In less than a month, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) will return to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and adjacent Cinemark 15 Theatres.
This highly anticipated Film and Arts Festival will be the 28th Annual edition. Pan African Film and Arts Festival is America’s largest and most prestigious Black Film Festival. Each year, movie lovers are presented with a plethora of more than 150 films made by and/or about people of African descent from all over the world.
PAFF holds the distinction of being the largest Black History Month event in the country. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live-action and animated short films.
This is reason alone to attend this year’s film and arts festival.
Stay with me as I share the top reasons to attend the 28th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival, scheduled February 11-23, 2020 at the Cinemark Theatres, located at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles.
SENIOR CONNECTIONS is the most happening experience of the entire Pan African Film & Arts Festival! Packed with retired and active seniors (62+), this program offers FREE, weekday afternoon screenings of select festival films, and a chance to socialize, meet other seniors and get valuable information on programs and opportunities that make the golden years even more awesome!
PAFF FASHION SHOW- Wearable Art on the Move! This is a vibrant and colorful event featuring PAFF wearable art artists showcasing a “tour de force” in high fashion with an Afro-touch, produced by Karimu, Ngoma and Deveaux.
LOL COMEDY offers an opportunity to catch some of America’s funniest Young comedians hosted by J. Anthony Brown.
SPOKEN WORD FEST delivers a Special Evening of the Hottest, Hippest spoken word artist anywhere!
SATURDAY CHILDREN’s FESTIVAL- each year, PAFF’s Saturday Children’s Festival proves to be the great fun for the entire family! Over 500 children, ages 4-12, and their parents, are thoroughly engaged and entertained with FREE kid-friendly film screenings, storytelling and activities all rooted in artistry of the cultures of Africa and its diaspora. Making it a go-to-event for family fun!
STUDENT FEST- for the past twenty plus years, PAFF has work closely with local Los Angeles schools to bring over 5,000 elementary, middle and high school students each year to attend PAFF. The program offers a free showcase of films that inspires as it introduces youth to conscious and creative filmmaking as well as content that deals with issues important to youth, such as teen pregnancy, AIDs prevention, literacy, cultural and racial respect, teen self-esteem and gang prevention.
JOHN SINGLETON SHORT FILM COMPETITION is presented by The City of Los Angeles, Pan African Film & Arts Festival/ embrace L.A. is an initiative under of former Los Angeles Council President Herb J. Wesson, Jr., this competition will deepen the program’s goal to engage a citywide conversation about race and racism while challenging and changing inequities.
THE iam AFRICA SHORT FILM COMPETITION is a collaborative initiative between the Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF), The Africa Narrative at the University of Southern California Norman Lear Center and YouTube. The initiative was launched to propel African content creators and their work into the mainstream consciousness of America and international audiences, who are all to often exposed to media narratives of Africa that are widely distorted and shaped by non-Africans.
PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL INSTITUTE serves as a platform to amplify the voices of industry powerhouses, community influencers, sports figures, cultural icons, thought leaders and disruptors who seek to educate, inspire and empower those who desire personal and professional elevation.
THE PAFF ARTFEST is sponsored in part by grants from The Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. This popular segment features over 100 established and emerging fine artists and quality craft people from all over the world, with an artistic aesthetic that is rooted in Africa and its diaspora. The exhibit features artists who present their creative works using oil on canvas, watercolor and pastels, acrylic paper, glass, ceramics, metal, cloth, plastic, wax, wire, leather and stone. In addition to fine art and one-of-a-kind crafts, the ARTFEST also consists of the best in designer and traditional fashion, jewelry, home décor, fashion accessories and so much more.
PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL offers attendees a chance to view 175 new black movies. This is a way to cement the deal for you and yours to attend the Pan African Film & Arts Festival. The 28th Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF), will open with the film “Hero: Inspired by the Extraordinary Revolutionary Life and Times of Diplomat and Judge Ulric Cross,” directed by Caribbean filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon.
The festival will get underway with a star-studded Opening Night Gala at 7:30PM on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, at the Directors Guide of America (DGA), located at 7920 W. Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. This year’s theme is “20/20 Vision,” kicking off the decade with a fresh lens and solidifying its commitment to tell diverse stories with a global luminous view.
PAFF is dedicated to cinematic promotion and cultural exploration of people of African descent. It is PAFF’s goal to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and help destroy negative stereotypes.
PAFF believes film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between people of diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, and lifestyles in an entertaining way.
PAFF is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1992 by award-winning actor Danny Glover (“The Color Purple,” “Lethal Weapon’ movie franchise), Emmy-award winning actress Ja’Net DuBois (best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, “Good Times”) and executive director, Ayuko Babu, an international legal, cultural and political consultant who specializes in Pan African Affairs. PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of ethnic and racial respect and tolerance through the exhibit of films, art and creative expression.
For more information, please visit www.paff.org, email: [email protected] or call (310)337-4737
