Pan African Film Festival co-founders Danny Glover, Ja’Net Dubois, and Ayuko Babu. Photo by Venus Bernardo
LOS ANGELES – Founded by award-winning actor Danny Glover, actress Ja’Net Dubois and Ayuko Babu, the 28th annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) is currently taking place at the Cinemark 15 Theatres, located at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles.
PAFF is the largest Black film festival in the United States and the largest Black History Month cultural event in the nation. This year, it has selected a record-breaking 225 film, representing 52 countries in 26 languages. Plus, ArtFest will feature more than 100 fine artists from around the world. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live action and animation short films.
STATEMENT FROM GLOVER AND BABU
ON THE PASSING OF JA’NET DUBOIS:
“We are shocked and stunned by the passing of one of the founders of the Pan African Film and Arts Festival, and one of the most important shining and guiding lights. Our sister, Ja’Net DuBois, epitomized a true, conscious Pan African artist who mastered the ability to be idealistic and practical at the same time. It’s rare to find a person — let alone an artist — who strikes a wonderful balance.
“If Madame DuBois had lived during the times of the great Pharaohs; or the great kingdoms of Timbuktu; or the great kingdoms in southern Africa, such as the Zimbabwe and Zulu kingdoms, she would have been known as a Jali or a Sangoma. In our contemporary times, she was able to use modern technology to spread her voice, her image, her spirit, her songs and our stories around the globe and touch us with humor, dignity and her ancient wisdom.
“A mighty giant tree has fallen in the forest today! With her death occurring in the midst of the Pan African Film and Arts Festival, she left us an important message — support cultural institutions like her beloved Pan African Film and Arts Festival, and it will point you toward liberation and freedom. If not — like the bluesman, Taj Maahal sings — you’ll stumble and fall.”
~ co-founders Danny Glover and Ayuko Babu,
on behalf of the staff of the Pan African Film and Arts Festival and the many thousands of people who attend it!
ABOUT THE PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVALGearing up for its 28th anniversary, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) is America’s largest and most prestigious Black film festival. Each year, it screens more than 150 films made by and/or about people of African descent from around the world. PAFF holds the distinction of being the largest Black History Month event in the country. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live action and animation short films.
PAFF is a non-profit corporation, founded in 1992 by award-winning actor Danny Glover (“The Color Purple,” “Lethal Weapon” movie franchise), Emmy Award-winning actress Ja’Net DuBois (best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, “Good Times”) and executive director, Ayuko Babu, an international legal, cultural and political consultant who specializes in Pan African Affairs. PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of ethnic and racial respect and tolerance through the exhibit of films, art and creative expression.
The goal of PAFF is to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images, help to destroy negative stereotypes and depict an expanded vision of the Black experience. PAFF believes film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, ethnicities, and lifestyles in an entertaining way while at the same time, serving as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.
ON A SOCIAL NOTE
