Peace from Clay Street.

A few weeks ago we organized a meeting at the Parrish House on Duke of Gloucester to talk about race.  In simplest terms, our panel consisted of 3 black people and 3 white people and was diversified based on age and gender, equally representative of generations (ages of 19 to the late side of 50’s).  It was a private conversation and at the request of the panelists was closed to any media.  We gathered around 7pm and at 8pm we began filming.  What follows is some of the more pertinent points that were made. This was an exercise in true expression; the panelists should all be commended for their bravery and honesty.  We believe you will be left wanting more and that was the goal.

 As you watch these clips we ask you to log on and add your input and let us know how these points make you feel.   

Here is a brief bio for the panelists in order of appearance:

Alderman Fred Paone (Ward 2 City Council)

-Native Annapolitan, career prosecutor (Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit), Alderman from Ward2, Visiting Professor at AACC, community volunteer, husband and father.

Wayne Taylor

-Director at the Annapolis Community Action Agency, a former Alderman City Council member, active in all facets of youth development in the Annapolis area

Kevin Beasley aka “Ogun”

-MC at the forefront of the Baltimore Hip Hop movement, works aggressively with at risk youth both on the streets and behind bars, his music and work has been featured prominently on area radio stations like 92Q and 95.5 WPGC.   

Bob Nichols

-Native of Anne Arundel County, a former Marine who spent extensive time overseas in places like Somalia, lives in the Clay Street area on West Washington Street since 2002.  

Raphaela Cassandra

-Junior at St. John’s College, is a director of a youth-leadership program called Epigenesis, which works to empower youth from the Annapolis area.

Zina Pierre

-President and CEO of the Washington Linkage Group, Inc. – a government relations and strategic consulting firm based in Washington, DC.  WLG represents municipal and international governments, corporations and non-profits in the areas of  lobbying, advocacy, grant writing, public relations, international trade.  She is an ordained minister and was the first woman licensed to preach in the history of the First Baptist Church of Annapolis.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Whats good party people? As you are probably well aware we have a superstar in our neighborhood by the name of Zastrow Simms. The film that is based upon his friendship with Pip Moyer and how the two of them stopped Annapolis from burning in the wake of MLK’s assasination was selected to be a part of the American Black Film Festival in Hollywood California. We caught up with the producers of the film Victoria Bruce, Karin Hayes, and Jancie Hayes-Williams for a few minutes to get a scope of what went down out of town!

ILOC = I Live On Clay
PAZ = Pip and Zastrow producers

ILOC: What is it like at the festival? Are the films all shown in one theatre? How many different films were shown?

PAZ: The ABFF was completely off the hook as film festivals go. Every night there were star-studded parties, glamourous babes in evening gowns (producers included), and red carpet events that Zastrow was made for. The first night was a gala, opening night party at the Writers Guild of America Theater. Guests climbed over each other for Apple martinis (except Zastrow, of course who drank his usual coca cola). We hobnobbed with Jeff Friday, the director of the festival, John Singleton sat behind me and kept whispering in my ear…And of course, none of us will ever forget when Halle Berry purposefully tripped Zastrow as he strolled into the theater just to get his attention!

We were one of 24 films in the festival chosen from 400 entries. All of the films screened at the Beverly Hills Mann Theaters. Nice venue and Zastrow could pick up cologne samples at Nordstrom on the way up to the screenings.

ILOC: How was “Pip and Zastrow” received?

PAZ: We heard the buzz all over the festival…”Wow, we heard that film is GREAT!” people would say as we passed out flyers and Pip & Zastrow propaganda down Beverly Blvd. in Beverly Hills where the festival took place. By the second day, everyone knew who Zastrow was, and the film was getting great reviews. Audience members from all over the United States were really touched by the different layers in the film. One audience member in our first screening gave us a great compliment. “A magnificent piece of documentary filmmaking,” he said. The theater was a little to dark to see who it was, but I could have sworn it was Denzel…

ILOC: What is the hope that most have in showing films at festivals like these? What is the goal?

PAZ: Many times, filmmakers go to these festivals in order to get the attention of distributors. For Pip & Zastrow, we’ve already got such a buzz going that we’ve been offered a broadcast by Maryland Public Television and we’re also talking to a distributor who works on getting films streamed on the internet. Our main goal is to get the film into as many hearts and minds as possible, and also get a buzz going so that eventually, we’ll turn this documentary into a feature hollywood film.

ILOC: Can you confirm the rumor that Halle Berry asked out Zastrow on a date?

PAZ: I don’t want to make Tina Turner jealous.

ILOC: What is the next stop for “Pip and Zastrow” on the festival circuit?

PAZ: We’re headed to Birmingham Alabama for a festival at the end of september. It’s a great honor because we’ve been asked to screen Pip & Zastrow at the Civil Rights Institute. Very very cool. Zastrow will accompany us there, but now that he’s so Hollywood, I’m not sure we can accommodate his first-class needs. He’s sooo J-Lo!

Popularity: 5% [?]