Screening Schedule and Festival Guidebook - February 9 - February 20, 2023 - Pan African Film Festival
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Screening Schedule
and Festival Guidebook
February 9 - February 20, 2023
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza • Cinemark BHC & XD
(3650 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90008)
www.paff.org /PAFFNOW #PAFF30 #PAFFROOTSTICKET PRICES and GENERAL INFORMATION
SATURDAY CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL FREE
Screening Tickets (Regular) Prices
(February 11 & 18)
Children’s Films at Cinemark Baldwin Hills
Adult General Admission $12.50
Crenshaw & XD @10:00am
Adult Matinee $10.50 Interactive Workshops at the Bridge
(First screening of day) 2nd Floor BHCP @ 12:00pm
Seniors (62+) $10.50
SENIOR CONNECTIONS FREE
(Space available; first come, first served)
Students (w/ID) $10.50 FREE (62+)
Children (12 years or under) $6.00 ALL FEST PASS* $545.00
Enjoy entire PAFF. Access to all PAFF sponsored events,
PSpecial Event Tickets Prices all screenings and PAFF sponsored after-parties and
Receptions, panels and workshops, space-available access
Opening Night to filmmakers’ lounge; one 2023 PAFF T-shirt, souvenir book.
(Includes Red Carpet $175.00 Guaranteed seating up to 15 minutes before movie and
Screening & after-party) panel start time.
Centerpiece
CINEMA ONLY PASS* $275.00
(Includes Red Carpet $30.00
Access only to all physical general admission screenings.
Screening & after-party)
Does not include access to Special screenings, Spotlight
Closing Night Screenings or Special Events.
(Includes Red Carpet $40.00
Screening & after-party) PAFF Seven-Tix PAFFport* $65.00
Seven Adult Evening Tickets:
LOL Comedy Night $30.00 (Advance) Restrictions: space available only; only two tickets per
$35.00 (Door) screening
Panels & Workshops Free; RSVP at *Passes can be purchased online or in person
rsvp@paff.org beginning Feb. 8-9 (11am-3pm) and Feb 10-20.
(1pm-7pm) at the PAFF BHC office: BHC, Suite
Filmmaker Award Brunch $30.00 (Advance) 103 (Across from Southern Girl)
$40.00 (Door)
LOCATIONS:
Spotlight Screenings See Website
ArtFest, SpokenWord Fest and Fashion Show
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
PAFF VIRTUAL 3650 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Selected PAFF’23 films will be screened online from Los Angeles, CA 90008
February 21-March 31, 2023. Online film schedule (At the corner of Crenshaw and King)
can be accessed online starting February 16 at the All PAFF Screenings and Panels
PAFF website www.paff.org. Films will be streamed Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw & XD
VOD during their scheduled periods. Film must be (on the grounds of BHCP)
opened during its scheduled period. Once film is
opened, ticket purchaser will have 24-hours to watch PARKING - Ample free parking.
film. See www.paff.org for additional information.
PRESENTATION INFORMATION
Short films are screened either grouped together or with a
Virtual Screening Prices
feature. All foreign language films are presented with English
subtitles. Films are not rated. Starred (✷) titles may contain
Individual $10.00
adult subject matter, nudity, or harsh language. Parental
Virtual Pass $160.00 discretion advised for all films.
(Good for up to 25 screenings) (Advance)
CONTACT INFORMATION: ABOUT PAFF
Visit us online for daily updates: The Pan African Film Festival is a non-profit
www.PAFF.org, Facebook.com/PAFF1992 corporation dedicated to the advancement of
Email: info@paff.org cultural diversity and education through the
For General Information: (310) 337-4737 exhibition of positive and realistic media images.
* All Ticket Sales are final and non-refundable unless screening or event is cancelled and there is no substitution.
2 31ST A N N U A L PA N A FRIC A N F IL M F ES T IVA LOPENING NIGHT
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Chevalier: The Untold True Story
Directed by Stephen Williams
World Premiere
2023/US/107m
Inspired by the incredible true story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-
Georges. The son of an enslaved African woman and a French plantation owner, Bologne
rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer,
complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court.
Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucy Boynton, Samara Weaving, Minnie Driver
Screening preceded by musical presentation by violinist Lesa Terry.
Q&A Moderated by Lamonia Deanne Brown
Location: Directors Guild of America, DGA Theater Complex
7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90047
Time: 5:30 pm Red Carpet
7:00 pm Screening Followed by Reception
Tickets: $175.00
Presented by:
Furniture courtesy of IKEA
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 3CENTERPIECE
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Strange Love
Directed by Carl Anthony Payne II
Los Angeles Premiere
2022/US/90m
Married couple Deshawn and Megan are living in a crappy apartment. Between the
holes in the walls, door off its hinges, and obnoxiously loud neighbors, Megan is at
her breaking point. Desperate to repair his relationship, Deshawn contacts a sleazeball
attorney who talks them into buying their supposed dream home. But it’s a dilapidated
nightmare, and the house is clearly haunted! After many failed attempts at creating a
happy home in a haunted house, Deshawn and Megan split. Left alone in the house,
Deshawn soon meets and falls for Candice, a sexy and irresistible ghost.
Cast: Kountry Wayne, Carl Payne, Michael Anthony, Marquita Goings, Rolanda Rochelle
Location: Cinemark BHC & XD
Time: 5:30 pm Red Carpet
7:00 pm Screening
Followed by Afterparty
Tickets: $30.00
Presented by:
4 31ST A N N U A L PA N A FRIC A N F IL M F ES T IVA LSPOTLIGHT FILM CLOSING NIGHT
Saturday, February 18, 2023
A Nashville Legacy
World Premiere
Directed by Roger Bobb
2023/US/90m
Naima has recently moved to
Nashville, where she is getting her Sunday, February 19, 2023
doctorate while interning as a curator
at a Nashville museum. The tales her To Live & Die and Live
late grandmother shared about the
Los Angeles Premiere
old days in Music City during the
Directed by Qasim Basir
1950s provided a fascination that
2023/US/104m
led music enthusiast Naima back to
her grandmother’s old haunts. As Muhammad, a strong, handsome
she begins her work at the museum, Hollywood film director, makes his way
Naima meets Damian. The two begin through the alluring landscapes of a
to get close, bonding over their love rebuilt Detroit and the glistening legacy
for music and their desire to leave their of his newly deceased stepfather Khalid,
respective marks on the world. a beloved and highly regarded building
contractor. Muhammad has returned
Cast: Stan Shaw, Pooch Hall, Kevin
for the funeral, but his own battle with
Wayne, Andrea Lewis, Roz Ryan,
addiction, which he hides from the world,
Ruben Studdard
drives him to immediately fade away
into the sultry, late-night, drug-saturated
after-hours of Detroit and an equally
intoxicating romantic relationship.
Cast: Amin Joseph, Skye P. Marshall,
Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Maryam
Basir, Dana Gourrier, Roger Guenveur
Smith, Jeryl Prescott, Travina Springer
Location: Cinemark BHC & XD Location: Cinemark BHC & XD
Time: 5:00p Screening Time: 5:15 pm Red Carpet
Followed by Conversation 6:30 pm Screening
with cast members. Followed by Afterparty
Tickets: $40.00
Presented by:
Presented by:
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 5PAFF INSTITUTE *
*All PAFF Institute Programs are Free by RSVPing at rsvp@paff.org
and are located in the PAFF Institute Lounge, BHC 1st Level unless otherwise noted.
ALL Artists HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE Leading Ladies Crushing It
Fri, Feb 10 @ 6:00p - Reception to Follow Sat, Feb 11 @ 2:00p
Ikea presents “Paff Table Talks - ALL Artists HAVE A A clips & conversation panel with Black leading ladies
SEAT AT THE TABLE. This panel discussion will be the in Hollywood discussing the challenges, triumphs, and
first time that the general public will see the complete responsibilities of being a Black woman on television
collection and will feature all of the artists, Andrew and why their representation matters.
Alcantar, IKEA’s Communication & Interior Design
Moderator: Sheryl Underwood (The Talk)
Manager, and our moderator having a passionate
Panelists: Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek:
conversation of Art and Livable furniture.
