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Heritage Theatre Group Showcased 4 Films in the 15th Annual “The People’s Film Festival” By Keith Forrest
The People’s Film Festival was a three-day celebration of the “Voice of the People,” channeled through the transformative power of film, art, music, and technology. The festival ran from, May 28, through May 31, at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem, USA. This year’s lineup features four epic entries from uptown’s own New Heritage Theatre Group.
“This is Voza,” directed by Jamal Joseph and Mike DeCaro is a striking visual portrait of Voza Rivers, a titan of the Harlem arts scene whose visionary work has built cultural bridges spanning from South Africa to Cuba and Japan.
The energy continued with “Raise It Up,” directed by Mike DeCaro and Malik Beckford. Celebrating the 15th anniversary of a historic milestone, this new music video honors the 2008 Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song, “Raise It Up” is a masterpiece composed by Harlem’s own IMPACT Repertory Theatre for the film August Rush. This tribute revisits the electric night of February 24, 2008, when IMPACT’s youth took center stage at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles to perform for the world.
On Sunday, May 31, the TPFF feature film presentation spotlights New Heritage Films’ True See. Directed by Jamal Joseph and Mike DeCaro, this film delivers the raw, inspiring true story of Christopher Watson. Navigating the heights of the 1980s crack epidemic as a member of the dangerous Castlegate Road gang in Boston’s notorious Roxbury neighborhood, Watson’s journey serves as a gripping portrait of both a fall from grace and a powerful redemption.
The festival also presented “Level Head,” directed by Jamal Joseph and Jad Joseph, and produced by Jamal Joseph and Jamal Joseph Jr. This poignant short film captures the lives of musicians Justin Martin and Slick Da Jumpshot, pulling back the curtain on the everyday struggles of their generation and the complex realities facing minorities in the suburbs of America.
Now entering its 15th year, TPFF stands as a formidable cultural and economic engine in Harlem, New York – fiercely committed to preserving a rich artistic legacy while boldly architecting its future. Defying the notion that the Harlem Renaissance is a closed chapter of the past, TPFF asserts that Harlem remains a vibrant, breathing epicenter of creativity, innovation, and cultural expression. The festival’s mission is anchored in the conviction that the spirit of the Renaissance lives on—not just in history books, but in the voices, visions, and raw talent of today’s emerging artists, filmmakers, musicians, and technologists. For fifteen years, the People’s Film Festival has championed the world’s most compelling independent cinema, launching stories that have gone on to achieve global acclaim.
