America’s largest Black History Month event goes global
Festival single tickets and passes on sale now
Festival single tickets and passes on sale now
LOS ANGELES – The 2021 Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) will kick off on Sunday, Feb. 28 with the U.S. Premiere of David Oyelowo’s (The Last King of Scotland, Lincoln) directorial debut The Water Man and run through March 14. This year’s festival is virtual and will be entirely online and on-demand at paff.org.
The Pan African Film Festival’s line-up will feature stories that showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images, help to destroy negative stereotypes, and depict an expanded vision of the Black experience.
This year, the festival features more than 200 films made by and about Black people from 83 countries, including 168 narrative films, 39 documentaries, 159 short and mini short films from 45 countries and in 43 languages.
Festival co-founder and award-winning actor and activist Danny Glover will serve as the celebrity ambassador. As an ambassador, Glover will help bring awareness of this year’s festival lineup and PAFF’s 29-year legacy.
Highlights of this year’s festival include an advanced screening of the highly anticipated Coming 2 America starring Eddie Murphy, Nate Parker’s American Skin (Centerpiece) and a special conversation with director Lee Daniels and the cast of The United States Vs. Billie Holiday.
This year’s PAFF will feature four Academy Award Best Foreign Film submissions including the U.S. premiere of The Milkmaid (Nigeria), The Fisherman’s Diary (Cameroon), The Letter (Kenya), and This Is Not A Burial, It’s a Resurrection (Lesotho).
CBS has partnered with PAFF to premiere episodes from The Neighborhood, Bob❤️Abishola, Clarice, The Equalizer along with exclusive Q&As with the cast of each show.
Closing Night will spotlight Lázaro Ramos’ directorial debut Executive Order. Executive Order is set in a dystopian near future in Brazil, where an authoritarian government orders all citizens of African descent to move to Africa – creating chaos, protests, and an underground resistance movement that inspires the nation. Executive Order will screen globally on Sunday, March 14 at 6:00 pm. Director Lázaro Ramos’ and members of the cast will participate in a Q&A following the screening.
Festival favorites will take place online including PAFF’s Children’s Fest, Student Fest, Senior Connections, Spokenword Fest and Lol Comedy Show.
The Pan African Film Festival will take place virtually. People can attend by purchasing a festival pass or screening ticket.
See the complete 2021 PAFF Program here, purchase festival passes and access to individual film screenings at paff.org.
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Festival Sponsors and Partners
The 29th Pan African Film Festival’s sponsors include the City of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson (8th District); Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price (9th District); Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas (10th District); California State Assemblyman Mike A. Gipson, 64th District; Commissioner Willard H. Murray, Jr., Water Replenishment District; U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, 37th District; U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, 43rd District; Union Bank; Brotherhood Crusade, Groundwurk; FilmLA; Sony Pictures Entertainment; Showtime, Facebook, Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute; Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences; Woodford Reserve, Los Angeles Sentinel; The Wave; KPFK; Black Cultural Events; Immigrant Magazine; KJLH; Our Weekly; okayafrica; L.A. Focus; Envoi, Miss Everything Entertainment, Girl In Charge Public Relations and Empowerment Justice Strategies.
The Pan African Film & Arts Festival is supported, in part, by a grant provided by: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; LA Arts COVID-19 Relief Fund with the California Community Foundation; and the LA County COVID-19 Arts Relief Fund administered by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture.
About the Pan African Film Festival
Gearing up for its 29th anniversary, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) is America’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Each year, it screens more than 200 films made by and/or about people of African descent from around the world. PAFF holds the distinction of being the largest Black History Month event in the country. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live-action and animation short films.
PAFF is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1992 by award-winning actor Danny Glover (“The Color Purple,” “Lethal Weapon” movie franchise), Emmy Award-winning actress Ja’Net DuBois (best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, “Good Times”) and executive director, Ayuko Babu, an international legal, cultural and political consultant who specializes in Pan African Affairs. PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of ethnic and racial respect and tolerance through the exhibit of films, art, and creative expression.
The goal of PAFF is to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images, help to destroy negative stereotypes and depict an expanded vision of the Black experience. PAFF believes film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, and lifestyles in an entertaining way while at the same time, serving as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times
