New York Premiere of Reggae Film "RiseUp"

[Film]

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, ImageNation Cinema Foundation and the Film Society of Lincoln Center present a Black History Month celebration of reggae music and culture, with the New York Premiere of RiseUp, at the Walter Reade Theater.

RiseUp is a cinematic journey into the heart of Jamaica,†where artists fight to rise up from obscurity and write themselves into music history. Directed by Luciano Blotta, RiseUp features reggae legends Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and many rising stars including Turbulence.

Recently awarded the Best Music Documentary at the AFI/Discovery Silverdocs Festival, some are calling RiseUp the Jamaican-music version of "Hoop Dreams" and the best reggae film since "The Harder They Come."

This special premiere opens with a live performance by Judah Tribe and ends with a director Q&A and discussion on reggae music and its global influence, with reggae scholar and author of Black to the Roots, R.A. Ptahsen-Shabazz, Ph.D.

Often compared to reggae legends such as Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, and Bob Marley the evening’s featured band, Judah Tribe, offers a variety of music from love songs to political anthems.  The band is led by singer/guitarist Josh David who currently tours with Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest and has played with renowned artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder and Common.

In the spirit of reggae, Judah Tribe is a truly Pan-African effort with members hailing from Africa, Jamaica, France, Haiti and the USA.

This program is part of Lincoln Center Celebrates Black History Month 2010. Partial proceeds will benefit relief efforts for Haiti and will be collected at the event. For tickets to this Black History Month celebration, please call 212-340-1874 or visit www.imagenation.us. 

ImageNation Cinema Foundation is a Harlem-based media arts organization, founded with the goal of establishing a chain of art-house cinemas, dedicated to progressive media by and about people of color. ImageNation uses entertainment to inspire people to better themselves and the world.†Through a variety of public exhibitions and programs, ImageNation fosters media equity, media literacy, solidarity, and cross-cultural exchange and highlights the humanity of Pan-African people worldwide.

The City of New York has awarded ImageNation space in the Mart125 Building on 125th Street --directly across the street from the Apollo Theater -- to open Harlem’s first and the nation’s only minority-run art-house cinema dedicated to Black and Latino independent films.

America’s pre-eminent film presentation organization, The Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, to recognize and support new filmmakers, and to enhance awareness, accessibility and understanding of the art among a broad and diverse film going audience.

The reception is at 6pm and the program at 7pm, at Lincoln Center in the Walter Reade Theater, 
165 W. 65th St., New York, NY 10023-6595.

Tickets:  www.imagenation.us or call 212-340-1874