'A Snowy Day in Oakland' draws on director's Utica childhood: Where to see the film
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Editor's Note; A previous version of this article claimed that one of Bass's aunts still lives in Frankfort. It is actually one of his sisters.
Director, screenwriter and producer Kim Bass' latest film will feature scenes from the Mohawk Valley in its end credits when it debuts on the big screen Friday, and its themes draw on Bass' experiences growing up in the area.
"A Snowy Day in Oakland" stars Nicole Ari Parker, Loretta Devine and Evan Ross among others, and follows the story of a psychologist from San Francisco who decides to break up with her well-off psychiatrist boyfriend and run her own practice out of a vacant storefront in Oakland.
Her presence first puzzles the community, but eventually opens them up emotionally.
Bass, who was born in Utica and grew up in Frankfort, said he drew upon his family's move from Utica to Frankfort as a child as inspiration for the fish-out-of-water experience the movie's protagonist Latrice, played by Parker, goes through.
"It literally was inspired by my childhood in Utica, and then the seemingly overnight move to Frankfort," said Bass. "It's just that concept of being taken out of your neighborhood and brought to a brand new place."
Bass was born in Utica in 1956 and lived there with his family until the age of 7 when they moved to Frankfort, where his mother and one of his sisters still reside. He graduated from Notre Dame Junior Senior High School in 1974.
"At the time it was a boys school, now I understand its co-ed," he said. "The rest of them [his siblings] all went to Frankfort High School but I got shipped off to the boys school. I think my mother thought I would behave myself a little better."
Bass said his experiences on Liberty Street in Utica played an important role in his vision for the film. Growing up as an African-American child, he said, during what he described as a "transitional time" for the country, helped shape the movie's themes of how race and sociopolitical standing impacts people's self-identities.
Bass described the movie as a "dramatic comedy," with "an important and impactful story" that will be nonetheless presented to the audience "in an entertaining manner."
Entertainment:'The kind of picture that should be on the big screen': Utica native's film in theaters soon
While the film will resonate with all audiences, Bass said, he thinks it will especially connect to those who grew up in Utica around the same time he did.
The end credits of the film will feature photos of Utica locations from his early childhood.
Where to see 'A Snowy Day in Oakland'
The movie will be shown locally at the Marquee Cinema in New Hartford, with showtimes beginning as early as 12:15 p.m. on Friday and running as late as 9:35 p.m. on Monday, March 20.
"A Snowy Day in Oakland" will be Bass' latest released since "Tyson's Run" came out in March 2022.
Bass got his first major break in screenwriting by selling sketch material to the HBO comedy news show "Not Necessarily The News" in 1989, which earned him a seat at the Writers Guild of America West and a spot in the Warner Brother Studio Sitcom Writers' Workshop.
Since then, he has written and worked on dozens of screenplays and over 50 teleplays, has been nominated for an Emmy Award for "Best Writing" and has received an NAACP Image Award for his work on the show "In Living Color." He is perhaps best known for his role in creating the series "Kenan & Kel" and "Sister, Sister."
In addition to Parker ("Boogie Nights," "Remember the Titans), Devine ("Waiting to Exhale," "Grey's Anatomy") and Ross ("Pride," "The Hunger Games"), "A Snowy Day in Oakland" stars Kimberly Elise ("Beloved," "The Manchurian Candidate"), Deon Cole ("Black-ish," "To Tell the Truth"), Tony Plana ("Ugly Betty," "An Officer and a Gentleman"), Reno Wilson ("Mike & Molly," "Good Girls"), Michael Jai White ("Spawn," "Black Dynamite"), Claudia Zevallos ("Tyson’s Run," "Day of Days"), Arden Myrin ("Grey’s Anatomy," "Orange is the New Black"), Donis Leonard Jr. ("Ender’s Game," "Criminal Minds") and Marla Gibbs ("The Jeffersons," "227").
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: 'A Snowy Day in Oakland' has a Utica backstory: Where to see the film
