The Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival is proud to host “Beyond The Screen” - an event in collaboration with HaMafilms and Goldenmedia. This special event runs from August 14th to 17th and will include the participation of the legendary and award-winning director Neema Barnette and her husband screen actor Reed McCants. The couple will be conducting a series of workshops and showcasing their work.

Neema Barnette is an American film director, and the first African-American female sitcom director. Barnette was the first African-American woman to get a three-picture deal with Sony. Her work includes a mixture of film and television. She has directed television programmes such as The Cosby Show, A Different World, Gilmore Girls, 7th Heaven, Diagnosis Murder and China Beach to name a few.

Barnette’s most recent film T.D.Jakes Woman Thou Art Loosed On The Seventh Day starring Blair Underwood will make its Caribbean premiere in Antigua as part of Beyond The Screen. She has won numerous awards, honors,and nominations, among them an Emmy Award for her after school special To Be a Man, two NAACP Image Awards, and a Sundance Film Festival Award for her film Civil Brand. She owns her own production company Hope Entertainment and is also a professor of film at the UCLA School of Film & Television.

Reed McCants is a 20-year veteran of film, television and stage. Reed has always been committed to devoting his time and energy to preserve and nurture the arts in the Afro-American community. A product of Harlem himself, Reed feels “It is essential to give back”. Subsequently he has created or cofounded four Theatre companies. The Renaissance Drama Company, Rainbow Connection Theatre and Rebirth Drama Company. More recently, he is the Founder of the Live Theatre Gang, which has been in existence for ten years. During these tenures, he has produced and or directed well over 500 plays. Reed’s directorial debut was “Cuttin Da Mustard”, the film that the characters of 40 and Leroy Web Series originated from. As a featured actor Reed can be seen in the film classic “Project X” starring Matthew Broderick, “Civil Brand” which also stars Mos Def, and T.D.Jakes’s “Woman Thou Art Loosed: On The 7th Day” also staring Blair Underwood, Sharon Leal and Pam Grier. Currently Reed along with his wife Neema Barnette, are producing the hit web series “Black History Mini Docs”. BHMD are 90 second documentary videos designed in a fast and entertaining way to enlighten young and old about the varying contributions of Blacks in world history. Reed will be conducting the Acting for film and Digital filmmaking workshops. Visit www.trulycaribbean.net/events for registration details