Newark Black Film Festival to offer free screenings throughout summer

by JAY LUSTIG
co-star in "Half of a Yellow Sun."

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton c0-star in “Half of a Yellow Sun,” which will be shown at the Newark Museum, June 24.

Documentaries about writer Alice Walker and black photographers, as well as a biopic about singer actress Eartha Kitt and a drama starring Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”), are among the films that will be shown at the 41st annual Newark Black Film Festival, taking place at the Newark Museum and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, starting June 24. People involved in the making of the movies will speak at the screenings as well.

Also, the children’s film series Youth Cinema will take place at the museum and the Newark Public Library, starting July 6.

All screenings are free; visit newarkmuseum.org/nbff.

Here are the schedules:

NEWARK BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

All screenings are at the museum at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

June 24: “Half of a Yellow Sun.” Historical drama set in Nigeria, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newon. Speaker: Director-screenwriter Biyi Bandele. Host: Mary Sue Sweeney Price.

July 1: “Clipped Wings, They Do Fly.” A mentally ill man is on trial for a crime he doesn’t remember committing. Speaker: Director-screenwriter William Michael Barbee. Host: Wilma Grey.

July 8: “Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People.” With a viewing of the museum’s exhibitions “Royals & Regalia: Inside the Palaces of Nigeria’s Monarchs” and “Hassan Hajjaj: My Rock Stars.” Speakers: Director Thomas Allen Harris and producer Deborah Willis. Host: Richard Wesley.

July 15: “Love Always, Eartha.” Biopic about the actress and singer Eartha Kitt. Speaker: Screenwriter-producer-actress Dierdra McDowell. Host: Ralph Waller.

.

July 22: “Roots of My Heart.” Film about an Afro-Cuban woman exploring her family’s, and Cuba’s, past. Speaker: Artist and educator Yesenia Selier, and artist Ben Jones. Hosts: Gloria H. Buck and Ben Jones.

July 29: “Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth.” Documentary about the influential writer. Screening at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Speaker: Director Pratibha Parmar and producer Shaheen Haq. Host: Lisa Payne.

YOUTH CINEMA

Screenings Mondays at 10:30 a.m. and Newark Public Library and Wednesdays at 1 p.m. at Newark Museum.

Mon., July 6 and Wed., July 8: “Not So Fast, Songololo,” “Elizabeti’s Doll,” “Garrett’s Gift,” “Obara & The Merchants.”

Mon., July 13 and Wed., July 15: “Burkina Faso: The Tyrant and the Child,” “Cliques, Phonies & Other Baloney,” “Chato and the Party Animals.”

Mon., July 20 and Wed., July 22: “Ellington is Not a Street,” “The Frog Prince,” “Koi & the Kola Nuts.”

Mon., July 27 and Wed., July 29: “Happy to Be Nappy & Other Stories of Me,” “Ruth Law Thrills a Nation.”

Wed., Aug. 5: “Robots”

Wed., Aug. 12: “Kirikou and the Sorceress.”

We need your help!

CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET

Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.

$

Custom Amount

Personal Info

Donation Total: $20.00

Explore more articles:

Leave a Comment

Sign up for our Newsletter