Discovery); Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood); Paula
Presented by: IKEA Newsome (CSI: Las Vegas); Meta Golding (Rabbit
______________________________________________ Hole); Shinelle Azoroh (Swagger)
Glam Squad & Trendsetters Location: Cinemark BHC XD Theater
Sat, Feb 11 @ 10:30a Ticket: FREE with RSVP at rsvp@paff.org.
First 25 rsvps get PAFF Swag Bag.
Black Hair, Make-Up Stylists and Trendsetters discuss
picking projects and breaking down scripts per look. Presented By:
Going from concept to actually creating the hair styles ______________________________________________
and make-up patterns/designs and costume designs
whether it be for a period piece or modern film or Main Men Making Moves
series while addressing their challenges and triumphs. Sat, Feb 11 @ 4:00p
Moderator: Melissa Llewellyn-Alston (Film Producer) Discussion with Black leading men in Hollywood
Panelists: Shirlena Allen (Emmy nominated Make Up about challenges, triumphs and responsibilities
Artist & Celebrity Hair Stylist); Julie Jules (2x Emmy of being the Number One Top Billed Talent on the
MakeUp Artist); Hope Stevenson (Hair Stylist, MakeUp Call Sheet.
Artist, and Agency Owner); Larry Sims (Hair Stylist &
MakeUp Artist); Dona A. Gibson (Costumer); Dionne Panelists: Pooch Hall (Ray Donavan / Showtime);
“D’Lashes” (Luxury Celebrity Lash Expert) and Salon Walter Fauntleroy (The Oval / Bounce TV); Tosin
Owner) Morohunfola (Run The World / STARZ); Mike Merrill
______________________________________________ (BMF / STARZ)
______________________________________________
Black Showrunners
Sat, Feb 11 @ 12:00p Black, Queer and Shaking Things Up
Sat, Feb 11 @ 7:00p
Black Show Runners discuss their writing rooms and
what it’s like to be the boss of the show. Challenges LGBT(Q)I Folks in Hollywood discuss the daunting
with Crew, Talent & Executives on set. tasks and double standards sometimes placed upon
them to make it in Hollywood and share success
Moderator: Moira Griffin (New Bumper & Paint) stories of perseverance.
Panelists: Charles Murray (Outer Range); Thomas Moderator: John Gibson (MPA)
Q. Jones (Johnson 1st/2nd); P. Frank Williams (Hip Panelists: Jasmine S. Nicholes (Tab Time); Rodney
Hop Homicides / WETv); Mike Gauyo (Insecure/ Chester (Noah’s Arc); Shatondra Caldwell (Queer Eye)
Send Help)
Presented by:
6 31ST A N N U A L PA N A FRIC A N F IL M F ES T IVA LPAFF INSTITUTE *
*All PAFF Institute Programs are Free by RSVPing at rsvp@paff.org
and are located in the PAFF Institute Lounge, BHC 1st Level unless otherwise noted.
From Script to Stream Film Packaging
Fri, Feb 17 @ 4:30p Sat, Feb 18 @ 12:30p
Moderator: Erika Malone (Writer, Producer Discussion with Black Hollywood Top Film Finance
“Remember Me”) Gurus on what it takes and how they go about putting
Panelists: Jaqueline Fleming (actress, writer, a film package together.
producer, director) Bobby Huntley (director/producer/
writer/editor); Tuluv Price Fullilove (choreographer/ Panelists: Ozi Menakaya (CAA); Jelani Johnson
writer/director/producer) T. Bankole (VP of Film & (MACRO); Jamal Watson (Monkey Paw Prods),
Television Content-Exodus Entertainment Bancorp) Brandon Lawrence (CAA)
Yasmin Felice Morris (Literary Manager at Rain
Management Group) Presented by:
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
Our Images Our Voices Everything Entertainment:
Fri, Feb 17 @ 6:00p Movies, Music & More
Black Filmmakers (Writers, Directors and Producers) Sat, Feb 18 @ 2:00p
discuss making movies while Black in Hollywood. New Faces New Voices entering and taking
Challenges. Triumphs. Inspirations, Motivations. Hollywood by storm. Discussion on strategies to
get noticed at auditions, having the face that books
Moderator: Rosalind Murphy (Marketing & Content projects and work ethics.
Strategy (Netflix, Microsoft))
Moderator: J’Tasha St.Cyr (Miss Everything Ent)
Panelists: Bille Woodruff (Truth Be Told / Apple Panelists: Calmatic (House Party / Director); Marcus
TV+); Jamal Watson (Monkey Paw Prods); Shana C. Callender (Actor Wu Tang: An American Saga); Kris
Waterman (Royal Ties Prods); Ime N. Etuk (Writer/ Lofton (Power Force / Starz), Jason Devon (Lexus/
Director/Producer); Tommy Oliver (Black Love), Amin Actor); Merle Dandridge (The Last of Us / HBO)
Joseph (Snowfall / FX)
Presented by:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Frame By Frame Representation Roundtable: A
Sat, Feb 18 @ 11:00a Conversation with Black Agents,
Editors of films and television series will discuss the Managers, Attorneys, and Publicists
process of finalizing scripts from the original writer Sat, Feb 18 @ 4:00p
and the reimagining of the director, leaving Editors to Ashley Calloway and Diverse Representation present
be the ones to put it all together. an informative and engaging conversation featuring
Black agents, managers, and attorneys who will
Moderator: Kristen Valentine (Editors Guild) discuss the nuances of representation and debunk
Panelists: AJ Francois (TV series, colorist); Brandon some common myths and misconceptions. Panelists
C. Ramsay (re-recording mixer, mix tech, foley editor); will share what they typically look for when taking
Joi Noelle Worley (assistant animation editor); Alain on new clients and how to gauge whether an agent,
Fleury (assistant VFX editor -Black Panther, Wakanda manager, or attorney is the right fit.
Forever, Transformers, Rise of the Beasts) Panelists: Ashley Calloway (ColorCreative), Kevin
Turner (Daniel Hoff Agency), Rae Benjamin (Writer,
Presented by: “In the Cut”)
_
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 7
Behind The Music: The Influence ofPAFF INSTITUTE
Music On TV, Film + Social Media Coloring Our Sets in Style —
Sat, Feb 18 @ 6:00p Sun, Feb 19 @ 4:00p
Moderator: SheRise Ford Production Designers will explain and share how they
create the director’s translation of the writers’ words
Panelists: Adrienne “Ada” Hopkins (Strategic Partner and worlds into moving images.
Manager, Top Creator Communities x Black Music & Moderators: LAMOH (The Voice S22 / Savage
Culture @ YouTube); Joel Griffith (Enterprise Brand Salvation) & Shelley A. Wallace (SEAL Team / BMF)
Partnerships Manager - Telco @ TikTok); Brittney Panelists: Warren Alan Young (Harriet); Korey
Boston (Founder of I AM Musicology & Manager of Washington (All Rise); Wendell Johnson (The
Dax and Zach Campbell) Neighborhood); Claudia Roque (9-1-1 Lone Star);
Presented by: Scott Falconer (House Party)
Presented By: ADG Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
______________________________________________ Committee (Art Directors Guild)
Convo w/ John Jennings FX’s SNOWFALL Legacy Panel
Sun, Feb 19 @ 12:00p Sun, Feb 20 @ 2:00p-4:00p
Afrofuturism has become mainstream due to films Panelists: Actor Michael Hyatt (Snowfall) -- the
like Marvel’s Black Panther and Jordan Peele’s GET legacy of John Singleton; Director Allen Hughes
OUT. John Jennings is an expert in this area of (Dear Mama) -- the legacy of Tupac and Afeni Shakur.
cultural production and will cover Film, TV, Literature Additional Guest: TBD
& Comics, including the pioneering work being
The Legacy Panel will highlight the concept of
done with his award nominated publishing imprint
Legacy, what it means and how we honor the
MEGASCOPE.
legacies of the greats who have contributed so much
______________________________________________
to their generations and those that follow. Panelists
will discuss the importance of continuing the legacy
The Writer’s Room of John Singleton and how FX’s Snowfall honored his
Sun, Feb 19 @ 2:00p vision, as well as the importance of the contribution
of other Black TV creators in FX’s slate of shows.
