Schedule:

February 16, 2024

Opening Reception - African American Film Festival - 5:00 - 5:45 PM

Join the RBFS and SDARJ for the AAFF kick-off with an opening reception as we celebrate the 5th annual Film Festival. Will provide light fare and spirts available for sale.

Venue: Cinema Art Theater - Main Theater

Origin - Charlotte's Feature Film Pick - 6:00 - 7:46 PM

In honor of Charlotte King, Founder of SDARJ and the inspiration behind the annual Rehoboth Beach African American Film Festival partnership, she did the honor of selecting this special feature film.

While grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, Isabel sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery. Despite the colossal scope of her project, she finds beauty and bravery while crafting one of the defining American books of our time.

Venue: Cinema Art Theater - Main Theater

February 17, 2024

Double Feature -  2:00 - 3:45 PM

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN WWll: A Legacy of Patriotism & Valor

This comprehensive documentary produced by C-SPAN contains extensive footage that demonstrates the contributions of African American soldiers during WWII including footage of their courage at D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, in Italy and in the Pacific. Actual footage is weaved into the documentary with numerous interviews with veterans including several Congressional Medal of Honor winners in a way that clearly shows the valor and bravery of our African American troops during WWII. [1997, USA, 49 min, Rated: NR]

761st TANK BATTLION: The Original Black Panthers

The 761st Black Tank Battalion is a powerful documentary Executive Produced by Academy Award®-winning actor Morgan Freeman for the History Channel. It tells the true story of the 761st Tank Battalion, the first Black tank unit to serve in combat during WWII, it explores in-depth the major battles they faced both overseas while in combat and back home in the United States. A deeply personal story for Freeman, the documentary will feature an interview with one of the last surviving members of the 761st Battalion, as well as the current and first Black Secretary of Defense, Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III. Alongside new and archival interviews, period footage, still photographs and new commentary, the film features stories from relatives of the Black Panther soldiers. It also shares insights and opinions of prominent historians on WWII and experts on race and inequality in America. [2023, USA,47 min, Rated: NR]

If Beale Street Could Talk - 5:00 - 6:30 PM

This film is a Barry Jenkin’s adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, of the same name. We take this opportunity to celebrate the 100th Birthday of James Baldwin by revisiting this film and an era with themes that still reverberate today. The film tells the love story of Fonny and Tish, young African Americans in early 1970’s New York City negotiating an impossible situation. After her fiancé is falsely imprisoned, a pregnant Tish sets out to clear his name and prove his innocence.

February 18, 2024

Film Shorts - 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Five film shorts will be featured that address a diverse range of topics from black home ownership and the 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery, to an examination of the public school system, laws that enforced racial segregation, and contributions by African Americans in the Manhattan Project.

Finding Their Voices: African American History & Legacy of Lewes - 4:00 - 5:30 PM

Finding Their Voices examines the local African American community that lived and worked in Lewes, DE in the early to mid-20th Century.

Post-film discussion with Film Producer, J. Marcos Salaverria.

Date: February 16 - 18, 2024

Location:

Cinema Art Theater -

17701 Dartmouth Dr

Lewes, DE 19958

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