Aaron Ingram faces two battles in his life. The first is the fight to showcase black filmmakers. The second is his fight against cancer, with which he was diagnosed a year and a half ago.
Mr. Ingram is the founder and chief creative force behind the seven-year-old group, Act Now, which started humbly by showcasing short films at a Cobble Hill bar, but has grown to producing the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s “New Voices in Black Cinema” series, a 14-film program that begins next week.
“Love and passion help you face the worst kind of obstacle in life,” said Mr. Ingram, 53, whose cancer is in remission. “This love for black cinema keeps me alive, keeps my spirits strong, and keeps me focused. I’m not going to let anything knock me down.”
Mr. Ingram said that his passion to promote black films stems from his upbringing in a racially and culturally mixed neighborhood in the Bronx, where he had Jewish, Italian, and Hispanic friends. Their acceptance of each other — despite the racial chasms that divided them — made him realize that you didn’t have to be black to identify with black characters.
“I thought, ‘You’re my best friends — why wouldn’t you still like me when my image is on a screen?’” Mr. Ingram said.
Mr. Ingram later discovered his knack for organization while directing, acting, and producing “off-off-off” Broadway two decades ago — but the real credit goes to his mother, a nurse who planned church events.
“I incorporate a lot of her creativity,” said Mr. Ingram. “She was a nurse and an artist. She had a way of getting everyone together.”
Supporters of Act Now say that Mr. Ingram is a perfect leader for the group.
“Through Aaron’s strength and sensitivity, he’s created and grown a company that we can proudly call home,” said Curtis Ceasar John, an Act Now board member and the co-curator of the “New Voices” series. “We all work very hard on the program, but it’s his inspiration that keeps ‘New Voices in Black Cinema’ thriving.”
“New Voices of Black Cinema” at Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Avenue between Saint Felix Street and Ashland Place, (718) 636-4100, Feb. 16– 20. For info, visit www.bam.org.