Screenwriters from Film to Television to Webseries Panelists will also speak to the legacy of Afeni Shakur,
content will discuss writing from realizing that an mother of Tupac Shakur who are both spotlighted in
idea and/or concept jotted on a small piece of the upcoming documentary series, FX’s Dear Mama.
paper or napkin is worth exploring further to their Collectively, the panelists will discuss the legacy
notes on their phone. And then even further to their of Black creativity and the home that it has at FX.
laptop in a script/teleplay writing software to finally Surprise PAFF announcement at end of panel.
share on the big/small screens. They will discuss the
Location: Cinemark BHC & XD
conversations they had with their literary agent(s) to
Tickets: FREE. Limited seating.
pitch meetings with producers and executives.
RSVP to rsvp@paff.org
Moderator: Lamonia Brown (WGA)
Panelists: Matty Rich (Inkwell)
Up Close and Personal
Presented by: Mon, Feb 20 @ 3:00 pm
Think you can’t purchase a home or that you’ll
never be able to retire? Everything is possible. Get
the information you need to get your financial life
in order: Home Buying & Selling/Probate/Estate
Planning/Trusts/Taxes/Retirement/Life Insurance.
Moderators: Linda Bronson Abbot & Sherri Reese
8 31ST A N N U A L PA N A FRIC A N F IL M F ES T IVA LARTFEST
An eclectic mix of original art to suit a range of personal tastes. The exhibition and sale
includes Paintings, Sculpture, Ceramics, Fashion, Jewelry, Home Décor and African Artifacts.
Allohn Agbenya - ARTFest Director/Curator
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10:00a - 9:00p
Sunday, 11:00a - 7:00p
Location: Baldwin Hills Crenshaw
A Little More Creations | Jewelry Kenny Vaughn | Fine Art
Adepoju Adedamola Obafemi | Painter Latalove | Designer Fashion
Akouavi Fashions | Hats/Jewelry L.I.P.S. | Hats
African High Fashion | Fashion Look of Distinction | Fashion
African and Pretty | Jewelry MOA | Fine Art
African Art Market Place | Crafts/Jewelry Morenikeji Badmus | Textile Artist
Amatula Jacobs Camara | Fashion/Jewelry Nu Lyfe | Crafts/Artifacts
Andrew Nichols | Fine Art Omar Lovell | Fashion
Another Phase | Jewelry One of A Kind Denim | Fashion
Arden’s Brooks | Photo Art Oteni LLC | Fashion
Art by Ronney | Fine Art Porter Ajayi | Fine Art
Arts Africains | Crafts Pure Shea Store | BeautyCraft
Aziz Diagne | Fine Art Pride Hats | Fashion
Aziz Fashion | Wearable Art Prideful Patchez | Embroidery Crafts
Babatunde George Olubunmi | Sculptor Queen Amina | Crafts
Bamboozle | Jewelry Ronnie Philips | Fine Art
Benin Imports | Jewelry/African Clothing Savanah Essentials | Shea Craft
Bintu | African Textiles Sistaphyre | Jewelry
Bogolani Shaka Designs | Leather/Crafts Smiles from Africa | Art & Craft
Cynthia’s Artistic Expressions | Fine Art The Ghana Connection | Fashion
Damola Adepoju | Fine Art Veronique Designs | Jewelry
Design By DHB | Jewelry Velvet Monkey | Wearable Art
Easy Language | Bags Village Treasures | Artifacts
Fidelis Eze Odogwu | Metal Sculpture Wanawake | Straw Hats/Bags
Flyladytee Boutique | Fashion West Love | Fashion
Freshgenet | Jewelry/Fashion Woodrow Nash | Fine Art
From the Core of Africa | African Artifacts Yayi’s Hats | Wearable
Gbaby | Bags, Art Yendi Collections | Fine Art
Jazzy Knits | Fashion Yvonne Exclusive Designs | Fashion
John Onobrakpeya | Fine Art Zebi | Ceramics
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 9SPECIAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
STUDENTFEST
Mon-Fri, Feb 13-17 @ 10:00a
Selected screenings for students.
Attendance by reservation only. See PAFF website to make reservations.
Films: The Africologist: Chronicles of Africa
This is My Black
Safari
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Short Film Series - Primary School
• Blueberry / D.A.D. / My Dad the Bounty Hunter / Tab Time
Short Film Series - Middle School
• Blueberry / D.A.D. / Hero / SupaStaz / Ro & the Stardust
Short Film Series - High School
• Recovery Chain / Outside Line / We Were Meant To / Jerome
Coordinator: Sherrese Moise
SATURDAY MORNING CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
Films and activities for children age 4+ and their parents. All films in the Cinemark BHC & XD.
All activities on BHC Bridge (BHC 2nd Level).
Sponsored by:
Sat, Feb 11
10:30a – 12:00p Films
Short Film Series (Blueberry / D.A.D. / My Dad the Bounty Hunter / Tab Time)
• The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
12:30p-2:30p Activities
Join PAFF for fun and free Laker gear, face painting, arts & crafts, drummers exhibit.
Meet Tabitha Brown
Actress, NY Times Best Seller, Social Media Influencer, &
host of Youtube Originals “Tab Time”, Tabitha Brown joins
the kids at children’s fest for an up close & personal meet &
greet for autographs & picture opportunities.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Sat, Feb 18
10:30a-12:30p Films
• KITS in the Spotlight Short Films
• Safari
12:30p-2:30p Activities
Fun activities, face painting, arts & crafts.
In person performance by @IAMHEAVENAVA
All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
10 Location: BHC Bridge (2nd31ST
Level)A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LSPECIAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
PAFF SPOKENWORD
in Collaboration with Diverse Verses LA
Sat, Feb 18
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd level)
Tickets: $20.00 (Advance: on sale @ www.paff.org)
Doors open @ 6:30p
Show starts @ 7:00p
The 2023 PAFF SpokenWord Fest returns with another year of phenomenal poetry!
Hosted by Paul Mabon and Renee ‘Kooki’ Chatman
Co-Hosted by Quan The Poet, and Philosophy
Music by Dj S.O.U.L.-O
In addition to poets that auditioned and earned their spot to perform on the big stage…
This year’s featured poets are: Special guest poets include:
• Yawo Watts • AK Toney
• Janet C. Mitchell • Artus Mansoir
• Yazmine Monet Watkins • Aiyana Sha’niel
• Carlton The Messenger!
We are also honoring poets Matthew Cuban Hernandez and Alyesha Wise-Hernandez for their many
contributions to the poetry community. The 2023 PAFF SpokenWord Fest will be a diverse showcase
of poetry you don’t want to miss!
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 11SPECIAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
PAFF LOL – COMEDY NIGHT
Mon, Feb 13 @ 8:30p
Catch some of America’s Funniest Comedians.
Featuring NIKA KING & Friends
Please check www.paff.org for comedy line-up.
Location: The Miracle Theater
226 S Market St, Inglewood, CA 90301
Tickets: General Admission $30.00 (Advance on sale @ www.paff.corg)
General Admission $35.00 (Door)
WORD ONNA STREET Live + Afterparty
Sat, Feb 11 @ 6:30p -10:00p
Live Podcast
Hosted By: Noah Abbott (Actor, Entrepreneur)
Cedric Joe (Actor)
Daijah Peters (Actor)
Special Guests: Elijah Cooper (That Girl Lay Lay, Dad Stop
Embarrassing Me, Chicago PD); Papa Jay (Singer/Actor); Kheris
Rogers (Social Media Influencer, Author, actress); Brandon Severs
(Disney XD’s-Walk The Prank, Diary of a Future President); Daniele
Denise Lawson (Actress); Ramon Reed (Actor)
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd Level)
Presented by:
Tickets: FREE (RSVP at rsvp@paff.org)
BLACK HOLLYWOOD: Reimagining Iconic
Movie Moments by Carell Augustus
Mon, Feb 13 @ 7:00p
Malik Books and PAFF join forces to present an evening of Black
History. Black-owned, independent book store brings the love of
reading to PAFF with Celebrity Panel Discussion and Book Signing
featuring celebrity photographer Carell Augustus, author of “Black
Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments”
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd Level) @ Malik Book Store
Tickets: FREE (RSVP at rsvp@paff.org)
BET ON BLACK: Discussion and
Book Signing with Eboni K Williams
Mon, Feb 15 @ 7:00p
Malik Books and PAFF join forces to present a discussion and book
signing with Eboni K Williams moderated by Devyn Bakewell -
Author & Assistant Managing Editor of the Los Angeles Sentinel/Los
Angeles Watts Times.
