For Immediate Release: February 5, 2021
Media Contact: press@paff.org
LOS ANGELES - The Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) announced today film nominations in its prestigious juried competition. The Pan African Film Festival is America's largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Each year, the PAFF 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. The 29th Pan African Film Festival will take place virtually from February 28 – March 14.
This year, the competitions will include over 65 World premiere titles and over 29 US premieres.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 29th Pan African Film Festival will run February 28 – March 14 on-line and on-demand only. The virtual component allows this year’s Festival to reach a global audience. More information can be found at www.paff.org.
Best Narrative Feature Competition
Back of the Moon (South Africa)
Director: Angus Gibson
Caged Birds (US)
Director: Fredrick Leach
Poppie Nongena (South Africa)
Director: Christiaan Olwagen
Red Pill (US)
Director: Tonya Pinkins
The Fisherman's Diary (Cameroon)
Director: Enah Johnscott
The Ghost and the House of Truth (Nigeria)
Director: Akin Omotoso
The Milkmaid (Nigeria)
Director: Desmond Ovbiagele
Best Documentary Competition
City On the Hill (US)
Director: Xavier Underwood
Disruptor Conductor (Canada, US)
Director: Sharon Lewis
Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra (Australia)
Director: Wayne Blair, Nel Minchin
Fresh Guide To Florence with Fab 5 Freddy (Italy, US, UK)
Director: David Shulman
Lake Women (Rwanda, Germany)
Director: Deve Shema
Raymond Lewis: L.A. Legend (US)
Director: Ryan Matthew Polomski, Dean Prator
Through the Night (US)
Director: Loira Limbal
Uprooted - The Journey of Jazz Dance (Canada, France, UK, US)
Director: Khadifa Wong
Best First Feature - Director Competition
Narratives
African America (South Africa, US)
Director: Muzi Mthembu
Caged Birds (US)
Director: Fredrick Leach
Executive Order (Brazil)
Director: Lázaro Ramos
Love Like Winter (US)
Director: Artel Great
Shaina (Zimbabwe, South Africa)
Director: Beautie Masvaure Alt
Documentaries
Finding Sally (Ethiopia, Canada)
Director: Tamara Dawit
Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story (US)
Director: Royal Kennedy Rodgers, Kathy McCampbell Vance
Softie (Kenya, US)
Director: Sam Soko
The Letter (Kenya)
Director: Maia Lekow, Christopher King
The Patterson: Another Bronx Tale (US)
Director: Bahati Adrien Best
Who is Gatsby Randolph (US)
Director: Kobie Randolph
Best Short Narrative (Animation or Live Action)
#WeAreDyingHere (South Africa)
Director: Shane Vermooten
Antivirus (Greece)
Director: Anastasia Sima
Guillermina (Cuba)
Director: Aida Esther Bueno Sarduy
Junebug (US)
Director: Winter Dunn
Junior (US)
Director: Jehnovah Carlisle
London Arabia (UK)
Director: Daniel Jewel
Nazen (US)
Director: Shemar Yanick Jonas
Pure (US)
Director: Natalie Jasmine Harris
Sër Bi (Les Tissus Blancs) (Senegal, France)
Director: Moly Kane
Smell of Summer (US)
Director: Kris Wilson
The Cypher (US)
Director: Letia Solomon
The McHenry Trial – Don’t Judge a Kid by Their Hoodie (US)
Director: Ken Sagoes
The Power Of Hope (US)
Director: Kalia Love Jones
Till Death Do Us Part (Póki śmierć nas nie rozłączy ) (Uganda, Poland)
Director: Dolores Vunda
Tuk-tuk (Egypt)
Director: Mohamed Kheidr
Two Single Beds (UK)
Director: William Stefan Smith
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; Mervyn M. Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute; Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences; 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.
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