Crisscross Wins Sonoma Film Festival Award

SONOMA, Calif. - April 4, 2017 - PRLog -- MICHAEL JACKSON, a California native who once lived as a painter in Buenos Aires, has won the prestigious award for Best Dramatic Short for his film Crisscross at the Sonoma International Film Festival. The award was bestowed by Warner Brothers Executive Hunt Lowry as well as Steve Shor, the Program Director of the Newport Beach Film Festival. Also in attendance was the famous film critic, Leonard Maltin, who served on the jury.

Crisscross, starring Thais Kirby, is the first episode in the new series HARLEMITES directed by Jackson. Set in a gentrifying Harlem, the series follows five neighbors whose lives collide in interweaving stories about family and race. The experimental series unfolds a-chronologically, encouraging viewers to watch the episodes in any order they choose. "Soon we'll be releasing the films on an interactive website using Google Maps," Jackson said in a press conference after Crisscross screened on Saturday. "This will allow viewers to take a walking tour of Harlem and explore the iconic neighborhood in the context of our films."

"Clashing cultures is another hot topic in the series," Jackson continued. "With the current political situation, people are searching for stories about immigrants, Muslim-American relations and black and white issues, all of which exist in Harlem today. Gentrification is a big part of it."

Besides Sonoma, Harlemites has attracted the attention of the world's most illustrious film festivals like Cinequest in the Silicon Valley, which is Oscar Award Qualifying. The last film in the series entitled BRIAN MICKLER, starring Wesli Spencer, screens today at the Sarasota Film Festival in Florida. Crisscross will screen again tomorrow as part of the New Filmmakers New York Film Festival at the Anthology Film Archives.

For more information, visit the HARLEMITES Facebook page here or the website here. Thank you Sonoma! #SIFF17

Contact:
Rachel Lara
Director's Assistant
contact@upstreamfilm.com
http://upstreamfilm.com/
(646) 399 - 3431

Photo:
https://www.prlog.org/12630916/1