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd Level) @ Malik Book Store
Tickets: FREE (RSVP at rsvp@paff.org)
12 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LSPECIAL EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
MEET & GREET: Kountry Wayne
Thurs, Feb 16 @ 5:00p
Comedian, social media influencer and former rapper Kountry
Wayne will meet and greet with Teens and Young Adults.
Free Give-a-ways and much more.
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd Level) @ Malik Book Store
Tickets: FREE
org)
SENIOR CONNECTIONS
Selected Screenings for Seniors (62+ years)
• Shorts Series 2 Fri, Feb 10 @ 1:30p
• Betye Saar Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:10p
• Haiti is a Nation of Artists Tue, Feb 14 @ 1:15p
• The Exile of the Sea Wed, Feb 15 @ 1:10p
• Elephant Thu, Feb 16 @ 1:10p
• Born in Chicago Fri, Feb 17 @ 1:00p
Location: Cinemark BHC & XD
Tickets: FREE
PAFF FASHION SHOW
Sun, Feb 19 @ 2:00pm
Wearable Art on the Move! Join the PAFF wearable art artists for a
“tour de force” in high fashion with
an Afro-touch.
Produced by Christopher Wayne Usher
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd level)
Tickets: FREE
PAFF FILMMAKERS’ AWARDS BRUNCH
Mon, Feb 20 @ 11:00am
Come celebrate with our Filmmakers
and be the first to know all the winners
of PAFF 2023!
Location: BHC Bridge (2nd level)
Tickets: $30.00 ((Advance: on sale @ www.paff.org)
$40.00 (Door)
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 13SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
WAYWARD WATERS:
BLACK CINEMA & THE ATLANTIC OVERVIEW
Co-presented with the Pan African Film Festival in association
with LACMA’s Aspect Ratio film education program.
PROGRAM ONE PROGRAM TWO Aragonite Stars
Dir: Suné Woods
Post-screening conversation with Post-screening conversation with (2022/13m)
film critic and scholar Yasmina artist Suné Woods, artist-scholar
Price and Assistant Curator of Film Zama Dube and film critic and This experimental
at LACMA Matazi Weathers. scholar Yasmina Price. film emerges from a
previous a five-channel
Mouthpieces Fragments of video installation is a
of Memory Diaspora: Shorts contemplation of the
Selections possibilities of healing
Sat, Feb 11 @ 6:00p
through bodies of water
Sun, Feb 12 @ 3:00p such as oceans, hot springs,
Dreams Are Colder
Than Death and in vessels that are
Many Thousands Gone called human.
Dir: Arthur Jafa Dir: Ephraim Asili
(2013/52m) (2014/8m) Toré
Arthur Jafa’s experimental Dir: João Vieira Torres
Filmed in Salvador (the & Tanawi Xucuru Kariri
documentary/essay film last city in the Western
meditates on the legacy of (2015/15m)
Hemisphere to outlaw
Martin Luther King’s “I have slavery) and New York, Documenting a ritual
a dream speech” through Many Thousands Gone in Alagoas, Brazil,
a mosaic of everyday is one piece of filmmaker this haunting semi-
images and conversations and DJ Ephraim Asili’s ethnographic work brings
with Black intellectuals and five-part personal study of together a child watching
artists. the African diaspora, “The Fantasia on a tiny TV
Diaspora Suite.” monitor and fragments
Preceded by
of ceremony.
She Gather Me
Regards de Mémoire
Dir: Sarah Maldoror
Dir: Miatta Kawinzi Halimuhfack
(2021/11m) Dir: Chris Harris
(2003/24m)
(2016/4m)
A poetic meditation on
Filmed in Martinique, the resonance of different
Haiti, and France, Sarah In a visual conjuring, a
physical and mental performer lip-synchs
Maldoror’s documentary landscapes of the African
centers on the Caribbean archival audio of author and
Diaspora by Kenyan- anthropologist Zora Neale
writers Édouard Glissant Liberian-American multi-
and Aimé Césaire, Hurston describing her
disciplinary artist Miatta method of documenting
interrogating shared Kawinzi.
histories of colonization African-American folk songs
and creating a Pan-African in Florida.
cinematic circuit.
14 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LSPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Program 2 Continued... Preceded by PROGRAM FOUR
Léon G. Damas Towards the Colonies Black Labor
Dir: Sarah Maldoror (Vers les colonie)
(1994/26m) Dir: Miryam Charles Sun, Feb 19 @ 3:00p
(2016/5m)
Maldoror’s lyrical Soleil Ô
documentary honors one of This elliptical experimental Dir: Med Hondo
the three central figures of short is gently shaped (1970/102m)
Négritude, by assembling around an absence: the
recitations of his own body of a young girl A furious cry of resistance
poems, the loose structures found off the Venezuelan against racist oppression
of jazz and poetic images coast. The logbook of a and a revolutionary
from his native Guyana. medical examiner intercuts landmark of political
mesmerizing shots of the cinema, this feature
sea in this hauntingly fluid debut from Mauritanian
PROGRAM THREE film. director Med Hondo is a
bitterly funny, dazzlingly
Dark Water: Fly, Fly Sadness experimental attack on
Miryam Charles (Vole, vole tristesse) capitalism and the legacies
Films and Convo Dir: Miryam Charles of colonialism.
(2015/6m)
Sat, Feb 18 @ 6:00p Atlantiques
Set in Port-au-Prince after a Dir: Mati Diop
This House (Cette Maison) mysterious explosion leaves (2009/16m)
Dir: Miryam Charles the population voiceless,
(2022/75m) this short summons the The short which preceded
ruptures of the Haitian Mati Diop’s monumental
Haitian-Canadian filmmaker Revolution. feature film shows a
Miryam Charles’s debut group of young men
feature is haunting and sitting around a beach
tender meditation on fire, contemplating the
migration, grief, and treacherous voyage by sea
memory—dedicated to from Senegal to Europe
the director’s 14-year-old
cousin Tessa. ______________________________
With a loving touch LACMA films curated by film critic
and luminous 16mm film, and scholar Yasmina Price. This
Charles offers vibrant program brings together cinematic
images of Haiti and challenges to the transatlantic
displacements in North slave trade, colonization and
America in a dream- Euro-American imperialism in the
like elegy. currents of poetic and political
Afro-diasporic visual culture.
Programming assistance by Matazi
Weathers, Assistant Curator of
Film at LACMA.
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 15SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Stocker Street Creative Gallery and Salons*
2023 Stocker Street Creative John Singleton… For The Love of Leimert
Design Charrette The Legacy Continues - Tue, Feb 14 @ 11:00a-8:00p
Sat, Feb 11 @ 10:00a Navigating Film Production Come and experience the
from Script to Screen cultural essence of Leimert
Studio Production Sat, Feb 11 @ 5:00p Park Village!
