The multi-talented Dr. Donald Griffith, organizer of Black International Cinema*

There is an article (in German and English) in the 2011 program book for the Black International Cinema festival of Berlin entitled ¨Great accomplishments by a multi-talented artist regarding international exchange:  Dr. Donald Muldrow Griffith."

The term "multi-talented" is completely appropriate.

I know Dr. Griffith as the organizer and presenter of the Black International Cinema festival, and as the host and director of the television program "the Collegium."  I also know through conversations that he started his professional life as a psychological therapist.

Those, however, do not fully describe him and his work.  He is also a dancer, and co-founder plus director/producer of the Fountainhead Tanz Theatre of Berlin.

Born and raised in Chicago, his father was a psychologist and his mother, a concert pianist.  Dr. Griffith trained as a therapist, and practiced that profession but at the same time, partly due to native ability and inclination and partly due to the pressures of his work, he began studying acting and dance.  At a certain point, he decided to leave the psychological profession and devote himself more fully to the arts.

He performed in several musicals including "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off," and won several awards including "Best New Off-Broadway Actor."  As a dancer, he performed in several companies in New York and Chicago, acting at times as solo dancer.

He also acted as manager for Oscar Brown, Jr., for a period.

As if this were not enough, he began acting and found roles in both television and regular cinema.

In the late 1970s, The Belin Theater des Westerns invited him to come to that city to act as performer and choreographer.  As time passed and he realized he enjoyed cultural exchange and the Berlin life, in 1980 he and several collegues founded the Fountainhead Tanz Theatre.

And in 1986, he founded the festival that is now called the Black International Cinema festival.  A truly international festival, this year (2012), it screened films from several African countries, from the United States, from severl middle-eastern countries and from Europe.  The festival does not normally give prizes, but instead seeks to promote intercultural exchange and serve the black community of Berlin.

In 2009, he founded the television program, The Collegium.  An interview show, its most famous guest is Pres. Barack Obama.  It airs regularly in Berlin and throughout Europe.  Dr. Griffith is producer, director and host.

So you can see, the term "multi-talented" is indeed best to use when describing the life and activities of Dr. Donald Muldrow Griffith.

*Material for the article came from personal conversations with Dr. Griffith, on-line research, and from an article by Shiu-Chin Yu in the 2011 program of the Black International Cinema.

OUR NEXT POST will be about Mike Wiley, Don Underwood, and their film, Dar He, the Lynching of Emmett Till.  We will have two more posts related to the Black International Cinema festival and films that sceened in it this year, then we will return to Afro-Peruvians.

Photos of Berlin, and the Black International Cinema festival

Here are some photos from the festival, and of Berlin, generally.  My camera isn't very good, so I can't take photos that require a flash.  They turn out really bad.  That's why I have so few photos of the festival.

And I apologize for the fact that these are the same photos I posted on the Palomino Productions blog.  I'm so far behind....

Yours truly with Dr. Donald Griffith, the festival organizer...a multi-talented man.

Angela Kramer, the festival's hard-working production coordinator and projectionist.

Rathaus Schoenenberg, where the festival was held.  This is also where Pres. Kennedy made his famous "Ich bin eine Berliner" speech.

Clock tower of the Rathaus Schoenenberg.

The "New Jewish Temple."

This speaks for itself.  It's a major boulevard.

Top of the Brandenburg Tor.

The city concert hall, with yours truly (a little wind-blown).

This is where the Berlin Wall used to be.  The entire (former) wall is outlines in these bricks.

The River Spree runs through the center of the city.

 THE NEXT POST will be about Dr. Donald Griffith.

International Black Film Festival in Berlin

I just got back last night from an international black film festival in Berlin, Germany--the Black International Cinema festival.  Our documentary, A Zest for Life, screened on Sunday.  We had an appreciative audience, and afterwards, I was interviewed for German television by Dr. Donald Griffith, the festival´s organizer. 

All in all, I´m pleased with our documentary´s reception.

During the week I was in Berlin, I went to lots and lots of films.  Some were fantastic.  Two that stand out in particular were Africa, the Beat, by filmmaker Samaki Wanne and Dar He:  the Lynching of Emmett Till, by Robert Underwood (director) and  Mike Wiley (screenplay and actor).

There were also a group of very interesting shorts from Iran and Afghanistan.

I did not watch every single one of the films, so there may have been other great presentations that I missed.  I´m only reporting here on what I was able to see.

Of course, I also did lots of walking around Berlin, a fascinating city.

All in all, it was a very good experience.  The festival organizers, hard-working people all, were friendly and a delight to get to know.  I hope to keep up my connections with them.

After I have a couple of days to catch my breath, I´ll post some photos of the film festival, etc..

OUR NEXT POST will be about -- photos of the Black International Cinema festival, and Berlin