SGL Film MISSISSIPPI DAMNED At The 13th Annual Urbanworld Film FestivalFri & Sat, Sept. 25th & 26th, 2009 ONLY in NYC!

Hey Black Family,

A goof friend emailed this to me TODAY and I need to get it out pronto as it is TIME SENSITIVE...

The MOST EXCELLENT film
Mississippi Damned
will be playing in New York City at the
13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival

PLEASE SUPPORT AND CHECK OUT HIS FILM!
It's REALLY GOOD!
And a lot of social commentary!!

Date and Time:
Friday, September 25th at 12:30pm
Location:
34th Street AMC Loews
312 West 34th Street
(between 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, NY 10001

Date and Time:
Saturday, September 26th at 5:45pm
Location:
34th Street AMC Loews
312 West 34th Street
(between 8th and 9th Avenues)
New York, NY 10001

Check out the Urbanworld Film Festival website
for ticket information and more details.

The Two SGL Sistahs Mississippi Damned




Actor Malcolm David Kelley

TINA MABRY & MORGAN STIFF TAKES HOME JURY AWARD
FOR BEST AMERICAN INDIE FILM AT PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL

Jossie Harris Thacker, born and raised in Harlem, New York, began her career as a dancer. She moved to Los Angeles after landing a starring role as one of the acclaimed Fly Girls in Fox's hit TV show, In Living Color, opposite Keenan and Damon Wayans, Jim Carrey, and Jennifer Lopez. It was there Jossie became enamored with the craft thus making a natural transition into her acting career. Film credits include the soon to be released film: Boppin' at the Glue Factory, by director Jeff Orgill; Sergio Arau's film A Day Without a Mexican; and The Halfway Diner, an independent short film written by John Sayles. Jossie's television credits include: Chris Gerolmo's Over There for FX, NBC's ER and The West Wing, CBS's Close to Home, and ABC's Notes from the Underbelly. Jossie recently graced the stage as Margo in Carlos LaCamara's, Havana Bourgeois, a role written for her, which earned her riveting reviews from the L.A. Times and L.A. Weekly. Other memorable stage credits include the role of Desdemona in Othello starring opposite Charles Dutton and the role of Julia in Becoming Cuban, also by Carlos LaCamara.

Jossie plays Charlene "Charlie" Stone in Mississippi Damned. This is her second project with director, Tina Mabry. She starred as Brooklyn in Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan, the multi-award winning short film that aired on Showtime, BETJ, and Logo.

Jossie will be in attendance at both screenings at Urbanworld. At the Saturday show she will be joined by Exectuive Producer and Producer, Lee V. Stiff.


Q: What was your experience like working on Mississippi Damned?
A: In a word, my experience working on Mississippi Damned was priceless. For most African-American and Latino actors, such as myself, roles like "Charlie Stone" are rarely written for us. So naturally when I was presented with the opportunity to play this delicious, complex character I was both excited and scared all at once. As if Tina had not created enough drama, while I prepared to shoot my first Charlie scene's, which was also our first day of shooting, the crew and I found ourselves in the middle of a tornado. But something about half the crew huddled together in that small bathroom bonded us. From that day forward it was like working with family. I think we all quickly got the sense that we were creating something special.

Q: Charlie experiences a lot through out the course of the movie, how did you develop her character?
A: Yes, Charlie does experience a lot throughout the movie. She basically goes through hell and back. In terms of the work I did in developing the character, I think I would need a few pages for that but I'll try to take you through the short version of my process. First off, I tackled Charlie as I do every role. I read the script as many times as I possibly could which at the time was not that many as I had to contend with my biggest challenge which was keeping my son, Elijah, then 18 months old, busy every second of the day while my lil Jonah, kicked around in my belly, ready to make his entrance at any given moment. Tina made it very easy for me though. I love a good writer and dissecting Charlie was a high for me. With every clue she gave me about the character I wrote it down or stored it in my head. Then I created a bio for Charlie and asked myself, "how am I like Charlie?" and "how am I different then Charlie?" and there I began to find her voice and ultimately her spirit. Next, I began thinking, breathing, walking, talking Charlie.

In addition, I had to tackle what was going on socially and politically for woman during the 80's and again in the 90's. I had to get into the mindset of woman during that era which looked very different than the opportunities, the rights and support that are available to me as a woman today. I don't drink nor smoke so I did a little research on the affect of chain smoking and alcoholism, and lastly, I had to work on the way Charlie spoke. I was born and raised in Harlem, Charlie was from the south, two very different dialects. Needless, to say there were a lot of traps in playing this role. I did a lot of work avoiding those traps the best I could.

Q: What was the most challenging aspect of creating your character?
A: Although the goal for every serious actor should be to disappear yourself in the role I know personally that that is actually a lot easier said than done. Because I knew this was a real and significant person in Tina's life, it was very important for me to loose "Jossie" and allow the audience to experience "Charlie". Initially, I think the most challenging aspect of creating Charlie was knowing she was a true, breathing human being and more over a living relative of Tina's, as oppose to a character she had penned in her mind. I had to let go of that pressure. Once I did, I found myself having to deal with having a little more in common with Charlie than I really cared to admit. I found myself saying, "if not for the grace of God, who knows where or who I would be today". It was scary to see that had I not made the choices I made growing up I could've easily been walking in her shoes. There wasn't one night that I didn't get back to that little room, in that cramped hotel in the middle of nowhere that I didn't thank God for my life and couldn't wait to get back to it. It was a very therapeutic journey.

Q: Which character, besides your own, do you relate to the most?
A: I relate to the role of Kari the most. I've seen MD maybe three or four times now and every time I watch it, it literally moves me to tears. It's as though I'm watching it for the first time because in a lot of ways, I'm that little girl, except my hood was Harlem, and despite what I've been through growing up I've always had a fierce determination to do and be more. Kari's story takes me through an emotional journey that reminds me of where I come from, where I've been, where I'm going and that insane single-mindedness needed to get there. Tina has done an incredible job in making all her characters relatable in some way, no matter where you're from.

Q: What projects are you currently working on?
A: I recently starred opposite Danny Pino, of CBS's, Cold Case, in the Miami stage production of, Carlos Lacamara's, Havana Bourgeois. I did the Los Angeles production of it last year and was the only cast member with the exception of Ugly Betty's, Tony Plana, invited back for the Miami run of the production. Again, it was an awesome role and it's exciting to hear the industry buzz about major investors interested in taking it to the next level, perhaps Broadway!

Next, I'm preparing for a role in a feature film that is currently in works with a highly acclaimed Oscar nominated actor, I'll keep you posted on that one. Plus I have several other projects that are currently in the pre-production stage. This continues to be a great year and I expect 2010 is going to be even better.