Charlottesville, VA:- Actors Treat Williams and Ruben Blades will kick off a night of premieres on Saturday, October 28, at the Virginia Festival of American Film in Charlottesville.
Williams, whose many leading roles include "Prince of the City" and "Smooth Talk" will join director Wayne Powers and executive producer Mark Johnson for the world premiere of Powers' 30-minute short film "The Taming Power of the Small" at The County Office Building at 10 p.m. Following the premiere Williams will introduce a special screening of "Hair" in which he played the hippie leader, Berger. Recently Williams has been attracting talk of an Oscar nomination for his role in the soon-to-be-released "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead."
Blades, an actor/musican whose accomplishments include political candidacy and salsa music will join director Brian Cox for the premiere of their new film "Scorpion Spring" at 7 p.m. in the County Office Building. Set amid the turmoil of illegal immigration across the Mexican-American border, "Scorpion Spring" raises issues of urgent concern to Blades, who is an outspoken opponent of California's controversial Proposition 187, which denies social services and education to illegal immigrants.
Blades leapt to fame in 1976 as a preeminent salsa musician, winning two Grammy awards before moving on to films where he again ascended to the top of the field, winning an ACE Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a death row inmate in "Dead Man Out." In 1993 Blades entered the arena of politics in his native Panama, running as a presidential candidate in the 1994 elections on behalf of the Papa Egoro Movement which he co-founded. While Blades finished in third place in the race, the Papa Egoro saw six of its other candidates elected to the Panamanian Parliament.
Saturday night's program also boasts the premieres of "White Man's Burden" and "Frankie Starlight." "White Man's Burden" is Savoy Pictures' eagerly awaited first feature directed by screenwriter Desmond Nakano ("Last Exit to Brooklyn", "American Me".) Exploring a world in which blacks and whites reverse roles "White Man's Burden" stars John Travolta and Harry Belafonte and will be screened at 7 p.m. in the Culbreth Theatre. The film will be followed by a discussion of interracial issues led by University of Virginia professors Julian Bond, Deborah McDowell, and Paul Gaston.
The magical realist romantic comedy "Frankie Starlight", which has already charmed audiences in Cannes and Toronto, will be screened at 10 p.m. in the Culbreth Theatre. This multi-national coproduction set in Ireland, France and Texas features an equally international cast including Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, and Matt Dillon.