Disability Justice Award!

Charles Curtis Blackwell received the DISABILITY JUSTICE AWARD for our 70-minute documentary The God Given Talent: the Creative Life of Charles Curtis Blackwell at SuperFest International Disability Film Festival in San Francisco (October 2020), the longest running disability film festival in the world!

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We, JMG Motion Pictures, categorically condemn the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, who are just three of the many Black Americans who every single year die unjustly at the hands of law enforcement. We call out the systemic racism and structures of white supremacy that led to their deaths. We stand in solidarity with the protestors across the country who have bravely fought against repressive police in order to peacefully demonstrate on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement. We declare our commitment to making our films and our production company a safe and welcoming environment for all. We demand concrete measures in our communities, cities, and countries to meaningfully support people of color, reconsider the role of policing in our communities, and to use art to make these concrete changes everywhere.

We recognize that the Black Lives Matter movement has called attention to these inequalities and has led the way in combating racial injustice. We will strive to assist in opposing the deep and enduring culture of systemic, institutionalized racism and white supremacy in the United States and beyond, with origins that lie in system of slavery and Jim Crow, and which took shape over generations of systematic oppression and suffering.

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Since March 2020, Jeff has been audio recording Charles’ poetry for a Bandcamp Page! Four albums have been released. The album below is a special archive release, created with an ensemble of musicians from 2003!

<a href="https://godgiven.bandcamp.com/album/if-we-sit-in-a-dark-room">If We Sit in a Dark Room by Charles Curtis Blackwell</a>

_________________________________________________________________________“As the lead programmer/curator for the Over-the-Rhine International Film Festival, it is my honor to inform you that your film has been selected for the Festival’s 2019 slate. This year, the second annual edition of the event is scheduled for October 2-6, 2019. We look forward to working with you during this process and having you as a partner. Congratulations!”

– Lead Programmer/Curator

“A story of survival, memories and poetry, with fine art interspersed / social justice in motion / ends powerfully with poem and music.”


Jeff M. Giordano's deep interest in psychology, anthropology, and culture led to film school at the University of North Carolina: School of the Arts - School of Filmmaking. Giordano became the first Documentary Directing Major at the University. 

Jeff’s thesis film The Sheriff won two awards: Director’s Choice at the Black Maria Film Festival and a Special Jury Award at the Provincetown International Film Festival.

Since 2004, Giordano has interviewed over 160 people for various documentary productions.

Contact Jeff for business inquires and film consultations at:
info(at)jeffmgiordano.com

Recent Notable Documentaries directed by Jeff M. Giordano

*click on film titles for more info

- Passion is the Money: 74 min. documentary (2018)
- The God Given Talent: The Creative Life of Charles Curtis Blackwell 70 min. documentary (2019)
- Making Up My Mind: Searching for Jimmy Lyons: 47 min. documentary (2020) C
- Romantic Chorus: 85 minute animated-documentary (2021) in production

THE GOD GIVEN TALENT: THE CREATIVE LIFE OF CHARLES CURTIS BLACKWELL will have its International Premiere at the Documentary Festival of Ierapetra in Greece, from August 1 – 8, 2020!

PASSION IS THE MONEY (starring Charles Curtis Blackwell along with a ensemble of poets, artists, and musicians) had its International Premiere in Taipei, Taiwan on November 29, 2019 and will screen in Canada on January 7, 2020.

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The 10-Minute Short Documentary “Charles Curtis Blackwell” will play at Assim Vivemos: Brazil’s International Disability Film Festival, in September 2019.

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NEWS: May 21, 2019

Jeff’s feature-documentary THE GOD GIVEN TALENT: THE CREATIVE LIFE OF CHARLES CURTIS BLACKWELL is an Official Selection for the 20th Annual San Francisco Black Film Festival!

http://sfbff.org/wordpress/the-god-given-talent-the-creative-life-of-charles-curtis-blackwell
The movie will screen on Saturday, June 15th at the African American Art & Culture Complex @ 12pm*
Address: 762 Fulton St., San Francisco, California

Charles Curtis Blackwell’s Biography

Charles is a jazz poet, painter, playwright, and educator. His writing has appeared in over 180 publications. Blackwell was born in San Francisco, California and Charles’ lifelong love for jazz and blues has helped him overcome many obstacles, including becoming partially blind at age 20.

Charles is published both nationally and internationally in a variety of magazines and publications. He has appeared in articles and programs in the San Francisco Chronicle and PBS Television.

Charles is author of The Fiery Responses to Love’s Callings, Is the Color of Mississippi Mud, If a Pigeon Can’t Fly, Blind Alley Cats Dream Jazz, and Catch the First Thing Smokin’. Blackwell’s most recent publication is Past Fascination: Love Poems (2018). Currently, he is working on a book of short stories and a poetry collection of new work.

Charles Curtis Blackwell’s captivating live performances reinvent the intriguing sound of jazz into transcendent poetry.

Charles is also known for his paintings of jazz musicians and figurative scenes. Blackwell’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and won awards. He is one of the handful of artists whose articulations of joy, pain, and insight always jump from the page and canvas before an audience.

Over the years, Charles has organized writer’s workshops and community cultural arts events for the Faithful Fools agency and the Hospitality House Community Arts Program in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.

Charles studied African-American Literature and Art at Sacramento City College. At the age of 20, an accident while hiking near the ocean in Santa Cruz, left Charles partially blind. After leaving the hospital and learning how to adjust to this new reality, he worked doing art therapy workshops on the east and west coasts of the US, and also organized poetry performance troupe events while attending Chico State University.

Through the Bulu Project in Washington D.C., Charles received a Community Service Award for his work in the cultural arts.

Blackwell has conduced writer’s workshops in California prisons such as Folsom and Soledad.

Currently, Charles Curtis Blackwell conducts writer’s workshops for at-risk teens and young adults at Youth Spirit Artworks in Berkeley, CA. In addition, he hosts a monthly open mic with a featured poet. Click here for more info about Charles!

Articles & Events Featuring Charles

PODCAST INTERVIEW with Charles Curtis Blackwell and director Jeff M. Giordano: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2019/08/30/wandas-picks-radio-show-rebroadcast

Biography & Contact (updated: May 24th)