Principal Davis - Ernie Hudson
Imbued with street sense yet made with family-friendly limits on harsh language and violence, "Anne B. Real" is both a shamelessly contrived and unalterably sincere portrait of a high school girl who writes rap poetry in her Bronx 'hood. Her success against long odds points to this urban film's innate American optimism. Its portrayal of a blossoming creative mind makes it a multicultural descendant of Lorraine Hansbury's "To Be Young, Gifted and Black." Winner of aud award at Pan African fest and best drama at the new Santa Monica fest, pic has a chance at tapping into its target base of young teens, but only after a proper 35mm print is struck to replace the second-rate vid transfer screened at fests.
Cynthia (Janice Richardson) is half-Latino, half-black, and surrounded by nothing but obstacles to artistic fulfillment: Her fatherless family is stuck in a welfare rut; brother Juan (Carlos Leon) is a drug-addicted small-time crook; mother Janet (Sherri Saum) gives her no props for her diligence as a writer. Unbeknownst to her, her lyrics are being sold by Juan to pseudo-rapper Deuce (Eric Smith), who wants to cut a record. Her only cheerleader is chipper g.f. Kitty (Jackie Quinones).
Director Lisa France (co-writing the script with Antonio Macia, from his original story) constructs film primarily through Cynthia's p.o.v., providing Richardson -- in a perf that feels extemporaneous -- space to build a precocious character fraught with self-doubt but driven by an inner voice that keeps popping up on her notebook pages. Because of this foregrounding of Cynthia, pic is able to downplay what could have easily become another standard street drama involving betrayals and murder; instead maintains a firm grip on a story about finding one's own direction.
Film's feminism and its position somewhere between all-out melodrama and verite recalls "Girlfight," but without that pic's deliberate polish; it's a roughness that helps "Anne B. Real." Though Cynthia's use of "The Diary of Anne Frank" as inspiration seems a bit arch, it works within the context of the muted drama and an array of natural performances and shaded characterizations.
See Carlos Leon as you have never seen him before!!
"Anne B. Real" can motivate children of all races and ethnicities to read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. It demonstrates that the timeless messages of the book can reach across the continents, across the 20th and 21st centuries, across cultures, and across racial lines to underscore our common humanity. There are also many character development lessons in the film that relate to coming of age, dealing with drug addicts and finding one's own voice.
The www.Teachwithmovies.com Learning Guide to "Anne B. Real" provides teachers and parents with the background and discussion questions to highlight the themes of the book.
SUBJECTS --- Diary of Anne Frank; World/WW II (the Holocaust);
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT --- Breaking Out; Coming of Age;
MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS --- Responsibility; Caring.
Anne B Real marks Lisa France's directorial debut in a full length feature which she also produced and co-wrote. Lisa has made a number of short films and her first film Love in Tow won best comedy as London's Filmstock International Film Festival. Lisa is currently developing several new projects, many of which she is scripting.
filmography
- Anne B Real (2003)
- Love and Suicide (2004)
- The Unseen (2005)
festivals
Pan African, H2O International, Santa Monica, Dubrovnik International, American Black, Urban World, Sedona International, San Francisco Black, Taos Talking Pictures, Chicago International, Maryland, Atlanta, Zanzibar International, Newark Black, Flanders International and many more...
happy wednesday! just wanted to remind my friends about my nyc performance. hope to see you there! peace.love.light.friends. brigfeltus
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