Photo via schoolclosingcollective.tumblr.com.

Thankfully a lot of artists were around over the spring and summer to document the closure of Philadelphia public schools and the devastating blow those closings dealt to students, parents, teachers and neighborhoods across the city.

This Wednesday, Oct. 16, you can see the work of the Philadelphia School Closing Photo Collective up close and personal at the Scribe Video Center (4212 Chestnut St., 3rd floor) beginning at 6 p.m. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will feature about 50 images from schools around the city.

Also on Wednesday, you can catch the new documentary, Goodbye to City Schools (see trailer below), directed by filmmaker and Howard University lecturer Amy Yeboah for the Philadelphia Public School Notebook. The 30-minute film starts at 7 p.m. and admission is $5 (free for Scribe members). Yeboah will also be screening her film (Re)Inscribing Meaning, also 30 minutes, which is about “how closing the excellence gap for Black youth in the face of disruption begins at home with the Black family.” Yeboah will be on hand for both screenings.

Here’s a description of Goodbye to City Schools from the Scribe Video Center website:

Goodbye to City Schools focuses on experiences of staff, students, families, and community members of Germantown, Bok and University City High schools, and Fairhill Elementary school, Goodbye to City Schools reveals stories on the impact of closing 24 public schools in the City of Philadelphia. The interviews, observations and photos present a deep narrative that extends beyond the words “school closing.”
 

Trailer “Goodbye to City Schools” from Amy Yeboah on Vimeo.

Here’s an assortment of events taking place in the area this weekend. We hope that the rainy weather will not dampen your fun. For more upcoming events or if you want to submit an event, visit the Events Calendar.

Friday, Oct 11

• Second Fridays on Lancaster – various locations on Lancaster Avenue between 35th and 39th Sts (see flyer) – 5:30 – 10:00 p.m. – Join your neighbors and celebrate the arts on Lancaster Avenue. The event will feature art openings, African artifacts, vintage jewelry, clothing and accessories, handmade candles and cards, garden-fresh vegetables, live music, cafe, and outdoor grilled jerk chicken! More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.

• Jump ‘N Funk – Penn Museum (3260 South St) – 6:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. – Penn Museum invites young professionals for a night of music, dance, and networking at this late-night event. DJ Rich Medina and partner Mark Hines take center stage for the evening (8:00 pm to 12:00 am) introducing guests to dance, music, and visual display inspired by late African musical icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti. A pre-event Professionals Garden Party in the Museum’s Warden Garden off the Kamin Entrance runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm (cash bar). Guests are also invited to wander the Museum galleries and take in special exhibitions, including the critically acclaimed Black Bodies in Propaganda: The Art of the War Poster. Admission to  Jump ‘n Funk, including Penn Museum admission, is just $10. Buying tickets in advance is recommended. Click here for more info.

• Romeo and Juliet opens at Curio Theatre – 4740 Baltimore Ave – 8:00 p.m. – This Friday, there’s an opening night of the widely discussed Curio Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Even The New York Times did a story on it. We hear that the opening night is sold out but there are 10 more nights remaining. The shows are every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Oct 11 – Nov 2. To buy tickets and for more information, visit this page.

Saturday, Oct 12

• Octoberfest, 6th Annual Community Festival – on 60th Street between Chestnut and Locust – 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Residents are invited to the 6^th Annual Community Festival called Octoberfest. The festival, which takes place on 60^th Street between Walnut to Locust, will have something for people of all ages. From bounce houses and face painting for the kids, to blood pressure and dental screens for adults, table games, zumba, line dancing, and musical performances throughout the day. The event is co-sponsored by the 60^th Street West Market Business Association. See the flyer for more information.

• From “Farm to Ford” Garden Court Neighborhood Tour – Lea Elementary School Courtyard (47th & Spruce) – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Historical tours of West Philly’s Garden Court neighborhood continue. The tour is only $5! For more information and to RSVP, visit the event’s Facebook page.

• Philly Zine Fest 2013 – The Rotunda (40th & Walnut) – Noon – 11:00 p.m. – From The Rotunda website: “The Fest showcases local artists and zinesters, as well as zine distros, bringing DIY, radical, whimsical, and artistic small press publications to the public. Ranging from bike repair to poetry to crafts, the Zine Fest is a great place to go to learn new things, connect with local writers, and get involved with creating new forms of accessible media.” Check this page for more information on the festival events or go to: http://phillyzinefest.com/.

Sunday, Oct 13

• Second Sunday Culture Film: Maestra (2011) – Penn Museum – 2:00 p.m. – The Second Sunday Culture Films series kicks off with Maestra, a 2011 documentary about volunteer female teachers who joined the Cuban Literacy Campaign. This year’s series focuses on individual stories of resistance to cultural change, often in the face of imminent threats of violence. Information about the full series is available online.

The late Mott Green / Photo by Karen Kirchhoff.

When Mott Green founded the Grenada Chocolate Company Cooperative in 1999, it was his mission to not only make the “best chocolate in the world,” but also do so ethically and sustainably — “Tree to Bar,” as he put it.

