Film buffs interested in topics that rarely make it to Hollywood— such as slave revolts, life and event in pre–apartheid South Africa and the practice of “passing” for white by blacks with light complexions in the 20th century—might find what they’re looking for this month at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
The open-air shopping mall is hosting the 24th annual Pan African Film and Art Festival, the nation’s largest Black History Month event.
Beginning Feb. 4, the festivities will include an interview with Nate Parker, who is making his directorial debut in a feature film called “The Birth of a Nation,” which dramatizes the 1831 Southampton County, Virginia slave revolt.
Best known as “Nat Turner’s Rebellion,” the uprising lasted two days and led to the killing of over 60 people by slaves, the highest number of any slave insurrection in the Southern United States.
In addition, 100 films will be screened at RAVE Cinemas and more than 6,000 students from across Los Angeles County and their teachers are expected to participate in the annual Student Fest, which focuses on discussions on societal topics such as teen pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, literacy, teen self-esteem and gang prevention.
The arts and film festival will open with a feature called “America is Still the Place,” which is set in San Francisco against the backdrop of the civil rights movement on the West Coast. An oil spill triggers an opportunity of a lifetime for a black Korean War veteran to a better life and to claim a piece of the “American Dream” for his family, despite a myriad of obstacles.
“America is Still the Place” is based on a true story.
Event organizers say the festival is expected to draw more than 35,000 people over its nearly two –week stay in Baldwin Hills.
The Pan African showcase spent two years in Culver City and screened its short films and documentaries at the Culver Plaza Theater.
It concludes on Feb. 15 with a meet and greet event with Grammy award-winning gospel artist Erica Campbell of the sister act Mary Mary, a popular contemporary gospel duo.
Created in 1992, The Pan African Film Festival is a non-profit 501(c) (b) corporation dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding among peoples of African descent, according to its website. The festival is dedicated to racial tolerance through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression.
A list of all screenings and events is available at www.paff.org
