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Pan African Film Festival Presents
Austin Film Society welcomes Los Angeles’ famed Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) for their first-ever Austin series, presenting a selection of the most acclaimed films from their February 2023 festival.
Established in 1992 by Hollywood veterans Danny Glover, the late Ja’Net DuBois (Good Times), and Ayuko Babu (Executive Director), the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) 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. As the critically acclaimed largest Black film and arts festival and Black History Month activation in the United States, PAFF has become the quintessential global celebration of Pan-African cultures, and an international beacon for the African diaspora film and arts communities. Pan African Film Festival leaders, including longtime Artistic Director Asantewa Olatunji, will be in attendance to introduce the films.
Films include:
FANTASTIC NEGRITO: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET?
Friday, June 2 at 7:30 PM
Beyond the bombastic stage persona of Fantastic Negrito lies a 51-year-old survivor, hustler, and self-described ‘recovering narcissist’ named Xavier Dphrepaulezz. After his improbable midlife transformation from busking bluesman to back-to-back Grammy winner, Xavier is now ready to face his demons. Follow Xavier in his Oakland studio as he creates his newest album, laying bare his extraordinary journey and the many “hallucinations” he has experienced along the way. Following the structure of an album track list and featuring intimate and often hilarious interviews with philosopher-poet Xavier and his brilliant band of collaborators and close friends, the film traces his journey from early isolation as a Black Muslim kid in rural Massachusetts to Bay Area star with a global fanbase. Punctuated with a great soundtrack, this astonishing Madhatter ride transports the viewer through a uniquely mind-bending journey that thoroughly entertains.
THE AFRICOLOGIST: CHRONICLES OF AFRICA
Saturday, June 3 at 2:30 PM
Africology is an interdisciplinary academic study of the history and culture of African people. This futuristic, highly original documentary swings between two distinct canvases – on the one hand, there is the science-fictional, 3D animated realm of the Africologist, a computer-generated fictional woman; and on the other hand, is the real-world, scientific and factual representation of Africa researched by director Valerio Lopes himself through his travels to sixteen African countries. Together they delve into the true history, science, and technological achievement of Africa. Viewers voyage through space and time discovering Africa’s true past and contributions to humankind. The destination of the journey is an authentic and accurately crafted interpretation of our world constructed from an African point of view.
When Kat’s fiancé calls off their wedding the night before the big day, the ambitious but insecure Katya is devastated. Her long-time best friends, Noks and Lu, persuade her to go on her honeymoon to Zanzibar with them. What was meant to be a holiday away from their problems, soon turns to a holiday into their problems – but will their friendship survive a wild time in paradise? A wild, fun chick flick!
