“Damani Baker offers a moving personal and historical account of how he and his family were caught up in the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada. The result is a fascinating and under-reported chapter in the never-ending struggle for justice on behalf of black men and women worldwide, as well as a scalding appraisal of Reagan-era racial attitudes at home and abroad.”
DAMANI BAKER, DIRECTOR
A native of the Bay Area, Damani Baker is a Brooklyn-based director and filmmaker. His first feature documentary (with co-director Alex Vlack) about the life and music of Bill Withers, “Still Bill,” opened theatrically to critical acclaim in 2009 and was acquired by Netflix, Showtime, and BBC. Previous work includes “Return,” an award-winning film that explores the genius of traditional African medicine. Damani’s career spans documentaries, music videos, museum installations, and advertisements, and he has worked for clients including Rainforest Alliance, Puma, IBM, and Wieden+Kennedy, among others.
His current projects include over 10 films for museums in Nigeria and Chattanooga, Tennessee for Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Inc. Damani is a Sundance Fellow and alum of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 new faces in independent film.” In addition to his work, Damani is a professor in the filmmaking, screenwriting, and media arts program at Sarah Lawrence.
JON FINE, EDITOR
Jon’s a filmmaker and musician. Over the years he’s worked as a producer, DP, director and editor. His work includes “Still Bill” about legendary songwriter Bill Withers, “The After Party” about arrests during the 2004 presidential conventions, “Jazz Days” a series of global concerts sponsored by UNESCO and Thelonious Monk Institute, “Herbie Hancock’s Possibilities”, the award-winning short “Flavio”, and videos for Herbie Hancock, Antibalas, Raul Midon, Kaki King, Lionel Loueke and Lizz Wright. In 2015, Jon produced “Holy Forest” an album of songs recorded in The Gambia and the US. He’s now producing “Africa Calling”, a project in partnership with UNICEF, USAID, Angelique Kidjo and students from Benin’s CIAMO school of music to raise awareness around malaria treatment and prevention in West Africa.
Meshell Ndegeocello, ORIGINAL SCORE
Mercurial and masterful, Meshell Ndegeocello has survived the best and worst of what a career in music has to offer. She has eschewed genre for originality, celebrity for longevity, and musicals trends for musical truths. She has lived through the boom and bust of the industry and emerged just as she entered - unequivocally herself. Fans have come to expect the unexpected from Meshell, and faithfully followed her on sojourns into soul, spoken word, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, rock, all bound by a lyrical, spiritual search for love, justice, respect, resolution, and happiness.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: DAMANI BAKER, MAX OSTERWEIS, CAMERON RUSSELL WRITTEN BY: DAMANI BAKER, JON FINE, EISA DAVIS, CAMERON RUSSELL PRODUCED BY: DAMANI BAKER, DANNY GLOVER, BELVIE ROOKS DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROGELIO GONZÁLEZ-ABRALDES AND DAMANI BAKER
WHO'S WHO
ANGELA DAVIS
FANNIE HAUGHTON (MY MOM)
FANIA DAVIS
DAMANI BAKER
PRESTIN BAKER
YVONNE BELFON
MAURICE BISHOP
RONALD REAGAN
JACQUELINE CREFT
ALIMENTA BISHOP
PresS
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Snags L.A. Film Fest Debuting ‘The House On Coco Road’
LA Film Festival: The diversity dilemma, plus nine movies to see
Los Angeles Times-Jun 1, 2016
Bay Area titles loom large at L.A.Film Festival
San Francisco Chronicle-Jun 22, 2016
Interview: ‘The House on Coco Road’ Documents One Family’s Experience During the U.S. Invasion of Grenada
Cinephiled-June 7, 2016
Los Angeles Film Festival Reframes African-American Struggle With Two Empowering Films
Independent filmmakers show Hollywood the way on diversity
LA Film Festival '16 Review: 'The House On Coco Road' - Cromeyellow
KPFA INTERVIEW WITH DAVEY D - HARD KNOCKS RADIO
WANDAS PICKS
WPFW - Voices With Vision
The Best Caribbean Films of 2016
SCREENINGS
JUN 2 2016 LA FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES SOLD OUT
JUN 9 2016 LA FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES SOLD OUT
AUG 25 2016 CAL STATE LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES MORE INFO
SEP 8 2016 AWID INTERNATIONAL FORUM BAHIA, BRAZIL MORE INFO
SEP 16 2016 FULL FRAME DURHAM, NC MORE INFO
SEP 30 2016 THIRD HORIZON CARIBBEAN FILM FESTIVAL MIAMI, FL MORE INFO
OCT 5 2016 MATATU FILM FESTIVAL OAKLAND, CA MORE INFO
OCT 6 2016 THE INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL NASHVILLE, TN MORE INFO
NOV 3 2016 SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE BRONXVILLE, NY MORE INFO
NOV 15 2016 DOCNYC NEW YORK CITY MORE INFO
NOV 17 2016 DOCNYC NEW YORK CITY MORE INFO
DEC 7 2016 BAHAMAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL BAHAMAS MORE INFO
FEB 10 2017 PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES MORE INFO
FEB 12 2017 PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES MORE INFO
FEB 18 2017 TORONTO BLACK FILM FESTIVAL TORONTO, CANADA MORE INFO
APR 2 2017 ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL ATLANTA, GA MORE INFO
APR 11 2017 CARIBBEAN FILM SERIES AT BAM BROOKLYN, NY MORE INFO
APR 22 2017 WASHINGTON DC INTL FILM FESTIVAL WASHINGTON DC MORE INFO
APR 25 2017 WASHINGTON DC INTL FILM FESTIVAL WASHINGTON DC MORE INFO
MAY 2017 GRENADA GLOBAL FILM FESTIVAL GRENADA, WI MORE INFO
JUNE 3 2017 MENDOCINO FILM FESTIVAL MENDOCINO, CA MORE INFO
JUNE 6 2017 SCRIBE VIDEO CENTERS PRODUCERS FOURM PHILADELPHIA, PA MORE INFO
JUNE 24 2017 DTA SCREENING AT RIO CINEMA LONDON, ENGLAND MORE INFO
SCREENS THIS JUNE 2017 and NETFLIX JUNE 30th VIA ARRAY
06/06 Philadelphia, PA Scribe Video Center at International House Philadelphia
06/11 Silver Spring, MD AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center
06/11 Atlanta, GA Caribbean Film Festival at Decatur Library
06/20 New York, NY Metrograph
06/21 Houston, TX Houston Museum of African American Culture
06/21 Montgomery, AL Pure Artistry Literary Cafe
06/22 Seattle, WA Sankofa Film Society at Ark Lodge Cinema
06/22 Portland, OR The Clinton Street Theater
06/22 Bloomington, IN Black Film Center/Archive – Indiana University
06/23-06/29 San Diego, CA Digital Gym Cinema
06/27 Los Angeles, CA The Cinefamily
06/28 New York, NY Imagenation RAW Space
06/30 Chicago, IL Black Cinema House
07/07-07/08 New York, NY Maysles Documentary Center
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RT @NOWNESS: American singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello offers up a soothing rendition of TLC's "Waterfalls":… https://t.co/pyUM0T3YqI -
Meshell Ndegeocello - Waterfalls (Official Video) It's an incredible honor to collaborate with an artist who has de… https://t.co/IKzBgUimt4
"Grenada was a beacon of light for oppressed people all over the world".
- Angela Davis
