The Reynolds Media Center is proud to celebrate Black History Month by presenting the second annual Black Film Festival, showcasing groundbreaking gems of Black cinema from across the decades, some rarely seen.

Schedule of Events

February 1, 2024

4pm: Harry and Lena

(1970; 62 minutes)

Featuring Speaker Rachel DeGuzman, GEVA Theatre

Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne put their musical chops, intimate bond, and star power to use in this musical variety special, highlighting their gifts for storytelling, music, and connecting with an audience.

February 2, 2024

12noon - Island in the Sun

(1957; 120 minutes)

Set on a Caribbean Island, tensions flare as a bourgeoning, charismatic labor leader (Harry Belafonte) threatens the ruling class, his white rival, and the interracial "harmony" on this island in the sun as scandals—political and marital—take flight. Also stars Dorothy Dandridge, James Mason, and Joan Fontaine.

February 5, 2024

4pm - Till

(2022; PG-13; 130 minutes)

The story of Emmett Louis Till, a 14-year-old boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, and his mother, who pursued justice after his death.

February 7, 2024

4pm - How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?

(2021; 91 minutes)

This documentary depicts the phenomenon of "othering" in America; how marginalized groups are mistreated in a country that allegedly cares about equality and justice.

February 9, 2024

4pm - New Faces

(1954; 79 minutes)

Eartha Kitt's screen debut based on a successful Broadway show comprised of a series of comedy skits and musical numbers.

February 12, 2024

4pm: Summer of Soul (…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Featuring: Speaker Antoine McDonald, Project Manager of the Archive of Black History and Culture, Local History Division, RPL

(2021; 118 minutes)

This documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which promoted Black pride and the unity of the Black community.

February 15, 2024

4pm - Daughters of the Dust

(1991; 113 minutes)

Set in 1902, this drama is about a community of West African slaves living on an island off South Carolina.

February 17, 2024

2pm - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

(1967; 108, minutes)

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play an affluent couple whose liberal views are put to the test when their daughter brings home her fiancé—a black doctor. One of the first films to depict interracial marriage.

February 21, 2024

4pm - Take Me To The River

(2014; 98 minutes)

Several generations of award-winning Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians come together to create a historic new album they hope will transcend race and gender differences.

February 23, 2024

1pm - The Color Purple

(1985; PG-13; 154 minutes)

Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prizewinning novel. Set between 1909 and 1949, Celie (Whoopi Goldberg), a Southern Black woman, gradually gains self-respect as she strives to educate herself. Also stars Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Margaret Avery.

February 24, 2024

1pm - Visions of the Spirit: A Portrait of Alice Walker

(1989; 57 minutes)
Filmed over the course of three years, this intimate documentary keeps the Pulitzer-Prize winning author company at home in California, on the set of the film "The Color Purple," and in her hometown of Eatonton, Georgia.

February 26, 2024

4pm - For Colored Girls

(2010; rated R; 120 minutes)

The interconnected lives of nine Black women. Directed by Tyler Perry.

February 28, 2024

4pm - Watermelon Man

(1970; 96 minutes)

When bigoted insurance salesman Jeff Gerber inexplicably becomes Black overnight, his slice of the American dream is turned upside down. Directed by Melvin Van Peebles.

Date: February 1-29, 2024

Cost: Free

Location:
Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County,
115 South Avenue,
Rochester, NY 14604.

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