Saturday Feb. 19th from 10:30 am to 1 pm at the Village Theatre
In honor of Black History month, on Saturday morning, February 19, the CIFF Student Classic Film Study Series will screen a Columbia Pictures 1961 Classic, A Raisin in the Sun, featuring Sidney Poitier and Cynthia McNeil in a film adaptation of their stage roles in Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play of the same name. A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway 1959, the first Broadway production written by a Black woman and the first directed by a Black man. It is a powerful drama telling the story of one family’s conflicts with each other set against the fight for civil rights in Chicago in the early 1960s.
Ms. Hansberry wrote the screenplay for this superb 1961 film adaptation of her story of the Younger family. She masterfully draws the audience deeply into the lives of three generations of Youngers, living in a cramped Chicago tenement apartment, each with different visions of how to build a better future. Claudia McNeil’s powerful performance as Lena, the family matriarch, and Sidney Poitier’s emotionally wrenching performance as her son, earned them Golden Globe nominations as Best Actress and Best Actor. The film earned Ruby Dee a National Board of Review Award as Best Supporting Actress. It introduced Lou Gossett Jr. to movie audiences in his film debut. Screening will be followed by a guided discussion session analyzing the dramatic narrative the film constructs to tell this moving story of one family’s struggle for equal rights.
The CIFF Student Classic Film Series is open to all public and private high school and middle school students and homeschoolers in those age groups. Series passes are available. Passes are encouraged to get the most out of this innovative program. CIFF is making a limited number of individual student tickets available as seating permits.
For details, to view the upcoming schedule, and to purchase Program Passes or individual event tickets visit: www.coronadofilmfest.com and click on Student Classic Program.
