Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is set to open the 31st Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival at the Directors Guild of America on Feb. 9.
One of L.A.’s largest Black History Month events, PAFF will kick off with an opening night gala hosted by actor and activist Danny Glover alongside actor Thomas Q. Jones of P-Valley.
The evening will also include a screening of the 2022 biographical drama, Chevalier, inspired by the true story of French Creole composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The son of an enslaved African woman and a French plantation owner, Bologne (played by New Orleans native Kelvin Harrison Jr.) rose to improbable heights in French society.
The film also stars Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, and Minnie Driver.
Chevalier comes from director Stephen Williams and writer-producer Stefani Robinson.
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Additional confirmed celebrity guests at this year’s festival include Jonathan Majors, Morris Chestnut, Angela Lewis, Nicki Micheaux, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Rama Montakhabi, Marcus Brandon, Allen Maldonado, Tantoo Cardinal, Vanessa E. Williams, and Cocoa Brown.
PAFF showcases projects from Black creatives that reinforce positive images and help to destroy negative stereotypes about African-Americans and Africans.
The festival runs from Feb. 9-20, 2023, with screenings and events taking place at the Cinemark Baldwin Hills & XD and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
This year’s festival includes 150 films from 40 countries, the festival said in a press release. More details on the festival and ticket information can be found here.
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