ChathamArts' Sustainable Cinema Series honors Black History Month

In February, ChathamArts' Sustainable Cinema Series will celebrate Black History Month by screening two powerful films:

THE LOVING STORY
Who: Director & Producer Nancy Buirski; Producer & Editor Elisabeth Haviland James
What: On Oscar 2012 Shortlist for Best Documentary. Official Selection of SilverDocs, Tribeca, Full Frame and Hamptons International Film Festivals
When and where: Shown Sunday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m. in Fearrington Village Barn, located on U.S. 15-501 midway between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro.
How much: Purchase advance tickets $8 online. Print the receipt for ticket. Admission will be $10 at door the day of the screening.

THE LOVING STORY (documentary feature) is director Nancy Buirski’s film about Loving v. Virginia, a watershed civil rights case in which the United States Supreme Court declared Virginia's anti-miscegenation statute unconstitutional in 1967.
A racially charged criminal trial and a heartrending love story converge in this documentary about the Lovings, an interracial couple who fell in love and married at a tumultuous social and political time in American history yet nevertheless brought about change where previously no one else could. Through stunning archival footage of the Lovings, the film revisits this public battle through the eyes of a private couple who simply wanted to have the right to get married and live in the place they called home.
The Loving Story is produced by Nancy Buirski’s production company Augusta Films, LLC, in association with HBO Documentaries. The film was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Buirski is the founder and was the director of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Producer/Editor Elisabeth Haviland James is based in Durham, where her company, Thornapple Films, is headquartered. Additional local crew members include: Cinematographers Rex Miller and Steve Milligan; Sound: Mark Barroso. Co-producers Nancy Buirski and Elizabeth Haviland James will be in attendance for Q&A if possible.
The Loving Story screening is sponsored by The Southern Documentary Fund, an organization that encourages documentary media projects made within or about the American South. Through services like fiscal sponsorship, SDF aims to connect people, ideas and resources—furthering their goal of growing a community of documentary artists.

WOLF CALL
Raleigh Director Rob Underhill's 12-minute narrative transports us back to 1956. The previous year, 14-year old Emmett Till from Chicago had gone missing in Money, Miss. Later, the boy's mutilated body was found in a river. William Bradford Huie of Look magazine sits down with the two men acquitted for the boy's murder, Roy Bryant Jr. and J.W. Milam, to discuss the trial. This historic drama became a lightning rod for moral outrage and pivotal in inspiring a whole generation of young people to commit to social change in the 1950s.
WOLF CALL is the winner of seven festival awards, four nominations, dozens of official selections and recently nominated for Outstanding Independent Short Film by the Black Reel Awards. Director Rob Underhill, actor Mike Wiley and cinematographer Aravind Ragupathi in attendance for Q&A.
Director Rob Underhill has written, directed, and produced dozens of short films, numerous music videos and several feature films. WOLF CALL stars Mike Wiley (a Chatham County resident) in multiple roles. Wiley is the winner of best actor awards in 2009 and 2010 for his performance in 'Empty Space,' including best actor at the 25th Black International Cinema Berlin. He is the 2010 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to his numerous school and community performances, he has also appeared on Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and National Geographic Channel.