Southampton - The African-American Museum of the East End hosted the Fifth Annual East End Black Film Festival at the Parrish Art Museum on Saturday, November 6. The line-up of feature films and short documentaries presented works that express the beauty of diversity of African American culture.

Bonnie Cannon, one of the head organizers of the festival, is proud to raise cultural awareness in the Hamptons. "This is our fifth year doing the film festival and every year it just gets better. Basically, what we do is we have the film festival to educate and spread cultural awareness across the community, and to make the local people feel good about their cultural history." Cannon further remarked, "Our culture and diversity adds to the community as a whole, and the festival has always been very well received."

The festival kicked off with a special screening of "Men II Boys" at the Cultural Center on Thursday. Following the screening the audience was treated to a Q&A session with the director, Janks Morgan. About 150 people showed up the following night for an evening of spoken word and live jazz by Touche. The neo-soul flutist from Erykah Badu's band, Dwayne Kerr, was the special guest that kept the audience entertained with his musical talents. On Saturday a wide range of feature films were screened, including, "We Need to Talk," "Shoot the Messenger" and "Popous Pain." Guests enjoyed a delicious feast pre and post screenings. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) showed their on-going support at the festival as well, educating participants about the organization and the importance of diversity on the East End.

Morgan was enthusiastic and excited about screening his films at the festival, commenting on the mix of diversity that compliments the Southampton community at large. Through his works, Janks strives to use multimedia to represent the restoration of the black family. "The common thread of my films aims to impact the larger society around this concept of the fracture that has happened in our relationships with men and women and between children and their parents; the fabric that weaves all of this together is restoration of the family." Morgan exclaimed, "There's a piercing truth that we need to acknowledge, not just as a black community, but as an entire nation. There are some ideologies that are just wrong." Janks was honored to announce that his film won Best Black Documentary of the Year in 2007.

The array of films showcased many issues, including social issues, stereotypes, relationships and love. "We Need To Talk," is Morgan's latest work, speaking a strong message that came through to the audience. The film, which was shot in Chicago's South Side, gave a specific message to women who are misguided in a relationship with a man and are faced with decisions that could haunt them for the rest of their lives. Morgan spoke with a group of 10 women who were tired of falling for men who abuse their commitment and bodies just to get what they want out of them. More than a handful of the women regret dealing with the issue by having an abortion, sadly admitting to have learned the hard way. Overall, a majority of them were missing a father in their lives and seemed to search for the love they lacked in the men they were intimate with. The delicate yet consistent message was addressed in the Q&A session that followed, bringing to light the importance of trust, instinct and lessons that can be taught to younger generations.

Curator at the African-American Museum and Assistant to Mayor Mark Epley, Brenda Simmons, is proud to see the Black Film Festival grow every year. "What we try to do is we try to bring a message to the people about different issues that are critical to our community; issues that make people talk and have a conversation," Simmons further added, "The word is getting out. My position has helped me to get the word out. We've gotten so close and it's been a long journey. It's too critical for the future kids in the community."

Through her tireless efforts along with Cannon, the festival has grown more successful each year, bringing more locals to the event. As far as the future of the festival goes, the two hope to extend the showcase of films to an entire week.

"Where do I start?" asked Simmons. "What started out as one day grew into a beautiful weekend of endless festivities."

Lucius Ware, President of the Eastern Long Island Branch of the NAACP.