Last night, I had the privilege of attending the screening of a powerful documentary, Men II Boys, at the Charles Theatre. The movie, directed by DC-based filmmaker Janks Morton, discusses the lack of father-to-son relationships, primarily in the African-American community, and how that affects boys' ascent into manhood. In the film, Morton interviews a range of black men asking them to give advice to young boys of color.

The documentary is based on a book, 101 Things Every Boy of Color Should Know, written by LaMarr Darnell Shields. A former Baltimore City school teacher, Shields is the CEO of the Urban Leadership Institute, which consults with corporations and institutions working with at-risk youth. "Young black men are so used to hearing what not to do: don't drop out, don't go to jail," Shields said. "This book and movie are a way for them to hear from men about what to do: tie a tie, respect a woman."

In attendance at the screening was Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Mayor Sheila Dixon (and her 14-year-old son Joshua), media personality Marc Clarke, and an incredible range of ages that filled the largest theater at the Charles. "I turned on channel 45 to check the weather and saw that this movie was being shown tonight," Dixon said. "So I brought my son with me because it sounds like something that could really be inspirational for the African-American community."

As the film started, an immediate silence came over the crowded theater. The documentary spliced together several different interview sessions. One showed Morton talking to guys off the street asking them to fill this blank: "To become a man you should know..." The answers ranged from the everyday "how to separate your whites and darks" to the more serious "how to make money legitimately and save it." Morton also interviewed well-known locals like Cummings, Baltimore Raven Daniel Wilcox, and UMBC president Freeman A. Hrabowski III about their own experiences with their fathers and how they've impacted them. Cummings shared a particularly touching moment when his father explained that even though he couldn't afford Christmas gifts, his "presence was present enough."

As with Morton's previous film, What Black Men Think, the documentary was flooded with statistics. The film states that among the African-American population, there's a 52.4 percent divorce rate, 68.7 percent of births are out of wedlock, and 82.3 percent of children don't have daily contact with their fathers. Another powerful moment came when Morton was interviewing a young boy who said, "all the gangsters come from mothers, fathers just make [them] soft."

At the conclusion of the film, Dixon got up and spoke to the audience saying that her son called it "powerful." "This reinforces the need to connect young people to positive influences," she said. Cummings agreed. "Thank you for letting me tell my story in the film," he said. "We've got to become fathers to the fatherless."

I talked to Morton today, who said the screening was everything he hoped it would be and more. "Last night was way beyond my expectations," he said. "Everyone laughed, took pause, and gasped at the right places." Morton and Shields say they hope that this film can inspire a greater movement and they plan to keep showing it to churches and different activist groups around the country. "There are strong and powerful women that are doing excellent things," Morton said. "But they shouldn't be doing it alone."

To read more about LaMarr, Janks, and their movement, check out the June issue of Baltimore magazine.

[Image: courtesy of amazon.com]

Besides rooting for the Orioles in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays and having a Happy Easter, here are some things to check out this weekend:

Baltimore's beloved Caleb Stine & The Brakemen are bringing their alt-country Americana to The 8x10 tonight. The four-piece, whose folksy music chronicles long travels and past relationships, is being opened by acoustic rocker Shane Gamble and Annapolis-based Van Meter. Doors at 8. 10 East Cross Street, 410-625-2000.

If you're a fan of NBC's The Office or just like making fun of corporate culture in general, you should attend the screening of Standards of Ethical Conduct at The Creative Alliance at the Patterson on Saturday night. Canton-based filmmaker Roman Hardgrave presents a 45-minute featurette that satirizes office culture, big corporations, HR departments, and any and all things cubicle. Screening begins at 8. 3134 Eastern Avenue, 410-276-1651.

Saturday is the last chance to see Bridget Sullivan's solo exhibition Watershed at School 33 Art Center. Sullivan's digital art pieces examine the relationship between humans and the Earth's ecosphere. She particularly focuses on humans' detrimental behavoir and how that affects the survival of the Earth and its inhabitants. 1427 Light Street, 410-396-4641.

[Image: courtesy of citypaper.com]

Saturday night, my sister and I went to the Transmodern Art Festival at the H&H building on Franklin St. I'll admit that, like most attendees (I think), I was drawn to the festival because Dan Deacon was scheduled to play Floristree (the performance space that occupies the top floor of the H&H Building) on Saturday night. It was to be one of the electro-innovator's first shows with a live band, featuring music from his excellent new album Bromst (read about the new live set on All the Pieces Matter here). As it turned out, we never did get to see Deacon play (though we did see him), but were amused nonetheless.