Design, Sustainability and ________________________
Construction Moderator: Sherri G. Sneed
(Director, PAFF John Singleton
Presenters: Jessica Sarowitz Film and Production
Short Film Competition)
(Managing Partner and SSC Industry Training and
Panelists: Camille Tucker
Developer 4S Bay Partners); Placement Forum
(Writer/Producer/Director);
Sean Frisch (Property Sat, Feb 18 @ 10:00a-2:00p
Bobbi Banks (Supervising
Development Manager - 4S Sound Editor); JSSFC 2022 Partner Presentations:
Bay); Stan Washington (CEO Filmmakers NAACP Hollywood Bureau;
- Pantheon Development); ________________________ Los Angeles Urban League;
Sherri Franklin (CEO - Urban YES to Jobs; Coalition for
Design Center); Simeon Creative Venture Leasing, Responsible Community
Stewart II (CEO, Stewart Financing and Investment Development; TEC Leimert;
Manhattan, Inc.) Mon, Feb 13 @ 2:00p JVS Jobs; Soul Folks Art Lab;
________________________ Lovine and Young Magnet
Presenters: Chike Ohayia High School; Demo Chicks;
Production Industry Ventures (J.P. Morgan Chase Bank); Crenshaw YWCA
Legal Insights James Daughrity (Daughrity ________________________
Sat, Feb 11 @ 12:00p Real Estate); Sherri Franklin
(Urban Design Center);
Contracts, Negotiations and KAOS Theory: The
Ane Weathersby (Pantheon
Intellectual Property Afrokosmic Ark of Ben
Development); Delores Caldwell
Moderator: Diane Robertson Brown (Community Economic Sat, Feb 18 @ 4:00p-8:00p
(Vice President, CBS Studios Development Corporation)
Law Department) ________________________ Ben’s use of media arts to
Panelists: Diane Palacios, stimulate healing and foster
Esq. (Partner, Davis Wright Navigating Hollywood as community and new cultural
Tremaine); Jennifer Richmond a Woman of Color: From networks is best understood
Esq. (Film & Ink Law Group); Networking to Production as KAOS theory.
Gary Watson, Esq. (Gary A. Mon, Feb 13 @ 4:00p
Watson & Associates); Daryl Hosts: Cheryl L. Bedford
Miller, Esq. (Partner, Fox (CEO, Women of Color Unite);
Rothschild, LLP) Landi Maduro (Founder,
________________________ Women of Color Filmmakers)
TEC Leimert Presents: TEC. Panelists: Bhavani Rao
nique - The Art and Science (Producer/Writer, Bhavani
of Virtual Productions Entertainment); Diana
Sat, Feb 11 @ 2:00p Elizabeth Jordan (Actor/Solo
Artist/Theater/Filmmaker);
Join TEC Leimert in providing Fanny Grande (CEO, Avenida
guidance, technique tips and Entertainment Group); Dr. *Location for all programs is the
inspirational stories to get Joely Proudfit (Producer/ Stocker Street Creative Gallery,
involved in the emerging art Activist/Academic) BHC 2nd Level
production.
Moderator: Rashidi Jones
(Co-Founder, TEC Leimert)
16 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LSPECIAL PROGRAMS
Special Thank You to
OUR 2023 SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS
PATRON & INDUSTRY SPONSORS
GOVERNMENT SPONSORS AND GRANT PROVIDERS
LA County Supervisor LA Councilmember
HOLLY J. MITCHELL Curren D. Price, Jr.
LA Councilmember LA Councilmember
Heather Hutt Marqueece Harris-Dawson
COMMUNITY SPONSORS
MERVYN DYMALLY
American Political and
Economic Institute at CSUDH
IN-KIND DONATION VENUE SPONSOR
IKEA
MEDIA PARTNERS
WWW.PAFF.ORG /PAFFNOW #PAFF30 #PAFFREIMAGINEDSCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Screen 15
1:10p Move When the Spirit Moves
3:35p Santos-Skin to Skin
Screen 9
6:00p LACMA Presentation 1
7:30p OPENING NIGHT: Chevalier
8:50p You’re My Favourite Place
FRIDAY, Feb 10 SUNDAY, Feb 12
Screen 9
Screen 9
1:25p Shorts Series 10
11:00a One Night in LA
4:10p Talia’s Journey w/With Salt
6:45p Move When the Spirit Says Move 1:50p Safari
4:15p Fighting for Respect
9:10p Orango
w/In His Own Words
6:55p Hyde Park
Screen 13
9:25p Let Us Make Eve
1:20p Carajita
3:50p Shorts Series 19
Screen 13
6:10p Storming Caesars Palace
1:15p Shorts Series 5
8:35p A Holistic Journey w/ Iyeza Medicine
4:00p A Holistic Journey w/Iyeza Medicine
6:30p The Bright Path w/Image
Screen 14
of an American
1:30p Shorts Series 2
8:55p The “Hello Forties” Documentary
4:00p What Happened Was…
6:30p Imagining the Indian
Screen 14
9:20p Kanaani
1:30p The Pastor and the Revolutionary
4:25p Shorts Series 7
Screen 15
6:55p Africa, Cradle of Humankind
1:10p Citizen Kwame
9:45p Shorts Series 6
3:30p Elephant
6:30p A Star Without a Star
Screen 15
9:05p The Liberation of Fremont High
12:30p Music is My Life
3:00p LACMA Presentation 2
6:00p Shorts Series 18
SATURDAY, Feb 11 8:35p Xalé
Screen 9
11:00a Fighting for Respect w/Ro
& the Star Dust MONDAY, Feb 13
2:00p PANEL: Leading Ladies Crush It
Screen 9
5:00p The Exile of the Sea w/Stolen Fish
1:15p Bedroom Chains
7:40p Table Talk
4:00p Lobola
9:55p Honor Student
6:40p Sasha Lanes
9:10p Shorts Series 12
Screen 13
10:30a ChildrensFest (FREE)
Screen 13
1:25p I Am Hope w/de-Streamed
1:10p Betye Saar
3:45p Shorts Series 9
3:40p Four Walls w/Daze,
8:50p Little Richard
The Talk, Innocence
6:00p This is My Black
Screen 14
w/ Driving the Green Book
10:30a ChildrensFest (FREE)
8:45p Webseries 2
1:00p Shorts Series 20
4:10p Our Father, the Devil
Screen 14
7:00p The Africologist
1:05p Shorts Series 3
9:45p Webseries 1
3:35p Shorts Series 16
6:30p With This Light
9:05 Men Dont Cheat
18 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LSCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE
Screen 15 Screen 15
1:30p Black Mothers Love & Resist 1:15p Honor Student
4:15p Shorts Series 1 3:35p Bedroom Chains
6:35p Let the Church Say w/D.A.D. 6:20p Carajita
8:55p We Are Still Here 8:50p First
TUESDAY, Feb 14 THURSDAY, Feb 16
Screen 9 Screen 9
1:00p Shorts Series 1 1:15p Shorts Series 8
3:30p Under the Fig Trees 3:50p Shorts Series 17
6:05p Shorts Series 11 6:50p God Said Give Em Drum Machines
8:40p Dancing the Twist in Bamako 9:30p Let the Church Say w/D.A.D.
