The Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) wrapped last Sunday after several days of showcasing an impressive slate of films.
Now in its 34th year, the Shameik Moore starrer “One Spoon of Chocolate” kicked off the festival’s opening night. Directed by founder and producer of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, the action thriller follows a military veteran and former convict who is trying to get his life back together. The project marks RZA’s fourth film as a director and attendees at the screening included Honorary Oscar winner Euzhan Palcy, the first Black woman to direct a major Hollywood studio film.
From Nigerian filmmaker Asurf Oluseyi’s “3 Cold Dishes” which follows three women who survive a brutal trafficking network in West Africa, to British director Yemi Bamiro’s “Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story,” America’s largest black film festival screened over 100 films during Black History Month.
Haitian American filmmaker Raynald Leconte, who is known for exploring culture, history, and identity was a Best Documentary Feature nominee for “Amazing Grace: YorubaWorlds,” a documentary which examines the Yoruba diaspora’s influence. He was recognized with a Programmers’ Award. The Ja’Net DuBois Founders Award was presented to “When the Sky Turned Orange,” B.P. Edwards piece on the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in California last year.
Tunde Wey’s “Hard To Swallow” which follows the Nigerian chef/writer across America as he investigates the ways food culture and power are shaped by race and class was another standout. Notable mentions include Joseph Puleo’s “Brothers in Blood: Black in Vietnam” which examines discrimination within the military and the documentary “Cirilo, A Legacy Untold” about Panamanian civil rights activist Cirilo McSween.
The iconic Black Film Festival was founded in 1992 by actors Danny Glover, Ja’Net DuBois and executive director Ayuko Babu, an international legal, cultural, and political consultant who specializes in Pan African Affairs.
