The 8th Annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival kicks off April 30 with Kinyarwanda at the Quincy Jones Theater at Garfield High School. The festival will span nine days and feature nearly 40 films by both renown and new filmmakers.
Due to ongoing renovations at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center at 17th and Yesler, the festival screenings will take place at Quincy Jones Theater and Central Cinema (21st and Union). You can purchase individual tickets online, or you can go for the $50 all-access Langston Pass.
The opening film, Kinyarwanda, takes place during the Rwandan genocide. The festival press release says, “KINYARWANDA is based on true accounts from Rwandan genocide survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the madrassa of Nyanza. It recounts how the Imams opened the doors of the mosques to give refuge to the Tutsi and those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing.” Director Alrick Brown will be in attendance for the screening. The film’s trailer:
Another film certain to be of interest to CDN readers is 23rd and Union. When we posted the docu-drama’s trailer in February, it generated quite a bit of conversation and speculation. The film, which blends real interviews with a dramatized story line, will run at 5 p.m. May 1 at Central Cinema, just two blocks from the film’s epicenter.
Here’s the lineup from the festival’s website:
SATURDAY APRIL 30
OPENING NIGHT
KINYARWANDA
Filmmaker Alrick Brown in attendance
Reception 6pm | Film 7pm
Quincy Jones Theater| Garfield High SchoolSUNDAY MAY 1
1PM –MAKE A MOVIE LIKE SPIKE
5PM –23rd & UNION
7PM-EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StMONDAY MAY 2
4PM – SOLE OF A HUSTLA
5PM – WHY US?
7PM – AFTERSHOCK
POSITIVE NEGATIVES
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StTUESDAY, MAY 3
4PM – REVOLUTION 67
7PM –CHILDREN OF GOD
Presented in collaboration with
Sista Sinema
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StWEDNESDAY, MAY 4
4PM – SHORT FILM SHOWCASE
7PM – WHEEDLE’S GROOVE
(Filmmaker in attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StTHURSDAY MAY 5
4PM –SOLE OF A HUSTLA
7PM – MIGHTY JEROME
(Filmmaker in attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StFRIDAY MAY 6
4PM – SHORT FILM SHOWCASE II
7PM – CORNERSTORE
(Filmmaker in attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StSATURDAY MAY 7
11AM – BRUNCH WITH FILMMAKERS
1PM – CATASTROPHIC MAGNITUDE
4PM – HEARING RADMILLA
7PM- NICE AND ROUGH
(Filmmaker in Attendance)
Central Cinema | 21st @ Union StSUNDAY MAY 8
2PM – FROM THE QUARTERS TO LINCOLN HEIGHTS
4PM – EL QUINTO SUYO
6PM – BUTTERFLY RISING
(Filmmaker in attendance- all shows)
Quincy Jones Theater | Garfield High School