Screen 13 Screen 13
1:00p I Am Hope w/de-Streamed 1:10p The Bright Path
3:25p Shorts Series 14 w/Image of an American
6:20p Stronghold 3:35p Shorts Series 4
8:50p The Honeymoon 6:15p Shorts Series 2
8:35p Dancing the Twist in Bamako
Screen 14
1:15p Haiti is a Nation of Artists Screen 14
w/Am I not Someone & 1:10p Elephant
#BlackBoyJoyGone 3:55p Storming Caesars Palace
3:40p Born in Chicago w/M.I.D. Notes 6:30p Xalé
6:15p Roux’s Blues’ 9:15p On the Line: the Richard Williams Story
8:40p Hargrove
Screen 15
Screen 15 1:05p Men Dont Cheat
1:20p Shorts Series 16 3:40p Hazing
3:50p Shorts Series 9 6:00p TBA
6:25p Rye Lane 8:55p Webseries 1
8:45p This is My Black
w/ Driving the Green Book
FRIDAY, Feb 17
WEDNESDAY, Feb 15 Screen 9
1:05p Hyde Park
Screen 9 3:35p A Song from the Dark
1:00p Shorts Series 6 6:20p The Five Demands
3:30p Webseries 2 8:35p Chevalier
7:00p CENTERPIECE: Strange Love
10:15p Shorts Series 19 Screen 13
1:00p Born in Chicago w/M.I.D. Notes
Screen 13 3:35p Roux’s Blues*
1:10p The Exile of the Sea w/Stolen Fish 6:00p Talia’s Journey w/With Salt ($6.25)
3:55p Shorts Series 15 8:30p Eve After Dark
6:25p A Star Without a Star
9:00p A Song from the Dark Screen 14
1:00p Shorts Series 15
Screen 14 3:35p Four Walls w/Daze,
1:00p Shorts Series 11 The Talk, Innocence
3:35p Shorts Series 7 5:55p Hazing
6:15p A Son 8:40p Shorts Series 13
8:55p Chee$e
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 19SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE
Screen 15 Screen 13
1:15p Orango 11:30a Shorts Series 17
3:50p Kansas City Dreamin’ 2:00p Aisha
w/When I Get Grown 4:45p King of Kings
6:25p Birthing Justice 7:25p Our Father, the Devil
8:45p Fantastic Negrito 10:15p Santos-Skin to Skin
Screen 14
SATURDAY, Feb 18 2:00p
5:00p
Nate Parker Foundation
Fantastic Negrito
Screen 9 7:35p The Honeymoon
10:30a ChildrensFEST (FREE) 10:35p Citizen Kwame
1:10p Music is My Life
3:40p The Five Demands Screen 15
6:15p Fenom w/Ifine 12:30p Biking While Black
8:55p Wade in the Water 3:00p LACMA Presentation 4
10:30p TBA 6:00p Shorts Series 13
8:30p Shorts Series 4
Screen 13
12:00p Shorts Series 20
2:25p Rye Lane MONDAY, Feb 20
4:50p Little Richard
7:20p Aisha Screen 9
10:00p Chee$e 12:00p Shorts Series 3
2:30p FX Presentation
Screen 14 5:30p You’re My Favourite Place
10:30a ChildrensFest (FREE) 8:20p Kansas City Dreamin’
1:15p The Africologist w/ When I Get Grown
3:20p Butterfly in the Sky
6:00p LACMA Presentation 3 Screen 13
9:00p King of Kings 12:30p Shorts Series 18
3:00p Butterfly in the Sky
Screen 15 5:30p Shorts Series 8
11:15a BAJI Shorts Series 7:55p The Pastor and the Revolutionary
2:10p Bo Legs
5:00p TBA Screen 14
7:30p We Are Still Here 1:00p Under the Fig Trees
10:00p The Five Demands 3:30p Shorts Series 12
6:10p Shorts Series 10
8:40p Shorts Series 14
SUNDAY, Feb 19
Screen 15
Screen 9 1:00p TBA
1:00p Black Mothers Love & Resist 3:00p TBA
3:20p Fenom w/Ifine 6:00p We Are Still Here
6:30p CLOSING NIGHT: 8:30p Shorts Series 5
To Live & Die and Live
9:30p Hargrove
20 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LSHORTS SERIES
Shorts Series 1 Shorts Series 9 Shorts Series 17
Jerome / Kody Switch / Fannie / The Ballad of Olive Punishment Island / Second
Citanul / Mahogany Drive / Morris / Black Fire: The Shot / Life with CTE: A Warren
Port of a Prince Documentary / American Sapp Story / The Bond / Black
Justice on Trial: People v. Madonna 17m
Shorts Series 2 Newton
We Were Meant To / Shorts Series 18
Malleable / Recovery Chain / Shorts Series 10 Sydney G. James: How We
Man to Man Dzifa / James / Intended See Us / Team Dream / Savi
Parents / Keep/Delete the Cat / The Invitation
Shorts Series 3
Daughter of the Sea / Fifty- Shorts Series 11 Shorts Series 19
Four Days / Ro & the Star Dust A Lisbon Affair / Expiration Outside Line / My Mother
/ Ancestors / Remedial Date / My Eyes Are Up Here Mary / I Am Not Your Hero
/ You Forgot Your Wallet? /
Shorts Series 4 Always Shorts Series 20
True Story: God Tells Bad Hero / Blueberry / Hand-
Jokes / Why Tomorrow Shorts Series 12 Me-Down Christmas / Blue /
Never Comes / The Boy Who Neighbor / YE! / Yuri / The TeraStorm
Couldn’t Feel Pain / Fore-men / Splinter / Aje and
More Than Hair / All the Gaps Bruja / Catching Spirits BAJI Short Series
Not Enough / Getaway / Lions
Shorts Series 5 Shorts Series 13 / All the Gaps
A Real One / Hard to Reach / The Lifted / Contraband /
Tarneit / Outdone Amaru Webseries 1
My Asian / The
Shorts Series 6 Shorts Series 14 Whippersnappers / Third
Raw Materials / Sweet Yellow Infraction / Incomplete / The Wheel Material / The Forests
Heart / Getaway Ancestors / Sin Padre / Look of a Desert Land / The
Back at It invisible Ones / Down Bad
Shorts Series 7
Bazigaga / Jeu Mundele / Shorts Series 15 Webseries 2
Supastaz Plan LMNOP / Pretty Boy The Glass Ceiling / Gro Up
/ Currency / Not Enough / / LOVE: the American Way /
Shorts Series 8 Mama of Manyatta Booked-N-Broke
The Lies of Our Confines /
Roadmarks / Lions Shorts Series 16
Crooked Trees Gon Give
Me Wings / For Heidi /
Moon Over Aburi / Mind My
Goofiness: The Self-Portrait
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 21FILM SYNOPSES
#BlackBoyJoyGone A Song from the Dark
(Short Doc/UK/2022/25m) U.S. Premiere (Feature Narr/UK/2021/104m) U.S. Premiere
Dir: Ashley Karrell & Isaac Ouro-Gnao Dir: Ogo Okpue
A hybrid documentary by and for Black men After the mysterious death of her estranged
on mental health, sexual trauma and finding husband, a woman hires a spirit hunter to expel
strength through brotherhood. a spirit tormenting her family.
Sat, Feb 11 @ 3:45p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 1:15p Wed, Feb 15 @ 9:00p; Fri, Feb 17 @ 3:35p
A Holistic Journey A Star Without A Star: The Untold
(Feature Doc/Honduras/2022/60m) Juanita Moore Story (Feature Doc/
Dir: Bobby Broome US/2022/88m) U.S. Premiere
Episode One of a reality series that takes Dir: Kirk Kelleykhan
viewers around the world in search of medicinal Legendary Oscar-winner Juanita Moore never
plants, herbs and holistic healers. Host Asami received the recognition she deserved - not
visits the healing village he helped build with even a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
his father, world famous holistic healer Dr. Sebi. Using archival footage, interviews with Moore’s
Fri, Feb 10 @ 8:35p; Sun, Feb 12 @ 4:00p contemporaries, those she inspired and
numerous interviews with Moore herself, we
A Lisbon Affair follow the Hollywood pioneer’s career and
(Short Narr/Angola/Portugal/2022/15m) struggles.
West Coast Premiere Fri, Feb 10 @ 6:30p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 6:25p
Dir: Hoji Fortuna
Long time lovers on an afternoon walk disclose Africa, Cradle of Humankind
the emotional tension of their bond. and Modern Civilisations
Tue, Feb 14 @ 6:05p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 1:00p (Feature Doc/Canada/Senegal/2022/108m)
World Premiere
A Nashville Legacy Dir: Benita Jacques
(Feature Narr/US/2023/90m) Journeying to Africa to explore its original
Dir: Roger Bobb history before it was brutally interrupted by the
See synopsis on p.5. slave trade and colonization, a mother sets out
on the trail of
A Real One her ancestors.
(Short Narr/US/2022/15m) Sun, Feb 12 @ 6:55p
World Premiere
Dir: McKenzie Chinn Aisha
Different as night and day, 17-year-old Lauren (Feature Narr/Ireland/2022/94m)
and Keisha’s friendship is tested when Lauren Dir: Frank Berry
reveals a secret to Keisha that requires the Aisha, a young Nigerian seeking asylum in
friends take matters into their own hands. Ireland, is floundering in a maze of social
Sun, Feb 12 @ 1:15p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 8:30p services and bureaucracy. As her situation
becomes increasingly dire, she struggles to
A Son maintain hope and dignity against the threat
(Un Fils) (Feature Narr/Tunisia/France/Lebanon/ of deportation. Ticket price reduced 50%,
Qatar/2021/96m) compliments of BAJI.
