Festival receives praise from Supervisor Holly Mitchell for ‘leading by example’
PAFF is L.A.’s largest Black History Month event and nation’s largest Black film festival
LOS ANGELES — Due to the current rise of COVID cases in Los Angeles County, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) has announced that the festival will not take place February 8-21 as anticipated. The nation’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival is exploring options to reschedule its 30th annual celebration for later in the year April 19 through May 1 in Los Angeles at its flagship venues the Directors Guild of America, Cinemark Baldwin Hills and XD and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza.
In addition, over the course of the coming weeks, the PAFF will explore other ways to engage the community including hosting a virtual PAFF online experience to celebrate Black History Month. The PAFF remains committed to doing its part to help protect its staff, exhibitors, attendees, and filmmakers.
“The decision to postpone this year’s PAFF did not come easy because we were looking forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary in-person with our community,” said Ayuko Babu, PAFF Executive Director. “But we could not in good conscious put the PAFF community in harm’s way. Our primary concern is always the responsibility we feel towards our staff, artists, audience, and filmmakers who travel to Los Angeles from around the world, and for whom without them, there is no PAFF. We remain committed to the city of Los Angeles, where we’ve hosted the Pan African Film and Arts Festival for 30 years and will do so again when it is safe.”
PAFF 2022 Celebrity Ambassador and festival co-founder actor Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon) said, “It’s been over 30 years since we first traveled to FESPACO in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and were inspired to replicate their celebration and promotion of Black films and Black filmmakers here in America. We want to celebrate 30 years of connecting the Pan African Film Festival audience with the broader African diaspora through film and art and have made the decision to postpone the festival until it’s safe to do that in-person.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell added, “I commend the Pan African Film and Arts Festival for leading by example in protecting our community. The cultural significance, artistic contributions, and fellowship that PAFF offers can never be stopped. I look forward to PAFF safely commemorating 30 Years in the Second Supervisorial District.”
"For 30 years, the Pan African Film Festival rolled out the red carpet to center our stories and filmmakers. And now, during the surge of the latest variant, I applaud their decision to center the community's health and well-being by postponing the film festival to a later date," said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. "I'm looking forward to celebrating their 30-year milestone when it is safer for everyone."
The 30th annual PAFF will feature over 150 new high-quality Black films from the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, the South Pacific, Canada, and increasingly, Asia. In addition, the PAFF will present over 100 fine artists and unique craftspeople from over 40 countries and six continents in a showcase of Pan African cultures.
The PAFF is an Oscar-qualifying festival for animation and live-action films.
About the Pan African Film Festival
Established in 1992 by Hollywood veterans Danny Glover (The Color Purple, Lethal Weapon), the late Ja’Net DuBois (“Good Times”), and Ayuko Babu (Executive Director), the Pan African Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has remained dedicated to the promotion of Black stories and images through the exhibition of film, visual art, and other creative expression.
PAFF is the largest and most prestigious Black film festival in the U.S. and attracts local, national, and international audiences. It is also one of America’s largest Black History Month events.
Find the Pan African Film Festival on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paffnow
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paffnow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paffnow
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePanAfricanFilmFestival
The PAFF is generously supported by the City of Los Angeles, the Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles County Arts and Culture, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, Los Angeles Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Los Angeles Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas.
For more information, please contact press@paff.org.
