Beauty Focus of African American Film Fest

(PRESS RELEASE)_West Palm Beach, FL (January 22, 2024) A weekend-long showcase of films exploring the ideas of beauty highlight this year’s Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts 18th Annual African American Film Festival (AAFF) INVENTING BEAUTY. Curated by author and film scholar Dr. Terri Francis and moderated by a dynamic group of nationally renowned filmmakers and local community leaders, the event takes place February 15 – 18 in the Kravis Center’s Marshall E. Rinker Sr.  Playhouse.

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Curator, Dr. Francis and her special guests take patrons on a cinematic journey through the social, historical and personal dynamics of how society learns and questions what and who they find beautiful in the context of ground-breaking and gorgeous African American films. The films in INVENTING BEAUTY invite reflection on personal, and perhaps shifting, notions of beauty—a concept that is as intimate as it is social, as timeless as it is ever changing.
 
Founded by the late James Drayton, a former West Palm Beach city commissioner and strong advocate for equal rights and equality, this special series includes films that feature African American actors and directors and convey the African American experience.
The festival lineup includes:
 
BLACK BARBIE: A Documentary (2023)
Rinker Playhouse
Thursday, February 15 at 7 p.m.
Moderated by director Lagueria Davis, curator Terri Francis and researcher Imani Warren
This revelatory documentary focuses on the little-known history of the African American designers at Mattel who imagined and created the iconic Black Barbie doll. The evening includes opening reception with refreshments.
Tickets $25*
 
LOSING GROUND (1982) Feature, AN ECSTATIC EXPERIENCE (2015) Short
Rinker Playhouse
Friday, February 16 at 7 p.m.
Moderated by artist Ja’Tovia Gary and curator Terri Francis
Kathleen Collins’ feature film, Losing Ground, focused on the tensions between freedom and fidelity, abstraction and representation in this American independent film. In her experimental short film, An Ecstatic Experience, Gary explores themes of beauty, resistance and freedom.
Tickets $15*
 
BRIGHT ROAD (1953) Feature, SEVENTH GRADE (2014) Short
Rinker Playhouse
Saturday February 17 at 2 p.m.
Moderated by director Stefani Saintonge, Professor Tiffany Gilbert and curator Terri Francis
In this charming literary adaptation, Bright Road, Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte play a caring teacher and a thoughtful school principal who mentor a troubled but gifted student. Stefanie Saintonge’s short film about friendship in the tumultuous tween years, Seventh Grade.
Tickets $15*

ISLAND IN THE SUN (1957)
Rinker Playhouse
Saturday, February 17 at 7 p.m.
Moderated by Professor Tiffany Gilbert and curator Terri Francis
James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge and Joan Collins star in this drama that explores the politics of beauty, family, and interracial relationships in a Caribbean society.
Tickets $15*
 
RUBY BRIDGES (1998)
Rinker Playhouse
Sunday, February 18 at 2 p.m.
Moderated by curator Terri Francis and guest panelists
French director Euzahn Palcy’s docudrama, Ruby Bridges, presents the heroic and beautiful portrayal of a little girl’s gigantic courage as an instrument of historical transformation in American society. 
Tickets $15*
 
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991) Feature, WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE (2021) Short
Rinker Playhouse
Sunday, February 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Moderated by filmmaker and community organizer Helen Peña, filmmaker Julie Dash and
curator Terri Francis
Daughters of the Dust portrays the conflict of tradition and change for a close-knit Gullah family on the cusp of migration north and is credited with inspiring some of the beautiful imagery in Beyoncé's “Lemonade” (2016). Peña’s poignant portrait of a grieving woman, When Angels Speak of Love, evokes mythical mermaids and political realities.
Tickets $15*
 
Guests attending PEAK performances in the Rinker Playhouse will receive one complimentary beverage with every ticket purchased (underage guests will be offered a non-alcoholic selection).
PEAK performances are made possible by a grant from the MLDauray Arts Initiative in honor of Leonard and Sophie Davis with additional support from WLRN.
 
How to Purchase Tickets to These Presentations:
Tickets for Black Barbie are $25 and include opening night reception. Tickets for the remaining films are $15 per film, or $70 for the entire series, and can be purchased online through the Kravis Center’s website www.kravis.org or by phone at 561.832.7469 or 800.572.8471. Student/Educator rush discount available for all screenings.