Dir: Mehdi Barsaoui Sat, Feb 18 @ 7:20p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 2:00p
Eleven-year-old Aziz needs a liver transplant
after being seriously injured during a terrorist
ambush while on holiday. At the hospital, a
family secret will be revealed.
Wed, Feb 15 @ 6:15p
22 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LFILM SYNOPSES
Aje and Bruja American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton
(Short Narr/Nigeria/2022/12m) World Premiere (Short Doc/US/2022/40m)
Dir: Nosa Igbinedion Dir: Andrew Abrahams & Herb Ferrette
A supernatural thriller in which two women who Black Panthers co-founder Huey Newton
wield the ancient African spiritual power of the is accused of murdering a white policeman
‘Aje’ go on an avenging mission. after a car stop in 1967 Oakland. A landmark
Mon, Feb 13 @ 9:10p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 3:30p trial ensues and Newton’s defense team
calls out racism in the judicial system still
All the Gaps applicable today.
(Short Narr/US/2022/15m) U.S. Premiere Sat, Feb 11 @ 6:15p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 3:50p
Dir: Mirta Desir
To maintain the tenuous connection with her Ancestors
mother, Christina unwittingly endangers her (Short Narr/US/2022/5m) World Premiere
father, an undocumented food-delivery driver. Dir: Darren Lorenzi & Marcus Alan Ward
Sun, Feb Thu, Feb 16 @ 3:35p; Sat, Feb 18 @ A young man is going for his dream job and
11:15a; Sun, Feb 19 @ 8:30p gets help from his ancestors along the way.
Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:05p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 12:00p
Always
(Short Narr/US/2021/20m) Aragonite Stars
Dir: Diamond Alonzo Batiste (Short Doc/Hawai’i, Puerto Rico/2022/15m)
After his wife experiences several miscarriages, Dir: Suné Woods
Kevin, a devoted husband struggles to make See LACMA page for synopsis.
his wife happy and must a find a way to keep Sun, Feb 12 @ 3:00p
his marriage intact.
Tue, Feb 14 @ 6:05p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 1:00p Atlantiques
(Short Narr/Senegal/France/2009/16m)
Am I Not Someone? Dir: Mati Diop
(Short Narr/Brazil/2022/13m) U.S. Premiere See LACMA page for synopsis.
Dir: Gabriel Duarte & Daniel Eduardo de Souza Sun, Feb 19 @ 3:00p
In a Brazilian favela, a nine-year-old child tries
to understand himself and the universe where Bazigaga
he lives. (Short Narr/Rwanda/Réunion/
Sat, Feb 11 @ 3:45p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 1:15p France/2022/27m) World Premiere
Dir: Jo Ingabire Moys
Amaru In 1994 Rwanda, as the civil war rages,
(Short Narr/US/2022/29m) Bazigaga (the “witch”) takes in a clergyman
Dir: Brandon Hammond & Jenesis Scott and his daughter hunted by a murderous
Inspired by the heroic life of Tupac Amaru militia.
Shakur, a 19-year-old discovers he is magically Sun, Feb 12 @ 4:25p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 3:35p
impervious to white supremacy.
Fri, Feb 17 @ 8:40p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 6:00p Bedroom Chains
(Feature Narr/Uganda/2022/98m)
Los Angeles Premiere
Dir: Hassan Mageye
Natasha is rejected by her father because she
is a girl. He sells her to an Indian family who
takes her to England. Returning home as a
lawyer, misogynistic traditions compel her to
start a women’s liberation movement.
Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:15p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 3:35p
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 23FILM SYNOPSES
Betye Saar: Ready to be a Warrior Black Mothers Love & Resist
(Feature Doc/US/2022/77m) (Feature Doc/US/2022/103m)
Dir: Angela Robinson Witherspoon Los Angeles Premiere
“Make Better Art” is the phrase coined by Dir: Débora Souza Silva
famed 96-year-old Los Angeles artist Betye Two mothers battle against America’s cycle
Saar. Saar’s incredible journey as a creator, of racist police violence: one investigates her
teacher, activist, mother and Black woman in son’s attack by Alabama police and another
America is lovingly documented. channels her grief into organizing mothers
Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:10p nationwide.
Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:30p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 1:00p
Biking While Black
(Short Doc/US/2022/29m) Blue
Dir: Yolanda Davis-Overstreet (Short Narr/US/2022/7m)
An important look at the joys and challenges Dir: Robert Petrie
of biking while Black and the need for a Leaning into the sci-fi genre, a space of wonder
transit future rooted in justice and equity. An and heroism is created for young people
insightful chronicling of the determination of amidst a time when the world is a scary place
communities and the fight to continue to ride with a lot of fear and uncertainty.
through decriminalization, disenfranchisement, Sat, Feb 11 @ 1:00p; Sat, Feb 18 @ 12:00p
and gentrification.
Sun, Feb 19 @ 12:30p Blueberry (Short Narr/US/2022/5m)
Los Angeles Premiere
Birthing Justice Dir: Stephanie Glover
(Feature Doc/US/2022/95m) A practical, determined boy has a change of
Dir: Monique N. Matthews heart when his favorite food comes to life.
The story of the crisis faced by Black mothers Sat, Feb 11 @ 1:00p; Sat, Feb 18 @ 12:00p
and their children and the solutions needed to
transform the maternal care system. Bo Legs: Marvin Arrington, Sr.,
Fri, Feb 17 @ 6:25p An Atlanta Story
(Feature Doc/US/2021/116m)
Black Fire: The Documentary Dir: Adelin Gasana
(Short Doc/US/2022/28m) One man’s story of political service parallels
West Coast Premiere and contributes to Atlanta’s growth as a
Dir: Kia Freeman-Hicks & Patrick Mamou modern international metropolis.
Established in 1975 in Washington DC, Sat, Feb 18 @ 2:10p
Black Fire Records, this small, independent
label would go on to revolutionize the music Booked-N-Broke Pilot
business, nationally and internationally. (Webseries/US/2022/25m) U.S. Premiere
Sat, Feb 11 @ 6:15p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 3:50p Dir: Lionesse & Mario Rio Allen
Lionesse got her start in front of the camera.
Black Madonna She has a co-starring role on the Apple TV
(Short Narr/US/2022/17m) series “Mythic Quest” and has starred in a
Los Angeles Premiere Ford commercial.
Dir: Morgan Jerkins & Zora Schiltz Rouse Mon, Feb 13 @ 8:45p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 3:30p
At a crossroads and living in a deteriorating
neighborhood, a climate justice activist
discovers she’s pregnant.
Thu, Feb 16 @ 3:50p, Sun, Feb 19 @ 11:30a
24 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LFILM SYNOPSES
Born in Chicago (Feature Doc/US/2020/77m) Chevalier: The Untold True Story
Dir: John Anderson & Bob Sarles (Feature Narr/US/Czech Republic/2022/107m)
The story of first-generation blues performers Dir: Stephen Williams
who had made their way to Chicago from See Opening Night for synopsis.
the Mississippi Delta and their ardent and Fri, Feb 17 @ 8:35p
unexpected followers.
Tue, Feb 14 @ 3:40p; Fri, Feb 17 @ 1:00p Citanul
(Short Narr/US/2022/26m)
Butterfly in the Sky Dir: Adrian Scott Woodard II
(Feature Doc/US/2022/86m) A naive college student who finds herself in
Dir: Bradford Thomason & Brett Whitcomb love with the man of her dreams but he’s not all
Bradford ThomasonBrett Whitcomb he appears to be and that leads to dark secrets
The story of the beloved PBS children’s series and unexpected truths.
Reading Rainbow, its iconic host LeVar Burton, Mon, Feb 13 @ 4:15p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 1:00p
and the challenges its creators faced in
Citizen Kwame
cultivating a love of reading through television.