The award-winning dark chocolate made by the small Hermitage, Grenada-based company is organic, produced by solar-power machinery built by Green’s hands. The operation is also a worker-owned coop, in business with small local cocoa farmers and as many as 50 factory workers, and offering employee shareholding and fair wages. It’s an ethical, sustainable model wholly in line with Green’s overarching personality the Washington-born, New York-raised activist dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1980s because he didn’t want to surrender to the confines of regular society. He spent much of his 20s squatting around West Philly and dedicating his time to homeless activism.

The work that Green, who died suddenly on June 1st at the age of 47 while working at his factory, committed his life to is also the subject of the 2012 documentary, Nothing Like Chocolate. Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani and narrated by Susan Sarandon, the film tells the stories of Green and Nelice Stewart, an independent cocoa farmer in Grenada, and how the Caribbean island “has become home to this revolutionary venture”—an organic, ethical chocolate made in a country where chocolate productions is often a “dirty industry,” said Bull Gervasi, produce & facilities manager of Mariposa Food Co-op, which was one of the first in Philadelphia to sell Green’s chocolate bars 10 years ago. Grenada Chocolate Company is sold online and in stores across Europe and the States, with a flagship store recently opened in the Caribbean country.  Continue Reading

So here’s something to do tonight if you’re short of cash, nostalgic or just into 1980s movies. A movie from the 80s will be screened outdoors at Drexel Park (32nd and Powelton) every Thursday (except July 4) from tonight until August 15.

Screening tonight.

Tonight you can catch Poindexter, Booger and the gang in the 1984 John Landis classic Revenge of the Nerds. Apparently there will be 1980s seat cushions available free while supplies last. We’re not sure if they are actually from the 1980s or they are day-glo colors or what, but they’re free.

The screenings start at dusk.

Future films include:

June 27 – Adventures in Babysitting
July 11 – Spaceballs
July 18 – Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
July 25 – Die Hard
August 1 – Batman
August 8 – A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
August 15 – The NeverEnding Story

Credit: Brightnoon Pictures, LLC

When Yao Nunoo first arrived in the United States from Ghana 16 years ago, the then 22-year-old African was building his life as a struggling immigrant artist.

He was a nomad in a strange land, passing through city after city before settling in West Philly in 2002. For 11 years, the now 37-year-old screenwriter/actor has thrived in his “home away from home,” blending into the motley crew of arts and culture alive west of the University of Pennsylvania. With a handful of small productions, a full-length feature, and acting credits under his belt, Nunoo has forged a name for himself in the community—one further elevated by his recent African Film Development Awards’ (AFDA) “Best African Actor in Diaspora” nomination for his role as Ghanaian National Police Inspector Boniface Koomsin in the Ghana-based thriller, The Destiny of Lesser Animals.

“It’s wonderful and flattering to be nominated,” said Nunoo. The AFDA take place June 29 in Tanzania. “The idea behind the African Film Consortium coming up with the AFDA is about contributions to the medium in Africa or about Africa that supports African development and progress. That focus makes the recognition doubly awesome.” Continue Reading

Less than two weeks are left before the Indiegogo fundraising campaign for A Man Full of Trouble, writer/director Michael Johnston’s dark comedy about a suicidal Alexander Hamilton reenactor, comes to a close, and it’s under $300 shy of $7,000.

Money raised for the West Philly-based indie short (view trailer below), which serves as Johnston’s thesis project for Temple’s MFA program, will fund the bulk of production costs, including equipment and location rentals, and costume fabrication by Regalia Costumes, said A Man Full of Trouble’s producer, David Leith Fraser. The total budget, which ranges from $12,000 to $14,000 depending on the final Indiegogo amount, is also funded by a $4,500 Temple University Grant, and a $500 Allied Pixel gift certificate Johnston received with his 2013 Media Film Festival’s Allied Pixel Silver Award for his previous film, Irina. A Man Full Trouble is slated for completion this fall.

A Founding Father and one-half of one of the first sex scandals in American politics, Alexander Hamilton makes for mysterious and complicated anti-hero. A Man Full of Trouble explores his inexplicable life through the eyes of Nick Crane (the aforementioned suicidal reenactor), who is “fighting to keep Hamilton’s voice relevant in Philadelphia, a city dominated by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington.” And in the midst of this battle, Nick unknowingly reenacts Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds through his relationship with fellow reenactor, Isabella.

“Michael is fascinated with Philadelphia’s history and architecture. He wanted to write something that was specific to the city. Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds, which took place in Philly, and Hamilton’s tragic end provided the perfect back-story for creating the film’s dark-comedic tone,” Fraser told West Philly Local. “The film examines one man’s conflict and the ending of the film will elicit different responses from different people. If I had to choose one, I would say the film asks that we study and preserve our history.”

The majority of the project will be filmed at The Woodlands Historic Mansion, Cemetery and Landscape, which was originally purchased in 1735 as a 250-acre swathe on the Schuylkill River’s west bank (today, the estate, overseen by The Woodlands Trust for Historic Preservation, consists of 53 acres nestled between S. University Ave and 41^st Street south of Woodland Avenue.) Other filming locations include Independence Hall, the Second Bank of the United States, and Society Hill.

According to Fraser, money allocated for filming on the cemetery grounds will go towards restoration efforts on the Mansion. The premiere party for A Man Full of Trouble will also be held at The Woodlands, planned for some time in late fall, and double as a fundraiser for the historic landmark.

– Annamarya Scaccia

Indiegogo: A Man Full of Trouble from Michael Johnston on Vimeo.