Winner of this year’s Academy Award for animated short, Logorama transforms the legendary logos and icons that we’ve all grown up with, into a funny and intriguing 16-minute film about an over-saturated Los Angeles in peril.

McDonalds, 7-Eleven, AOL, and MGM are among 3,000 logos and mascots weaved into the narrative that took six years to make. Ronald McDonald is on a deadly rampage, Mr. Clean has traded in his tough guy image, and Bic pen dudes roam the city as pedestrians. Everywhere you look–the trees, the zoo, the highway, the diner–the city has been morphed into an animated advertisement. You’ve probably never even realized the extent to which every aspect of our lives has been branded.

H5, the French animation collective that created the film wanted to bring this experience to life. ”Logorama presents us with an over-marketed world built only from logos and real trademarks that are destroyed by a series of natural disasters (beginning with a hurricane, cyclone, tidal wave). Logotypes are used to describe an alarming universe (similar to the one that we are living in) with all the graphic signs that accompany us everyday in our lives. This over-organized universe is violently transformed by the cataclysm becoming fantastic and absurd. It shows the victory of the creative against the rational, where nature and human fantasy triumph.”

Logorama from Marc Altshuler – Human Music on Vimeo.

New York City educator Aiesha Turman is doing her part to soothe the struggles of young black girls. Turman is currently filming The Black Girl Project, a full-length documentary that finds young girls sounding off about who they really are. This project is one of many initiatives stemming from Turman’s Super Hussy Media, an outlet that she developed to explore the many facets of black womanhood using workshops geared to empowering young women, resources promoting healthy self-esteem, and now films to spark dialogue among teens, parents, and teachers.

“I have students who are homeless. I have students who are getting beat up by boyfriends.”

Growing up in western New York as one of few of her school’s black students, Turman experienced her own struggles with identity. Although exposed to culture and history at an early age, the absence of constant discussion about the roles of women proved particularly challenging during her upbringing.

“Thinking back to the friends that I had growing up, I know a lot of us were having so many issues,” Turman says, “but we came from this community where you don’t tell your business, and you don’t talk to other people regardless if it’s a trained therapist. You will not go and speak to someone and tell anyone else. There are so many shameful family secrets.”

After a difficult stint in college, Turman eventually found her calling through an internship at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City, where she once again found herself as the token black, but this time celebrated the opportunity to flourish in a foreign setting. This internship brought Turman to predominately black schools, teaching Jewish history through the eyes of an African American woman.

Courtney James is entering her junior year at City College of NY. She's currently working as a residential adviser for a summer program at Yale.

“I would go to the schools, speak to them, and then we would do a tour,” said Turman. “I had a different perspective than some of the folks who would do the tours. We would then go back to the schools and workshop on social justice and what they can do in their communities based on what they did at the museum. That’s really what started for me.”

She went on to serve as a coordinator at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, bringing literature, arts, and history to high school students. It was here that she began her work with teenage girls, serving as a confidante to a host of young women forced to sort through difficult experiences on their own.

“As the coordinator of the program it’s like running a mini high school. I’m having girls who are having irresponsible sex. I have students who were sexually abused. I have students who are homeless. I have students who are getting beat up by boyfriends, and these are all that you would see on paper, as good girls and good kids. They look healthy, but a lot of things were going on. That’s where my whole idea for Super Hussy and the Black Girl Project came from—working with these girls and really getting to know them on an intimate level.”

The young women featured in the film are candid about their experiences, giving viewers access to a voice that’s rarely heard. Set to be released this fall, The Black Girl Project will blend interviews, images, and historical footage to tell a compelling story told by girls ages 10 to 20-years old. Turman is also developing a curriculum to accompany the film to encourage an ongoing discussion about the weighty topics that the young women address, and to encourage mothers, aunties, and sisters to foster a healthy development and a strong sense of self.

“These conversations need to constantly take place. You have to show them alternatives because the television is not going to show them, and neither is the internet. It’s up to us.”

the black girl project {i am} from Super Hussy on Vimeo.

M (1931)

Combine a great story with stunning visuals, and you generally have a film worth at least one viewing.  Surprisingly enough, these two elements have been working their magic since 1931.  1931, you say?  Stunning visuals?  Perhaps you should pick up a copy of “M” to see exactly what I mean.  Set in Germany, the film depicts the hysteria caused when a child murderer appears on the scene and wreaks havoc.  The whole town takes up the case; the ordinary citizens, the police force, and even the criminal underworld.  The ordinary citizens begin pointing fingers, and as a result of business killing curfews and restrictions, the crooks set out to find the killer.  Brilliance.  In the end, the cops definitely have their work cut out for them.  Don’t let the release date of this movie fool you; the originality of this film endures through the ages.

Harakiri (1962)

A great script (with excellent dialogue) and convincing acting are two other make or break elements when it comes to film.  The proper mixture can leave an audience stunned, gaping, and breathless.  Harakiri does just that; takes the viewer on a surprising journey filled with compassion, justice, hardship, revenge, and love.  Following the story of Hanshiro Tsugumo is an intense task; the film is, for the most part, a story that he is relaying to another, which in turn sets the backdrop for a chillingly unexpected finale.  This poignant tale by director Masaki Kobayashi is a must for any Japanese film buff.

Der Untergang (Downfall) (2004)

Give me a director who takes a meticulous approach to detail any day of the week.  They generally know how to deliver the goods to the viewer.  Der Untergang (Downfall) is a classic example of the power that simple detail can bring.  The film essentially tells the story of Hitler’s last few weeks tucked away with his staff in a secret bunker during the final weeks of WWII.  It is replete with rampant confusion, frustration, ineptitude, and betrayal, but amazingly manages to extract a shred of humanity.  Told by a German director and with a German perspective, the film refuses to dignify the ill-fated leader, but rather, allows the viewer a realistic glimpse into the lives of those who accompanied him on his downfall.

Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye Children) (1987)

Memories have often been the catalyst for history’s most timeless films, as many an epic masterwork was based on a writer or director’s life experiences.  French director Louis Malle drew upon his experiences at a Catholic boarding school during WWII to weave a tale of discovery, betrayal, and childhood friendship.  The film takes on a minimalist approach to the characters and the setting, relying on raw dialogue and stark visuals to carry the heavy weight of the subject matter.  This is considered one of Malle’s greatest works, and one that you should definitely add to your list.

The Razor’s Edge (1946)

While memories can create a thrilling movie, novels also have the ability (sometimes) to conjure up a film classic.  The Razor’s Edge is among author W. Somerset Maugham’s most triumphant books, chronicling the life of Larry Darrell and his quest to find the meaning of life, and ultimately, himself.  Larry abandons a life of privilege and embraces a path of self-discovery, a global journey that will ultimately shape his life and those around him.  The film adaptation attempts to replicate this saga, and with the venerable Tyrone Power in the lead, does an adequate job recreating the highs and lows of such a lonely road.

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