Opening night at PAFF is usually reserved for the premiere of an extra-arty film. This year was no different. Last night at the 22nd annual Pan African Film Festival, the widely anticipated film “Of Good Report” marked the festival’s opener.
Isaiah Washington and Jenisa Marie Garland
A film set in a small town in the rural Eastern Cape, this third feature by South African director Jahmil XT Qubeka, follows a high-school teacher who becomes obsessed with a16-year-old student.
Leon
It’s a film which sparked a firestorm last year following its controversial temporary banning by the South African Film and Publications Board who refused to authorize any screening of the film on the grounds that it contained “child pornography.”
CCH Pounder with Festival Found Jan’et Dubois
Held at the Rave movie theater in Los Angeles, some of the celebrities in attendance were Loretta Devine, Isaiah Washington, CCH Pounder, Leon and Charles S. Dutton.
PAFF Festival co-founder Ayuko Babu
Established in 1992 The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is America’s largest and most prestigious international Black film festival and showcases films representing countries such as Angola, Bermuda, Ethiopia, Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa and Nigeria.
Kenny Lattimore and Nicki Micheaux
With 179 films, representing 46 countries, some of the movies being screened at PAFF this year include Kenneth Gyang’s “Confusion Na Wa,” John Uche’s “One Night in Vegas” which stars Sahndra Fon Dufe and Jimmy Jean-Louis, “Kingston Paradise” and Udoka Oyeka’s “Living Funeral” which follows a young girl battling with breast cancer.
Loretta Devine
Leila Djansi’s newly directed film “And Then There Was You” starring Leon and Garcelle Beauvais, the psychological thriller “Blue Caprice” which stars Isaiah Washington will also be screened at the festival.
Actress Sahndra Fon Dufe
Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
The 22nd annual PAFF wraps Feb 17. All screenings will take place at the new Rave Cinemas Baldwin Hills 15 at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles, CA.
Samantha Ofole-Prince is a journalist and movie critic who covers industry-specific news that includes television and film. She serves as the Entertainment Editor for Trendy Africa. Photo Credit: Clinton H.Wallace/Photomundo International.
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