(Feature Narr/Rwanda/2022/81m)
Sat, Feb 18 @ 3:20p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 3:00p
World Premiere
Dir: Yuhi Amuli
Carajita
Kwame, an African man, wants to travel
(Feature Narr/Dominican Republic/2022/89m)
outside of his compound, but he must first get
Dir: Silvina Schnicer & Ulises Porra
a visa from a white gatekeeper who controls
Sara and her nanny Yarisa have a daughter-
movements in and out of the compound.
mother relationship transcending class and
Fri, Feb 10 @ 1:10p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 10:35p
race; but an accident will test their intimate
loyalty. Contraban
Fri, Feb 10 @ 1:20p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 6:20p (Short Narr/US/2022/32m)
Dir: Chelsea Hicks
Catching Spirits In a dystopian future, BIPOC citizens are
(Short Narr/US/2022/13m) banned from reproducing after becoming the
World Premiere majority in America.
Dir: Vanesssa Beletic Fri, Feb 17 @ 8:40p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 6:00p
Despite being drawn to it, Destiny refuses
to dance due to a deep fear caused by being Crooked Trees Gon Give Me Wings
told as a child that dancing will cause her to (Short Narr/US/2022/15m)
have seizures. Dir: Cara Lauren Lawson
Mon, Feb 13 @ 9:10p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 3:30p Bertie Bee is a gifted granddaughter of an
experienced midwife. As she absorbs the
Chee$e wisdom of folk medicine, she also learns to
(Feature Narr/Trinidad & Tobago/ work with her mystical connection to the spirit
US/2021/107m) West Coast Premiere world.
Dir: Damian Marcano Mon, Feb 13 @ 3:35p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 1:20p
Skimma yearns for a life beyond his village.
But after receiving the news that he has Currency
gotten Rebecca pregnant; he embraces a new (Short Narr/US/2022/13m)
profession: the village pot supplier. West Coast Premiere
Wed, Feb 15 @ 8:55p; Sat, Feb 18 @ 10:00p Dir: Lucretia Stinnette
A young woman working a low-wage job
navigates the housing crisis, depression and
self-medication.
Wed, Feb 15 @ 3:55p; Fri, Feb 17 @ 1:00p
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 25FILM SYNOPSES
D.A.D. Down Bad
(Short Narr/US/2022/13m) (Webseries/US/2022/27m)
World Premiere Dir: Rogelio Salinas de la Torre
Dir: James A. Sims After a night of infidelity, Nia navigates the
A workaholic comes home to discover awkward morning-after with her one-night
his daughters have built a digital android stand and battles with what this means for her
doppelganger that they lovingly call D.A.D. already stalled engagement.
Mon, Feb13 @ 6:35p; Thu, Feb 16 @ 9:30p Sat, Feb 11 @ 9:45p; Thu, Feb 16 @ 8:55p
Dancing the Twist in Bamako Dreams Are Colder Than Death
(Feature Narr/Senegal/Mali/Italy/France/ (Feature Doc/US/2013/52m)
Canada/2021/129m) Dir: Arthur Jafa
Dir: Robert Guédiguian See LACMA page for synopsis.
In 1962 Mali the youth of Bamako dance Sat, Feb 11 @ 6:00p
the twist to rock ‘n’ roll music and dream of
political renewal. During one of his missions Driving the Green Book
to the countryside young socialist Samba, falls (Short Doc/US/2022/40m)
for Lara who flees from her forced marriage by World Premiere
hiding in Samba’s vehicle when he returns to Dir: Mike De Caro
the city. A mentor and his young students take an
Tue, Feb 14 @ 8:40p; Thu, Feb 16 @ 8:35p enlightening road trip across Long Island (NY)
looking for locations once listed in The Negro
Daughter of the Sea Motorist Green Book.
(Short Narr/Puerto Rico/2022/19m) Mon, Feb 13 @ 6:00p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 8:45p
Dir: Alexis C Garcia
After the death of her grandfather, a young Dzifa
woman experiences a spiritual awakening when (Short Narr/UK/2022/20m)
she is called by Yemaya, the Orisha of the Sea. World Premiere
Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:05p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 12:00p Dir: Savannah Acquah
Esther and Chioma find themselves at a
Daze Ghanaian naming ceremony where they are
(Short Narr/US/2021/7m) invited to reconnect in a rhythmic celebration
Dir: Shari Petti of diasporic Black queer joy.
Best friends Iris & Beza embark on a dreamy Fri, Feb 10 @ 1:25p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 6:10p
road trip where they reflect on the meaning of
life. But things take a sudden turn when reality Elephant
threatens their whimsical outing. (Feature Narr/US/2021/100m)
Mon, Feb 13 @ 3:40p; Fri, Feb 17 @ 3:35p West Coast Premiere
Dir: Maria Judice
De-Streamed A woman witnesses a murder of a young boy
(Short Doc/Canada/2022/20m) by a police officer and suffers from a prolonged
World Premiere mental breakdown that renders her incapable
Dir: Paul Stavropoulos of leaving her apartment.
Intrepid educators in a Toronto high school Fri, Feb 10 @ 3:30p; Thu, Feb 16 @ 1:10p
attempt to overhaul “streaming” or “tracking,”
a worldwide phenomenon where marginalized
students are disproportionately placed in lower
academic pathways.
Sat, Feb 11 @ 1:25p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 1:00p
26 31ST A N N U A L PA N A F R IC A N F IL M F E S T IVA LFILM SYNOPSES
Eve After Dark Fenom
(Feature Doc/US/2022/88m) (Feature Doc/US/2022/66m)
World Premiere U.S. Premiere
Dir: David Velo Stewart Dir: Kayla Johnson
One man’s triumph to create a safe space for A unique bird’s eye-view of the ascent of a
Compton’s youth in the early 1980s, this is the young female athlete who is on the precipice
story of the first Hip Hop club on the West Coast of greatness. A story of legacy, overcoming
and the home to the World Class Wreckin’ Cru. tragedy and the pursuit of victory.
Fri, Feb 17 @ 8:30p Sat, Feb 18 @ 6:15p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 3:20p
Expiration Date Fifty-Four Days
(Short Narr/US/2022/23m) (Short Narr/UK/2022/17m)
World Premiere World Premiere
Dir: AJ Lovelace Dir: Cat White & Phoebe Torrance
After a chance meeting, Jesse and Leo When tragedy strikes, a woman turns to
discover romance and love but suddenly find swimming in search of answers. By swimming
themselves battling against time and fate to each day at dawn and forming an unlikely
hold onto each other. friendship, she learns to accept her grief and
Tue, Feb 14 @ 6:05p; Wed, Feb 15 @ 1:00p the grief of others.
Mon, Feb 13 @ 1:05p; Mon, Feb 20 @ 12:00p
Fannie
(Short Narr/US/2022/9m) Fighting for Respect:
West Coast Premiere African-American Soldiers in WWI
Dir: Christine Swanson (Feature Doc/US/France/2021/54m)
Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Dir: Joanne Burke
Hamer gives an impassioned speech at A historical exposé capturing the plight of
the 1964 Democratic National Convention African American soldiers who fought in WWI
and a prophetic warning to America. while still fighting discrimination and hatred at
Stars Aunjanue Ellis. home in America.
Sat, Feb 11 @ 6:15p; Tue, Feb 14 @ 3:50p Sat, Feb 11 @ 11:00a; Sun, Feb 12 @ 4:15p
Fantastic Negrito: Have You First
Lost Your MInd Yet? (Feature Narr/US/2022/128m)
(Feature Doc/US/2022/91m) Dir: Jahmela Yarbrough & Brandon Yarbrough
Los Angeles Premiere Childhood friends Robin and Charles explore
Dir: Yvan Iturriaga & Francisco Nuñez falling in love one “first” at a time.
While recording his third Grammy-winning Wed, Feb 15 @ 8:50p
album, digging deep into his turbulent past,
iconoclastic bluesman Fantastic Negrito Fly, Fly Sadness
searches to answer the question: in a sick (Vole, vole tristesse)
society, how do you keep from going crazy? (Short Narr/Haiti/Canada/2015/6m)
Fri, Feb 17 @ 8:45p; Sun, Feb 19 @ 5:00p Dir: Miryam Charles
See LACMA page for synopsis.
Sat, Feb 18 @ 6:00p
#PAFFNOW #PAFF31 #PAFFREIMAGINE www.paff.org 27You can also read
