Pan-African Film Festival at the Douglass Theatre April 28, 2006

On Friday, April 28 the Tubman African American Museum partners with the historic Douglass Theatre to present the Pan African Film Festival. The Film Festival is part of the tenth annual Pan-African Festival of Georgia which takes place in Macon from April 22 through April 29, 2006. The film festival coincides with the Tubman Museum?s exhibition Blaxploitation, the 1970s: A Vintage Film Poster Exhibition. The film festival schedule is as follows:

10:00 ? 11:30 A.M.: Cartoon Festival for Children of all ages.

The cartoon festival will feature three episodes of the classic carton series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated cartoon show about a group of African American youths growing up in an inner city neighborhood in Philadelphia. The show was based on Bill Cosby?s 1960s stand up comedy monologues about his own childhood. Episodes revolved around the daily life lessons learned by Albert and his friends. Topics ranged from social issues to personal introspection, and were blended with humor and music. Premiering in September of 1972, new episodes were produced until 1982 making Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids one of the longest running shows in Saturday morning cartoon history.



5:30 ? 6:45: Baadasssss Cinema: A Bold Look at 70?s Blaxploitation Films

Baadasssss Cinema is a ground-breaking documentary produced by the Independent Film Channel in which filmmaker Isaac Julien takes an in-depth look at the explosion of black action films that were produced in the 1970s. In a period of about seven years a genre of film was created that today remains one of the most popular cult film genres in America.

The documentary features footage from classic films like Shaft, Superfly and Cleopatra Jones as well as interviews with Richard Roundtree, Pam Grier and other key players from the genre. It also features interviews with contemporary film makers like Quentin Tarantino who credit the genre with being a major influence on their work. Baadasssss Cinema explores the breakout casting, unforgettable soundtracks, outrageous fashions and over-the-top storylines that together helped the genre achieve its revered cult status. An official selection in the Toronto Film Festival, the Hollywood Reporter reviewed the documentary as, "one of the best looks at a period in American film to be seen in a long, long while."



7:30 ? 9:00: Cleopatra Jones

Produced in 1973, the height of the blaxploitation era, Cleopatra Jones is one of the most popular films from the decade. It features statuesque model-turned-actress Tamara Dobson as the title character. Like other films of the period, Cleopatra Jones centers on vigilante efforts by the African American community against drug pushers and dealers. Written and produced by Max Julien, the film tells the story of undercover narcotics agent Cleo, a hip female James Bond, committed to keeping the inner city clean and safe. Glamorous and sophisticated, Dobson?s Cleo is a comic-strip heroine come true. The fast moving action sequences and anti-drug/ pro-community themes proved popular enough with audiences to spur a 1975 sequel, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. The film features a score by legendary jazz trombone player and arranger J.J. Johnson, who blends conventional orchestrations with soul, jazz and funk.The Pan African Film Festival is free and open to the public. The Douglass Theatre is located at 355 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Macon. Contact the Tubman Museum for more information about the Pan-African Film Festival. Contact the Douglass Theatre for more information about other upcoming featured events.