ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke’s Grandin Theatre is celebrating Black History month with a tribute to those making their mark in film.
The series kicked off Tuesday night with the start of the 3rd annual African American Film Festival.
It celebrates not only those on camera, but directors, producers, engineers and more. They’ll show four movies this month, The first was Higher Learning, a 1995 movie about racial tensions on a college campus. On February 11, it’s “Love and Basketball”, February 18 is “Cabin in the Sky” and February 25 is “House Party.”
The Grandin said it has a responsibility as a cultural center to make events like this a reality.
“We want to make sure that everyone in our community feels welcome here, the contributions of African Americans in the film industry are century deep, not just actors, but writers, directors, engineers and we feel like it’s important to celebrate that every year," Grandin Theatre Foundation Executive Director Ian Fortier said.
Each movie starts at 7:15 p.m. and admission is free on a first-come, first-serve basis.