The 26th Annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) will take place Thursday, February 8 through Monday, February 19 at the Cinemark Rave 15 Theatres/Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (3650 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd) in Los Angeles, California. Jam-packed with an impressive slate of must-see/must-do events, the 2018 PAFF experience promises to be the festival’s most exciting year yet! “The Pan African Film and Arts Festival has been recognized as one of the largest celebrations of Black culture and Black films,” mentions Ayuko Babu, PAFF Executive Director. “For 26 years, we have presented diverse and inclusive programming that features the creative work of leading disruptors in film and entertainment. The 2018 PAFF experience aims to step outside the ‘business as usual’ film festival norms and move the needle forward by amplifying the game-changing voices of influential, ethnic, millennial and LGBTQIA storytellers.” With pride, PAFF shares reign as one of two international film and art festivals that screen a large selection of new Black films and exhibit fine art and unique crafts from around the world. This year’s confirmed lineup showcases over 170 films from over 40 countries within five continents and in 26 languages! What’s more, as an official Oscar-qualifying festival for shorts and live-action films, PAFF will hold special screenings for several works that are up for consideration for the 90th Annual Academy Awards ®. From must-see opening and closing night features, to a red carpet celebration of an industry icon, and the exclusive screening of 2018’s most anticipated film, the 26th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival is an event you don’t want to miss! Take a peek at our brief snapshot of marquee screening experiences that you can expect: MARQUEE FILMS OPENING NIGHT Love Jacked (US) Directed By: Alfons Adetuyi Date: Thursday, February 8 Time: 6PM Red Carpet | 7PM Screening A warm family comedy centered around Maya, a headstrong 28-year-old with artistic ambitions and her father Ed, who wants a dutiful daughter to run the family store. Ed is shocked when Maya, asserting her independence, decides to travel to Africa for inspiration and returns with a fiancé. Stars Amber Stevens-West, Shamier Anderson, Lyriq Bent, Keith David, Mike Epps, Marla Gibbs, Angela Gibbs, Demetrius Grosse and Nicole Lyn. Cast members will be present. CENTERPIECE **PRIVATE RED CARPET SCREENING** Date: Wednesday, February 14 PAFF will host a private screening of 2018’s most anticipated film for PAFF founders, sponsors, partners, friends and esteemed influencers. Stay tuned to www.PAFF.org for more details! CLOSING NIGHT Traffik (US) Directed By: Deon Taylor Date: Sunday, February 18 Time: 5:45PM Red Carpet | 6:45PM Screening Journalist Brea and her boyfriend John are off for a romantic weekend in the mountains. On their way up the coast they stop in a small town and are accosted by a group of men on motorcycles. Barely avoiding a fight, Brea and John continue on their trip, unaware that they have inadvertently come into possession of a cell phone–a cell phone that the bikers are desperate to retrieve. Now, alone in the mountains in an isolated rental home, Brea and John must defend themselves against the bikers who will stop at nothing to get the phone, destroy the evidence it holds and kill anyone who would tell their secrets. Stars Paula Patton, Omar Epps and Laz Alonso. Cast members will be present. SPOTLIGHT SCREENINGS Behind the Movement (US) – Presented by TVOne Directed By: Aric Avelino Date: Friday, February 9 Time: 7PM Red Carpet | 8PM Screening King of the Stage: The Woodie King, Jr. Story (US) – World Premiere Directed By: Juney Smith Date: Saturday, February 10 Time: 6PM Red Carpet | 7:15PM Screening | 9PM Lifetime Achievement Presentation Nothing Like Thanksgiving (US) Directed By: Mark Harris Date: Saturday, February 17 Time: 7:15PM Red Carpet | 8PM Screening UP FOR OSCAR CONSIDERATION Félicité (Senegal) – Oscar Short List Directed By: Alain Gomis Screening Dates & Times: Friday, February 9 @ 8:50PM Saturday, February 17 @ 9PM The Train of Salt and Sugar (Mozambique) – LA Premiere Directed By: Licínio Azevedo Screening Dates & Times: Wednesday, February 14 @ 7:30PM Saturday, February 17 @ 8PM The Wound (Inxeba) (South Africa) – Oscar Short List Directed By: John Trengrove Screening Dates & Times: Saturday, February 10 @ 7:05PM Tuesday, February 13 @ 6PM Monday, February 19 @ 9PM Woodpeckers (Dominican Republic) Directed By: José Maria Cabral Screening Dates & Times: Saturday, February 10 @ 8:40PM Friday, February 16 @ 1:25PM]]>