PURCHASE YOUR FILM SCREENING TICKET HERE.
5:30 PM: Before the screening, join us for our Festival Welcome! Watch here. (Meeting ID: 544 385 6377; Passcode: Opening)
5:45 PM: Screening begins at the video.mfa.org site.
7:40 PM: After the screening, join us for a Q&A with Yoruba Richen, Gina Belafonte, and Joan Walsh! RSVP/WATCH THE Q&A HERE.
THE SIT-IN: HARRY BELAFONTE HOSTS THE TONIGHT SHOW
Directed by Yoruba Richen (US 2020 1:15:00).
In early February 1968, racial tensions were inflaming the nation and a divisive election was underway. America was exploding politically and culturally, much like today. That week, trailblazing entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte took over the Tonight Show for an unprecedented week. Harry featured a stunning combination of guests, including Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Lena Horne, Paul Newman, Wilt Chamberlain, Aretha Franklin, and Bill Cosby. And this week was almost lost to history. “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte’s Tonight Show” tells this story through contemporary interviews with Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, Questlove and many others. The interviews with Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy are among their last television appearances before both were assassinated. “The Sit-In” also unearths unknown audio and photos of this week and illuminates how the week changed television culture, opening it up to entertainers of color, and fusing art and politics in a singular way.
WITH
CHARLES COE: MAN OF LETTERS
Directed by Roberto Mighty (US 2016 09:26). Trailer.
Charles Coe: Man of Letters is a film profile of the African-American writer, musician and pundit. If we forgive the sins of our parents, can we heal ourselves? Author Charles Coe’s second book of poetry, All Sins Forgiven, is a journey of self-discovery. This film captures Coe’s charismatic performances of poetry reading, blues singing and didgeridoo playing (!) before an appreciative live audience, interspersed with intimate interviews around issues of family, secrets and forgiveness.
AND
BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Directed by Christine Turner (US 2019 08:17)
At 93, there’s no stopping when it comes to the legendary artist Betye Saar.