Urbanworld 2000 Showcases Minority Filmmakers

N E W  Y O R K, Aug. 5 -- Would you like a straw in that champagne bottle?

That and “Who’s that model in the G-string?” were among the top questions being asked at the fourth annual Urbanworld Film Festival in New York.

Urbanworld was launched in 1997 by 32-year-old Stacy Spikes, aformer marketing executive at Miramax Films and October Films.Spikes saw how few opportunities there were for minority filmmakersto display their talents — even at film festivals designed to focus on non-mainstream works.

“I feel there is a lot more black content that should be shownat those [other] festivals …,” he said. “But they are doingus a favor. If they were doing such a great job, Urbanworldwouldn’t exist.”

Films and Fashion

Urbanworld 2000 kicked off on Wednesday night with screenings of What’s Cooking, a Sundance Film Festival fave featuring Kyra Sedgwick and Julianna Margulies, and Backstage, a documentary about rapper Jay-Z during the “Hard Knock Life Tour.”

The focus shifted from films to fashion on Thursday night with a special fashion show featuring Kimora Lee Simmons’ new line, Baby Phat. It’s the women’s extension of Phat Pharm — the popular men’s line owned and managed by her husband, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.

Models walked the runway in Baby Phat flashy lingerie, with fake fur (or is that phake phur?) jackets and coats, denim sportswear and accessories.

Rapper Li’l Kim was among those gracing the runway, and Aaliyah (Romeo Must Die) showed some skin in a risqué top that seemed to be little more than medieval-style cords stretched across her bare chest.

“It’s fab, fresh, fun and sexy,” said Simmons of her collection. “[This line] is what every woman loves to wear.”

Among those checking out all the fashions: rapper Jay-Z, hip-hopper Puff Daddy, NBA star Reggie Miller, and actors Billy Dee Willams and Phyllicia Rashad.