The 1st Annual Black Lily Film & Music Festival Presented by uwishunu.com Debuts in Philadelphia

March 31, 2007, Philadelphia, PA - The 2007 Black Lily Film & Music Festival presented by uwishunu.com will be the first event of its kind in Philadelphia - an annual festival wholly focused on the contributions of women filmmakers and musicians. Nicknamed “The Lily,” The Black Lily Film Festival will run May 4th through 6th at the Painted Bride Art Center and World Café Live.

The three-day festival will include over 100 screenings by women directors from around the world, along with a star-studded Black Lily Honors ceremony for award-winning musicians and filmmakers such as Sanaa Hamri (Something New), Su Friedrich (Sink or Swim), Jill Scott (Beautifully Human), and Toshi Reagon (The Temptation of St. Anthony). The festival programming will also include a Girls Workshop, a two-part series for local girls interested in music and film, supported by “Young Lily” screenings dedicated to teenage filmmakers on the rise.

Added to this year’s festivities will be two Black Lily concerts: The Black Lily Reunion concert and the Black Lily Honors concert - both bridging original Lily talents with emerging female musicians. Musical talents scheduled to perform are Alice Smith, Jill Scott, Ursula Rucker, Melody Gardot, and The Jazzyfatnastees. Special guests, Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, will also perform as house band for the evening.

The Lily festival is a new direction for the established brand. The domestic film and music festival is the product of Black Lily’s initial international presence. Black Lily’s “A Women in Music Series” has been held in London, Paris, Japan, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston and, most recently, Los Angeles. Founders Mercedes Martinez and Tracey Moore from famed group Jazzyfatnastees created the series to support female vocalists and musicians who were being shut out of existing jam sessions around the country. Black Lily has helped launch the careers of many of today’s most notable female artists including Jill Scott, Floetry, and Jaguar Wright.

Black Lily will hold an official press conference at 10am on Tuesday, April 3 at World Café Live located at 3025 Walnut Street in Philadelphia. Please send conference RSVP’s to press@buzzig.com.

For more information on The Black Lily Film & Music Festival visit www.blacklilyfilm.org