Date: January 29, 2009
Contact: Ozola Cody, 415-561-4734
History Unveiled: The Black Rock Premiere on Alcatraz
Bay Area Filmmaker Kevin Epps, Golden Gate National Parks, and Strategic Diversity Group Presents The Black Rock: A Documentary Feature
What: Join us on February 17, 2009, as we explore the cultural and socio-political dynamics of Alcatraz cinematic history. 300 invited guests will be taken across the glistening night waters of the San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz Island for the highly anticipated premiere of The Black Rock. We will walk the path of African American prisoners through the cell houses to the Cell House Dining Hall. Interviews with historians, archived documentation, re-enactments, visual imagery, and multi-format digital technology were used to create this visual masterpiece. This documentary presents an entirely new perspective on the most feared prisons of its time (www.theblackrockpremiere.com).
Who: Kevin Epps’ documentary Straight Outta Hunter’s Point (2002) won local and national acclaim and established Epps as a leader in digital, independent film, and new media. His most recent works have ranged from gun violence to black fatherhood and aired nationwide on Current TV, a network founded by former Vice President Al Gore. Epps serves on the Digital Media Advisory Council and has contracted with several governmental and corporate entities such as the National Park Service, Google, Boys and Girls Club, City of Richmond, and Current TV.
Appetizers and music will be part of this dramatic event. Once we are on the Rock, the premiere will take place, followed up with a Q&A before we journey back to the mainland.
Where: Pier 33 (located on the Embarcadero) and Alcatraz—San Francisco Time: 5:15–10:30 p.m.
Sponsors include: 7x7 Magazine, Graffiti PR, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, Makers Mark, The National Park Service, Golden National Parks Conservancy, SF Jazz Heritage Center, Strategic Diversity Group LLC, Wilson Productions, and others.
To schedule an interview with Kevin Epps please contact Shaun Saunders at shaun@graffitipr.net , or 415.504.5359 . High- res images and b-roll footage from the film are available upon request.
For information about the event and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jewell Sparks at sparkie@theblackrockpremiere.com, or 415.568.5700.
