Kravis Center's African American Film Fest Features Films/TV Shows You Might Rather Forget

Kravis Center's Annual African-American Film Festival to Feature Movies You Might Rather Forget

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is once again partnering with producer James Drayton to present the annual African-American Film Festival at 7 p.m. on three successive Tuesday evenings, March 29, April 5, 12. 

(Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson Is Pictured)

The theme for the 2011 African-American Film Festival is Films That You May Rather Forget. 

March 29: Amos ‘n' Andy Show

Selected episodes (1951-1952) of the controversial situation comedy will be shown and discussed. The series originated on radio in the 1920s before starting its TV run with actors Alvin Childress (Amos), Spencer Williams (Andy), Tim Moore (Kingfish) and Ernestine Wade (Sapphire). 

April 5: Open the Door, Richard

This musically themed film from 1945 cuts back and forth between Stepin Fetchit at home in bed and a jazz band providing the film's swing music. Directed by William Forest Crouch, the film also stars Dusty Fletcher. 

April 12: Brewster's Millions

This comedy about a down-on-his-luck individual who has to spend $1 million in two months in order to inherit a fortune was first filmed in 1914 and again in 1985 with Richard Pryor and John Candy. This 1945 version was directed by Allan Dwan and starred Eddie "Rochester" Anderson along with Dennis O'Keefe, June Havoc and Gail Patrick. 

"The idea of this Film Festival is to counter the notion that African American filmmaking is of recent vintage and only consists of a certain type of film that reflects a defined segment of current social conditions," said Drayton, the Festival's founder and producer and formerly the owner of the African American Heritage Bookstore in West Palm Beach

As host of the Film Festival, AnEta Sewell will set-up each film and its content, and then lead a lively Q&A session following the screening. The Lead Outreach Representative for the Palm Beach County Service Center at the South Florida Water Management District, Sewell previously had spent 20 years in television, primarily at CBS 12 NEWS. An Emmy Award winner, she was the first African American to anchor and report the news in the West Palm Beach/Treasure Coast market. Currently she can be seen in the weekly public affairs program "Around Our Town" on the CW/My TV Network.

The Film Festival is presented as part of the Kravis Center's ArtSmart series, which offers a full range of educational presentations that provide new perspectives on the world of the performing arts and enrich the life experience.

The sixth annual African-American Film Festival will be held in Persson Rehearsal Hall, located on the second floor of the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion. Tickets are $10 per night or $25 for the entire festival.

The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and International Artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.

The Kravis Center is located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. For more information, please call 561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.

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