After 10 Years, Festival Leaves the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza

LOS ANGELES – The Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF), America’s largest and most prestigious Black film and arts festival, has moved its Los Angeles headquarters from the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to 6820 Latijera Boulevard Suite 200 Los Angeles, CA 90045. Their new phone number is (310) 337-4737 and the fax number is (310) 337-4736. For more information, please visit www.paff.org.

Currently wrapping up film submissions for its 18th Annual signature event taking place February 10-15, 2010 in Los Angeles, the PAFF was established in 1992, as a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of cultural and racial tolerance and understanding through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression.

It is PAFF’s goal to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images and help to destroy negative stereotypes. We believe film and art can lead to better understanding and foster communication between peoples of diverse cultures, races, and lifestyles, while at the same time, serve as a vehicle to initiate dialogue on the important issues of our times.

I’m working on a list of black film classics or at least were popular enough to be on a must see list. Please comment with more, and I’ll be updating this frequently. Eventually, I’ll get it organized but I wanted to at least get the post started. Some aren’t necessarily black films but celebrate accomplished black actors or cover topics related to race relations.

(in alphabetical order)

1. 4 Little Girls
2. 8 Mile
3. A Raisin in the Sun
4. Akeelah and the Bee
5. Antwone Fisher
6. Baby Boy
7. Bamboozled
8. Before Women Had Wings
9. Beverly Hills Cops
10. Boomerang
11. Boyz in the Hood
12. Car Wash
13. Claudine
14. Cleopatra Jones
15. Coming to America
16. Cooley High
17. Crash
18. Crooklyn
19. Cry Freedom
20. Dave Chapelle’s Block Party
21. Dead Presidents
22. Deliver Us From Eva
23. Desert Bayou
24. Do The Right Thing
25. Dolemite
26. Foxy Brown
27. Friday
28. Get on the Bus
29. Glory
30. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
31. Hairspray
32. Harlem Nights
33. He Got Game
34. Higher Learning
35. Hitch
36. How Stella Got Her Groove Back
37. Hustle & Flow
38. I Am Legend
39. Jason’s Lyric
40. John Q
41. Jungle Fever
42. Love Jones
43. Malcolm X
44. Menace to Society
45. Mississippi Burning
46. Mississippi Massala
47. Mo’ Better Blues
48. New Jack City
49. Philadelphia
50. Pride
51. Purple Rain
52. Ray
53. Sarafina
54. School Daze
55. Sister Act
56. Something New
57. Soul Food
58. Sprung
59. Superfly
60. The Best Man
61. The Color Purple
62. The Hurricane
63. The Inkwell
64. The Manchurian Candidate
65. The Preacher’s Wife
66. The Pursuit of Happyness
67. To Kill A Mockingbird
68. Tsotsi
69. Undercover Brother
70. Waiting to Exhale
71. When the Levees Broke
72. Why Did I Get Married?