Pan African Film Festival Set to Screen Black Panther Documentary

The 29th Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) has reportedly announced that it will screen the revealing Black Panther documentary, 41st and Central: The Untold Story of the L.A. Black Panthers. This comes after the filmmaker, Gregory Everett, passed away from COVID-19 towards the end of January this year. Everett, the son of Black Panther member Jeffery Everett, was known for his conscious filmmaking especially his documentary on the Southern California chapter of the Black Panther Party. The documentary will show at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival which will run from the 28th of February to the 14th of March.

Read: 'Judas and the Black Messiah' Added to 2021 Sundance Film Festival

Everett's film, according to festival organisers, particularly focuses on the events that shaped the complicated and often contradictory legacy of the Los Angeles chapter. Founded by Black college students, the documentary uses archival footage and first-hand accounts by surviving members who retell the murders of party members at the University of California, Los Angeles. Additionally, the documentary reveals the complicity of the Los Angeles Police Department that led to the end of the Black Panthers and the eventual demise of the group in other states. The documentary was well received when it first screened at the 2010 Pan African Film Festival and won the "Audience Favourite Documentary".

According to a press release, the festival producer Odududwa Olatunji had this to say about the passing of Everett and his documentary screening: "Greg was a man of great talent. In addition to being one of the early ambassadors of hip hop, he was a noted filmmaker. His presence will be felt throughout L.A. as his work lives on."

The resurgence of the documentary follows the critically acclaimed 2021 Black Panther film, Judas and the Black Messiah. The pre-screening of 41st and Central: The Untold Story of the L.A. Black Panthers will be virtually screened globally on the 20th of February 2021. The ticket proceeds will reportedly go to Everett's family.

The festival screens more than 200 films made about Africans or by people of African descent from around the world.

Watch the trailer below.

41st & Central Official Trailerwww.youtube.com