The second, fourth, and fifth floors of the building were filled with art installations that ranged from innovative and interesting to silly, but it was all good fun for a Saturday night. There were looped video screens of a woman making spastic dance motions, a live woman writhing on the floor while a few spectators stared and applauded, some truly excellent wall/floor sculptures, and a trippy installation in the building's air shaft (pictured). There were lots of roaming performance artists doing everything from insisting you put on a name tag (my sister refused, much to his chagrin) to asking passers-by to grope fake animal mammaries. Best of all, there was a large room set up to be a human foosball table. Genius.

Overall, It was kinda like a carnival funhouse. My sister, a relatively established painter (see her work here) said it reminded her of art school, which, of course, makes sense since many of the artists are students or recent grads from MICA, UMBC, and other local schools. In any case, it's nice to be reminded that there is lots of energy committed to making and seeing creative expression in Baltimore.

Floristree, on the 6th floor, was packed and running very, very late. When we walked in around 11:30, the first band on the bill, Future Islands, was just getting started. When they finished, there was a long wait for the next, Teeth Mountain. Wandering around, I ran into Jason Urick, one of the residents of Floristree (6 people live there, ya know), who was stressing about the crowd and mentioned that the police had been by twice that night. The space seems to occupy a legal gray area, in terms of zoning, but the proprietors never serve alcohol (or anything else—a dude gets thirsty!) and they tend to be very conscientious of their neighbors. Jason mentioned that it was probably a mistake for Deacon, who has achieved a pretty grand national reputation, to play there, but that Deacon really wants to feel like he can still pull it off.

We'll never know (at least first-hand) whether or not he did. After 45 minutes, Teeth Mountain was still setting up (there were some moderately disturbing video-loop projections in the interim, to keep the crowd entertained/scared), and we spotted Deacon lounging on a couch by the kitchen. It didn't look like he was planning on getting off of it anytime soon, so we split at 1:00 or so. I searched the blogs and was only able to find one determined blogger who managed to stick around for the show and his review was brief: "Dan Deacon took the house down. I can't wait to get the album so that I can actually process what it is I heard that night." I also found this blog from one of the artists in the show and even she couldn't stick around long enough for Deacon.

At 34, I'm pretty sure I was the oldest person in the building (except for my sister, 37), and maybe the only one who put his toddler to bed before going to the show, but it's nice to know the Transmodern and its ilk exist in Bmore. Maybe next time I'll have more stamina.

[photo courtesy of Zombie37, via flickr.com]

There's a lot to do this weekend in the way of music (see the Transmodern Festival and MSTRKRFT at Sonar), but we also want to highlight some events if you feel like keeping it more low-key:

Trying to ride the wave of last year's overwhelming success, Atomic Books is hosting Vinylmore 2: Tiny Town, where artists customize blank, vinyl toys (between 2.5" and 4" tall). The toy show opens tonight at 8 p.m. and runs until April 30, with about 60 artists participating. Atomic Books, 3620 Falls Road, 410-662-4444.

Photographer Amy Lamb will be showing her large scale floral photographs through June 28 at the Steven Scott Gallery in Fells Point. Lamb's detailed, yet whimsical photographs remind us of a modern-day Georgia O'Keefe. A reception in honor of her solo exhibition is being held at the gallery tonight from 6-8 p.m. Steven Scott Gallery, 808 S. Ann Street, 410-902-9300.

The Women's Law Center is sponsoring the Wine & Chocolate benefit at One Wellness Spa in Hampden. While enjoying sweet treats from Mary Sue Candies, Ma Petite Shoe, and Forbidden Fruits & Sweets, you can also bid on a silent auction and listen to special guest speaker Ms. Maybelle, a radio personality and domestic violence survivor. One Wellness Spa, 911 West 36th Street, 410-243-2040.

Come out and support a local arts institution. Apart of their "recession buster" series, The Senator Theatre is showing the Bob Fosse classic Cabaret starring Liza Minnelli and Michael York. Admission is only $5 and the movie will be shown Friday through Sunday. Show times are on the website. The Senator Theatre, 5904 York Road, 410-435-8338.

[Image: courtesy of flickr.com/photos/sugarfreak]