Premiere of ‘Fear of a Black Republican’ comes to Philadelphia June 14
Documentary looks at lack of two-party system in Urban America
Trenton, NJ –Shamrock Stine Productions, LLC has announced that its first documentary feature film, Fear of a Black Republican, will have its Philadelphia Premiere on Thursday, June 14, at 7 PM at the indie-friendly Pearl Theatre At Avenue North, 1600 North Broad Street. (Theatre entrance is on Oxford St.). A Q&A with the film's director, Kevin J. Williams, will follow the screening.
Tickets for the screening/filmmaker Q&A are $10. in advance via the film's website, www.fearofablackrepublican.com or can be purchased at the Pearl Theatre on the night of the screening. (Audience members are advised to arrive early. The Pearl Theatre is located one block south of The Liacouras Center. All local Broad Street subway trains stop at the nearby Cecil B. Moore Station and free parking is located behind the Pearl Theatre). The trailers for Fear of a Black Republican can be viewed on the film's website and on YouTube.
Director Kevin J. Williams said, "Our experiences in Trenton and Philadelphia were the impetus and inspiration for starting and completing this film. We cannot be happier about finally premiering it in the City of Brotherly Love, where I attended college. It will truly be a celebration of our six plus years making this film and now being able to show it in a city that played such a key role in our making it.
We are also deeply honored to have some great Philadelphians like former Eagle Garry Cobb, WPVI Reporter Vernon Odom and North Philly's Rev. John Wallace in our film. We expect to draw people from both sides of the aisle to our premiere and with the 2012 Presidential Election heating up, it should be a very interesting and fun night." Fear of a Black Republican makes its Philadelphia premiere after screenings in Atlanta GA (World Premiere), Charlotte and Greensboro NC, Wilmington DE, Kansas City MO, Buffalo and Rochester NY, Trenton NJ, Portland OR and Washington DC.
Filmed and edited over a six year period, Fear of a Black Republican examines why there are so few Black Republicans and how this affects the U.S. political system. From the Civil War to the Great Depression, the GOP was the party for many African-Americans, but today, barely 10 percent of African Americans consider themselves to be Republican and urban areas are no longer considered competitive parts of America's electoral map.
Beginning in his hometown of Trenton, NJ, filmmaker Kevin Williams speaks with both Democrats and Republicans while journeying over four years and two Presidential Elections to find out if the Two-Party Political System is failing his city and the country. In taking a self-critical look at his own Republican Party, Williams explores the GOP's efforts in urban areas versus the suburbs, the Democratic Party's success in retaining the African-American vote and the experiences of Black Republicans with Democrats and their own Party. The result is a moving film which reveals a world that audiences won't likely forget.
Williams states, "Before I started shooting, I was just a voter wondering why things weren't getting better after each election, Williams said. Picking up my camera changed everything for me. My intention with this film is to find out if our political system supports the decaying of Urban America, what that means and what if anything can be done about it. Journeying across the country and spending time with an important, but misunderstood segment of our society - Black Republicans, revealed a reality and an experience few will ever see. As race, politics, human nature and history all clash in this film, I know that as the director, I am only opening the book on this subject matter and its implications for America."
To learn more about the film or view the film's trailer, please go to www.fearofablackrepublican.com.
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