Making African America: How African American Studies intersects with Art and Film
Sponsored by the Department of African American Studies and the John B. Slaughter Endowed Lecture Series
HYBRID Event - Registration:
- Online RSVP: https://forms.gle/35unVha9kAA3cYPh7
- In-Person RSVP: Shoemaker Building, Room SHM2102 (Walk-in's Welcome! )
Description:
This event is a conversation with the creators of "African America", a film currently distributed by Netflix. The film details one South African woman's experience navigating race, gender, ethnicity, and migration in an attempt to pursue her dreams of making it on Broadway in New York.
About The Moderator
University of Maryland at College Park African American Studies, Ph.D, Lecturer
About The Panelists:
Muzi Mthembu, African America Writer, Director, Producer
Muzi Mthembu is a South African Film & Television Awards nominated actor, writer and producer, who, along with his sister and business partner, produced two seasons of the youth drama Mutual Friends for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Trained at both the National School of the Arts and the University of the Witswatersrand's Wits School of the Arts, Mthembu has acted in numerous sitcoms and dramas, including MTV Shuga: Down South broadcast in over 72 countries. African America is Mthembu's directorial debut.
Avril Speaks, African America Producer
University of Maryland at College Park African American Studies Graduate
Avril Speaks has been carving out her path as a bold, innovative content creator for several years, not only as a producer and director but also during her former days as a professor at Howard University. Avril produced the award-winning film Jinn, which premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. Jinn gained distribution through MGM/Orion Classics and continues to be seen throughout the world. Avril has also produced several films including Hosea and the upcoming comedy Dotty & Soul, starring Leslie Uggams, Gary Owen, David Koechner, and Margot Bingham.
Her latest projects include the South African film African America, which will make its worldwide debut on Netflix this summer, and the docu-series Black America Is..., which has received support from The Blackhouse Producer’s Lab, the CNN/Film Independent Docu-Series Intensive, and the Kettering Foundation. Avril was an Associate Producer on the TNT docu-series “American Race” and has helped produce both scripted and unscripted content for BET, Coca-Cola, Essence, and others. She was recently a producing consultant for Wayfarer Studios’ Six Feet Apart Experiment film project and was the producer of the short film Black Prom, which aired on Netflix Film Club. Currently, Avril serves as Director and Showrunner of the docu-series Uprooted: The Untold Keith Warren Story, which will air on Discovery+.
Phumelele “Phumi” Mthembu, African America Lead Actress & Co-Writer
Phumelele’s first exposure to professional acting was at the age of 12 when she played the role of Annie at the then Civic Theatre in Johannesburg. She won an FNB Vita Award for the role in the category of Best Newcomer.
She went on to study drama at the National School of the Arts, and while there she was cast in the Disney Movie Zenon Z3 in the supporting lead role of Cassie. She furthered her studies at Rhodes University where she studied Journalism.
Upon completion of her degree, she went back into the acting industry and was cast in a Mzansi Love film for ETV in a supporting lead role.
In order to sharpen her skills, Phumelele studied Musical Theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City in 2014. Upon her return, she began writing and producing the SABC 1 Youth Drama, Mutual Friends (Season 2).
Since then she created, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the feature film African America.
Daria Fennell, African America Entertainment Publicist
University of Maryland at College Park African American Studies Graduate
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The Daria Fennell Media Group, the brainchild of Daria Fennell, is an Entertainment Branding, Public Relations, Publicity, Celebrity Editorial Content, and Special Event Design Company with 26 years of experience.
A graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park, Daria Fennell and The Daria Fennell Media Group have secured clients exposure in the following media outlets, among others: Forbes Magazine, FOX 5 Morning News (Washington, D.C.), The Washington Post, XM Satellite Radio, Black Entertainment Television's "106 & Park", The Washington Afro-American, The New York Amsterdam News, and The Diamondback (the daily student newspaper at the University of Maryland at College Park).
African America NETFLIX Public Relations & Publicity Articles:
