Sankofa African American Theatre Company in partnership WITF is proud to present the 2020 Sankofa Reel2Real Virtual Film Festival
December 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th and January 18th at 7 pm.
This year's theme is “In The Eye of The Beholder- Then & Now". Join us as we screen and discuss groundbreaking public television documentaries including a WITF original production from 1968.
Sankofa Film Festival Schedule
A Time to Act Parts 1 & 2
Monday, December 7 | 7pm--Virtual Film Screening & Panel Discussion
Produced in 1968 by WITF. In the spring of 1968, racial tensions were high, the nation reeled from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the community was rallying for policies to end de facto segregation in public schools. WITF produced the four-part television documentary series “A Time to Act” and held community forums to facilitate respectful discussion about racism in our region and beyond.
A Time to Act Parts 3 & 4
Tuesday, December 8 | 7pm--Virtual Film Screening & Panel Discussion
Produced in 1968 by WITF. In the spring of 1968, racial tensions were high, the nation reeled from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the community was rallying for policies to end de facto segregation in public schools. WITF produced the four-part television documentary series “A Time to Act” and held community forums to facilitate respectful discussion about racism in our region and beyond.
Tell Them We Are Rising:
The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
Monday, December 14 | 7pm--Virtual Film Screening & Panel Discussion
The rich history of America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) began before the end of slavery, flourished in the 20th century, and profoundly influenced the course of the nation for over 150 years — yet remains largely unknown. With Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities, the story of the rise, influence, and evolution of HBCUs comes to life.
Driving While Black:
Race, Space and Mobility in America
Tuesday, December 15 | 7pm--Virtual Film Screening & Panel Discussion
Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America - a ground-breaking, two-hour documentary film by acclaimed historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin and Emmy-winning director Ric Burns - will air on PBS on Tuesday, October 13th, 2020, at 9pm (check your local listings). The film examines the history of African Americans on the road from the early 1900’s through the 1960’s and beyond. The film explores deeply embedded dynamics of race, space and mobility in America - focusing in particular on the historical background, unfolding reality, and contemporary relevance of the experience of African Americans navigating the nation’s highways during the last four decades of Jim Crow - one of the most crucial, turbulent and transformative periods in American racial, cultural, social and political history. With urgent and powerful reverberations in American society today, this riveting history - at once revelatory, deeply troubling, and inspiring for what it reveals about human courage, creativity, and commitment to change - provides a crucial window on issues of class, gender, law enforcement, discrimination, automobile culture and national identity.
A Class Divided
Monday, January 18 | 7pm--Virtual Film Screening & Panel Discussion
Produced in 1985 by the PBS series Frontline. The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, Jane Elliott, a teacher in a small, all-white Iowa town, divided her third-grade class into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups and gave them a daring lesson in discrimination. This is the story of that lesson, its lasting impact on the children, and its enduring power 30 years later.