Traci Elizabeth Lords, is an American actress and singer. She entered the porn industry using a fake birth certificate to conceal that she was two years under the legal age of 18. Lords starred in pornographic films and was one of the most sought-after actresses in that industry during her career. When the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acted on an anonymous tip that Lords was a minor during her time in the industry, and that pornographers were distributing and selling these illegal images and videotapes, the resulting fallout led to prosecution of those responsible for creating and distributing the tapes, but the prosecutions fell through when it was revealed she was using a real federal passport as her proof of age along with a fake birth certificate and fake California drivers license. In addition, all of her porn films, and the September 1984 edition of Penthouse were banned as child pornography. Her last porn movie was filmed two days after her 18th birthday, by her own company.
Barbershop is a 2002 American comedy-drama film and the first installment in the Barbershop series directed by Tim Story and written by Mark Brown, Don D. Scott and Marshall Todd, from a story by Brown. It was produced by George Tillman Jr., Robert Teitel and Brown. The film stars Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, Leonard Earl Howze, Keith David and Cedric the Entertainer. Its plot revolves around the social life in a barbershop on the South Side of Chicago.
James Morrow is an American novelist and short-story writer known for filtering large philosophical and theological questions through his satiric sensibility.
Puddle Cruiser is a 1996 American comedy film, the first full-length film created by the Broken Lizard comedy group. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was filmed entirely on the campus of Colgate University, the alma mater of all five members of the comedy quintet. It was released on DVD in December 2005; the disc also features a 17-minute documentary called Rodeo Clowns on the marketing of Puddle Cruiser and Super Troopers with free previews on college campuses and using specially-painted tour buses. The extras and actors are almost entirely friends, family and other alumni, due to the very tight budget of the film. The film is repeatedly shown on Comedy Central.
The Port Townsend Film Festival began screening independent films in 1999.
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF), originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival, is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film and works by black members of the film industry. The festival is held annually in Miami, Florida and features films, documentaries, and web series with black writers, directors, and actors.
Zombie is a 1995 horror novel by American writer Joyce Carol Oates, which explores the mind of a serial killer. It was based on the life of Jeffrey Dahmer.
Mari Eulanda Morrow is an American film and television actress, model and realtor. Morrow is best known for her roles as Rachel Gannon on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live (1994–96), Oneisha Savoy on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters (1992–97), and Desiree "Des" Littlejohn on the UPN sitcom The Parkers (1999). Morrow also starred in featured films such as Def Jam's How to Be a Player (1997), Uninvited Guest (2000), and Traci Townsend (2006).
Mari Kimura is a Japanese violinist and composer best known for her use of subharmonics, which, achieved through special bowing techniques, allow pitches below the instrument's normal range. She is credited with "introducing" the use of violin subharmonics, which allow a violinist to play a full octave below the low G on the violin without adjusting the tuning of the instrument.
The Darker Image was the first all-black female swimsuit calendar to break into mainstream bookstores across the United States, such as Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks, in 1994–1997.
Book of Love, also known as Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs is a 2002 American romantic comedy film, written and directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd, and starring Anthony "Treach" Criss, Eric K. George, and Richard T. Jones as its three male protagonists.
Three Can Play That Game is a 2007 romantic comedy film directed by Samad Davis and starring Jason George, Jazsmin Lewis, and Vivica A. Fox. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Two Can Play That Game.
Novel Romance is a 2006 art-house romantic comedy film directed by Emily Skopov in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Traci Lords, Paul Johansson and Sherilyn Fenn. The film was shot in 2004 in Venice, Los Angeles, and premiered on October 8, 2006, at the 2nd Annual LA Femme Film Festival.
Jazsmin Lewis is an American actress, film producer and musician. Lewis is best known for her starring role as the title character in the 2005 film Traci Townsend and as Jennifer Palmer, Calvin's wife in the Barbershop film series.
Martha Lena Morrow Lewis (1868–1950) was an American orator, political organizer, journalist, and newspaper editor. An activist in the prohibition, women's suffrage, and socialist movements, Lewis is best remembered as a top female leader of the Socialist Party of America during that organization's heyday in the first two decades of the 20th century and as the first woman to serve on that organization's governing National Executive Committee.
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a 2007 fantasy film directed by Jay Russell and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, based on Dick King-Smith's children's novel The Water Horse. It stars Alex Etel as a young boy who discovers a mysterious egg and cares for what hatches out of it: a "water horse" which later becomes the fabled Loch Ness Monster. The film also stars Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin and David Morrissey.
Oscar Peterson: Black + White is a 2021 Canadian documentary film directed by Barry Avrich. The film is a portrait of influential Canadian jazz icon Oscar Peterson, featuring interviews with and performances of his music by figures including Billy Joel, Jon Batiste, Quincy Jones, Ramsey Lewis, Herbie Hancock, Branford Marsalis, Dave Young, Larnell Lewis, Jackie Richardson, Joe Sealy, Measha Brueggergosman, Denzal Sinclaire and Robi Botos.
The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks is a 2022 Canadian documentary film, directed by Reginald Harkema. Released to coincide with Amazon Prime's relaunch of the influential Canadian sketch comedy series and based partially on Paul Myers's 2018 book The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy, the film documents the history of the troupe through both archival footage and contemporary interviews with the members, largely filmed at The Rivoli, the Toronto club where the troupe got their start on stage.
The Vancouver International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film is an annual award, presented by the Vancouver International Film Festival to honour the film selected by a jury as the best Canadian film screened at VIFF that year.
