BAMBD F E S T

Alicia Mason

 Spell #7- playing Lily.

Alicia Mason is a Bay Area born and raised actress and voice over artist. She has worked on many film,commercial and theater productions in the area and is always striving to deepen her craft and give back to the communities of color she grew up in.

Michael Houston

 I am in Spell #7 as Lou

Michael Houston is a Brooklyn, NY native who recently earned his BFA in acting from Academy of Art University. He credits his growing success to all of his teachers with whom he is grateful for. His production credits include, Six Degrees of Separation (Paul), In the Heights (Benny), Death &The Artist (St. Peter and others) and more. He is excited to join the BAMBDFEST family and is grateful to Ayodele, Sally, the Cast and Lower Bottom Playaz for this exciting opportunity. He is eager to add his own interpretation to the mysterious and thought provoking character of Lou and most importantly, honoring the words of the great Ntozake Shange. He especially thanks his parents Michael and Michelle Houston for always loving and supporting him.

aries Jordan

AriesJ the Poet is an educator, writer and proud New Yorker residing, learning, growing, and becoming in Oakland, CA. She holds an MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College. Her writing weaves prose, proverbs and cultural narratives of the African Diaspora that provoke thought and inner reflection. Aries enjoys curating creative writing spaces for anyone who feels called to write no matter their skill level. Past events and workshops include, “Women Write”, “Poetry N the Park”, “My Sister, Not My Competition”, “Free Write” and “Feeding the Artist Within Series ”.

Shaka Redmond

ShakaJamal is a culturally innovative artist and filmmaker from Oakland, California. He is the founder of Olu8 Film & Culture and Olu8 Records. Each are creative spaces for the production of dynamic sound, story and visuals. His passion for film and music grew through travel and while living in South Afrika. Partnering with community members, non-profits and corporations, ShakaJamal’s work reveals the inspiring achievements of change makers—whose stories often go untold. He is the first filmmaker from Oakland, CA to receive the Game Changers Fellowship which lead him to premiere a series of short documentaries in New York at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. His work has premiered both nationally and internationally, on television, and in numerous film festivals. In addition, ShakaJamal is a 200 Hour Certified Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher and CFO (Chief Flexibility Officer) of Namaste Ready; a co-op that provides yoga and self care healing practices designed to activate and support the healing powers of the Black Community. He is a graduate of Tuskegee University and earned a Master’s of Fine Arts in Cinema from San Francisco State University. During BAMBDFEST ShakaJamal will provide Yoga every Tuesday morning @ 7AM (PST). The BAMFEST Film Festival will be hosted by Olu8 Film & Culture every Tuesday evening @ 7PM (PST), showcasing films and filmmakers from Oakland and around the world. 

Ajuan Mance

Ajuan Mance is a Professor of English and Ethnic Studies at Mills College and a lifelong artist and writer. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. In both her scholarly writing and her visual art, Ajuan explores issues of race, gender, and the people and places in which they intersect. The creator of the 1001 Black Men online sketchbook, Ajuan has participated in solo and group exhibitions as well as comic and zine fests, from the Bay Area to Brooklyn. Her comics include the Gender Studies series and the web-based comic strip Check All That Apply. Her comics have also appeared in several anthologies including: Alphabet and We’re Still Here, both from Stacked Decked Press; Drawing Power power, from Abrams Press; the How to Wait anthology, edited by Sage Persing; and the upcoming Menopause: A Comic Treatment, from Penn State University Press. Her work has appeared in a number of digital and print media outlets, including, most recently, Blavity.com, BET.com, Transition Magazine, Buzzfeed.com, KQED,org, the San Francisco Chronicle, KPIX TV, The Women’s Review of Books, Pen.com, Publisher’s Weekly.com,  the NewYorkTimes.com, and NewYorker.com.