The 19th Annual African American Film Festival - Jazz Legends And Cinematic Icons

5-Show Series $60 - Save $25 When You Purchase The Entire Series. All Films In Rinker Playhouse - General Admission

Schedule Of Events

Feb 13,2025

6:30pm - Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse

1927, Silent Film, 80 Min, France. Directed By Henri Étiévant And Mario Nalpas, Starring Josephine Baker. Not Rated. Contains Tropes And Clichés Common To Colonialism And The Early Twentieth Century.

Live Improvised Score By Trumpeter and Percussionist Etienne Charles.

This French Silent-Era Treasure Might Have Been Forgotten But For The Electric Presence Of Jazz Icon And Cinematic Legend, Josephine Baker, The Dancer, Actress, Singer, Author, And Activist. The Jazz Empress Was Among The First African American Women To Star In A Feature Film. Evelyn Preer (The Homesteader, 1919 And Within Our Gates, 1920) And Nina Mae Mckinney (Hallelujah, 1929) Share This Risky Space Of Innovation And Beauty. In 1927 When Baker Played The Lead In Siren, She Was Already An International Superstar, Having Conquered Parisian Audiences In 1925 With Her Unique Take On Jazz Dances Such As The Charleston.

Guests Attending Peak Performances In The Rinker Playhouse Will Receive One Complimentary Beverage With Every Ticket Purchased (Underage Guests Will Be Offered A Non-Alcoholic Selection).

5-Show Series $60 - Save $25 When You Purchase The Entire Series.

Peak Performances Made Possible By A Grant From The Mldauray Arts Initiative In Honor Of Leonard And Sophie Davis

February 14, 2025

6:30pm - Paris Blues - Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse

1961, 98 Min, Usa. Directed By Martin Ritt, Starring Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll, Paul Newman And Joanne Woodward. Interlude By Louis Satchmo Armstrong. Duke Ellington Composed The Score.

Cosmopolitan, Sexy, And Smart Paris Blues Captures The Expat Experience And The Mid-Twentieth Century Jazz Scene In The City Of Light. Satchmo Himself Spoke To Jazz Journal About Paris Blues In March 1961: "The Part I Play In The Picture Ain’t Big, But It’s Important – I See To That! … Sidney Poitier And Paul Newman, They’re Supposed To Be Jazz Musicians. Paul Plays Trombone; He’s Really Been Taking Lessons From Billy Byers, Who Plays The Music For The Film. Sidney, He’s Supposed To Be A Saxophone Man. That French Cat Guy Lafitte Taught Him To Hold His Horn Right. Duke Got The Band Sounding His Way And Some Of The Music Is Real Pretty" (Leon Nock, Jazz Journal).

5-Show Series $60 - Save $25 When You Purchase The Entire Series.

Feb 15,2025

6:30pm - Mo’ Better Blues - Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse
1990, 127 Min, Usa. Directed By Spike Lee And Starring Denzel Washington And Wesley Snipes.

In His Fourth Feature Film And First Collaboration With Denzel Washington. Legendary Filmmaker Spike Lee Studies The Work Of Making Jazz Music: Rehearsals, Composing, Management, Finances, Club Owners, And Audiences. Washington Spent Several Months Studying The Fundamentals Of Playing The Trumpet With None Other Than Grammy Winner Terence Blanchard, Who Performed Washington’s Solos On The Film’s Soundtrack And Went On To Score 13 Of Lee’s Features. Bleek, As Played By Washington, Is An Intense, Charismatic, And Flawed Character, Committed Only To The Music. Lee Looks At The Warped Treatment Of Women In The Jazz World Through The Characters Of Indigo Downes (Joie Lee) And Clarke Betancourt (Cynda Williams).

5-Show Series $60 - Save $25 When You Purchase The Entire Series.

1:00pm- Soul - Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse

2020, 90 Min, Usa. Co-Directed By Kemp Powers And Pete Docter And Voiced By Jamie Foxx.

In This Fantasy-Drama Animated Film, Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx Voices Joe Gardner, A Middle-School Music Teacher And Jazzman. Soul Made History In Two Ways: Joe Is Pixar’s First Black Lead Character And Kemp Powers Is Likely The First African American To Direct An Animated Feature. Soul Is Delicate And Philosophical Yet Infused With The Improvisational Vibrancy Of New York City—And Joe’s Dedication To His Music. Songs By Real-Life Musicians Such As Jon Batiste Add Depth And Heart. When Joe Says, "Music Is All I Think About, From The Moment I Wake Up In The Morning To The Moment I Fall Asleep At Night; I Was Born To Play," We Know He Means It.

5-Show Series $60 - Save $25 When You Purchase The Entire Series.

Feb 16,2025

1:00pm- Jazz On A Summer’s Day - Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Playhouse

1959, 85 Min, Usa. Directed By Bert Stern.

Recorded At The 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, This Acclaimed Concert Film Shows Performances By Thelonius Monk, Chuck Berry, Mahalia Jackson And Many More. In 1999, The Library Of Congress Added The Film To The United States National Film Registry For Its Cultural, Historical, And Aesthetic Significance. The Film Is Stylistically Remarkable With Images That Firmly Locate The Concert’s Setting In A Former Gilded Age City Along New England’s Atlantic Shoreline. Shots Of The Yachts Filling The Harbor Recall Palm Beach. Further Shots Of The Performers On Stage And The Audience, Who Appear Bored At Some Points, Enraptured At Others, Suggest The Endurance Required For Outdoor Music Festivals. Or Perhaps It’s A Humorous Critique Of Jazz Self-Seriousness? However, It Is Hard To Escape The Clear Black And White Racial Divide Between The Performers And The Vast Majority Of The Audience, A Situation Addressed From The Musicians’ Point Of View In Mo’ Better Blues. Summer’s Day, Like The Series As A Whole, Offers An Opportunity For Reflection On Difficult Personal And Social Dilemmas Amid Beauty, Friendship, And Art.

5-Show Series $60 - Save $25 When You Purchase The Entire Series.

Date: February 13 - 16, 2025

Location:Kravis Center for the Performing Arts - 701 Okeechobee Boulevard  West Palm Beach, FL 33401

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