The lineup has been announced for the 26th annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival.
The festival, from Danny Glover and Ja’Net DuBois will take place Thursday, February 8 through Monday, February 19 at the Cinemark Rave 15 Theatres/Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
The opening night film will be the comedy Love Jacked, starring Amber Stevens-West, Shamier Anderson, Lyriq Bent, Keith David, Mike Epps and Marla Gibbs. The closing night film will be the thriller Traffik, starring Paula Patton, Omar Epps and Laz Alonso.
Other selections include TV One’s original film on Rosa Parks, Behind the Movement and Oscar short-listed films Félicité andThe Wound.
“The Pan African Film and Arts Festival has been recognized as one of the largest celebrations of Black culture and Black films. For 26 years, we have presented diverse and inclusive programming that features the creative work of leading disruptors in film and entertainment. The 2018 PAFF experience aims to step outside the ‘business as usual’ film festival norms and move the needle forward by amplifying the game-changing voices of influential, ethnic, millennial and LGBTQIA storytellers,” said Ayuko Babu, PAFF Executive Director.
View the full details of the festival highlights below:
MARQUEE FILMS
OPENING NIGHT
LoveJacked (US)
Directed By: Alfons Adetuyi
Date:Thursday, February 8
Time:6PM Red Carpet | 7PM Screening
A warm family comedy centered around Maya, a headstrong 28-year-old with artistic ambitions and her father Ed, who wants a dutiful daughter to run the family store. Ed is shocked when Maya, asserting her independence, decides to travel to Africa for inspiration and returns with a fiancé. Stars Amber Stevens-West, Shamier Anderson, Lyriq Bent, Keith David, Mike Epps, Marla Gibbs, Angela Gibbs, Demetrius Grosse and Nicole Lyn. Cast members will be present.
CLOSING NIGHT
Traffik (US)
Directed By: Deon Taylor
Date:Sunday, February 18
Time:5:45PM Red Carpet | 6:45PM Screening
Journalist Brea and her boyfriend John are off for a romantic weekend in the mountains. On their way up the coast they stop in a small town and are accosted by a group of men on motorcycles. Barely avoiding a fight, Brea and John continue on their trip, unaware that they have inadvertently come into possession of a cell phone–a cell phone that the bikers are desperate to retrieve. Now, alone in the mountains in an isolated rental home, Brea and John must defend themselves against the bikers who will stop at nothing to get the phone, destroy the evidence it holds and kill anyone who would tell their secrets. Stars Paula Patton, Omar Epps and Laz Alonso. Cast members will be present.
SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS
Behind the Movement(US) – Presented by TVOne
Directed By: Aric Avelino
Date:Friday, February 9
Time:7PM Red Carpet | 8PM Screening
King of the Stage: The Woodie King, Jr. Story(US) – World Premiere
