By Angelia McGowan

The internationally celebrated Starz Denver Pan African Film Festival (DPAFF) and the largest Black cultural gathering in the Rocky Mountain Region, will convene, for the seventh year on April 24 to 30 at the Starz FilmCenter located on the Auraria campus in Downtown Denver. The festival, a collaboration between the Pan African Arts Society, Denver Film Society and Starz, and presented by the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, will feature multiple mediums of artistic displays in film, visual, cultural and literary arts. In addition to film screenings, provocative panels, and parties, this year’s DPAFF will hone in on the achievements of “Black Women in Film and Television.” This theme, connects to “completion” and the “sacred 7” according to festival founder and outgoing executive director, Ashara Ekundayo and marks a transition and celebration of change in the Pan African Arts Society’s programmatic make-up and focus.

“Then and now we continue to celebrate women’s roles as teachers and keepers of the culture in our communities. I am honored to have played such a pivotal role in putting Denver on the international cultural arts map. Many of the films, events and honorees being featured this year highlight the work of key women in film, music, poetry and academia that have influenced all aspects of our identity,” said Ekundayo.

Ekundayo, who eight years ago turned her graduate thesis at the University of Denver into a community film festival titled, “Through my Sister's Eyes: International Women's Film Festival” with noted guest, Dr. Maya Angelou, is planning a move to South Africa in the next year. With that in mind, she has been working with her board of directors and staff to keep the transition “less traumatic.”

This year’s celebration of Black film will also highlight hip-hop in media. Thanks to the H2A (Hip Hop Association) and their H2O International Film Festival (NYC), there will be a litany of youth-appropriate films from the United States as well as Brazil, Tanzania and Cuba. Additionally, young, local filmmakers will be showcased such as East High student Ian Williams with his short film Inequality and Micah Schaffer will screen his film Death of Two Sons.

Although the Starz Denver Pan African Film Festival launches on Monday, April 24 with its award-winning BLAM (Black Literature Arts & Music) Youth Fest, the official Opening Night Film and Mayor’s AfriChic Gala, hosted by the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs is Wednesday, April 26. Akeelah & the Bee directed by Doug Atchison and starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne will premiere at 6:30 p.m. The evening, co-sponsored by American Family Insurance, will include the DPAFF Outstanding Achievement Awards, live music, food and an open bar.

Included in this year’s festival for the second year will be the youth-run program “BrownSuga Fest” sponsored by The Eulipions Fund. Youth and young adults will enjoy a half day of events and activities including deejays, break dancers, emcees, alternative health practitioners and graffiti artists for a series of performances and interactive sessions on holistic “cipher” activism.

The DPAFF, in partnership with Shadow Theatre Company, will also provide Denver audiences a second chance to experience the unforgettable play, “Emergence-See,” written and directed by actor-poet Daniel Beaty. This VIP reception and award-winning theatrical production is co-sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and Civil Technology.

Showcased within the festival is also “Café Nuba,” the nationally televised, award-winning, spoken-word venue, recognized this year by Westword with the “Mastermind Award for Literary Arts.” The nation’s most provocative poets, musicians and performance artists including Ainsley Burrows, Olu Butterfly, Marc Marcel, Queen Sheba, Medusa and other special VIP guests will be featured. Just Media Fund and Jump Mobile are co-sponsoring this event.

For those interested in having an open and honest dialogue about current issues impacting cultural communities around the world, the annual SOIL Emerging Artists Panel Series on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30 may be their ticket. The panels assemble professionals and students from various genres of the arts including; filmmakers and industry leaders, visual artists, cultural and health activists, writers, poets and hip-hop artists.

The Closing Night Film and Urban Spectrum newspaper “Fade2Black” Party will feature surprise celebrity guests and the DPAFF Audience Film Choice Awards. Additionally, the newly developed “Community ‘Artivist’ Award” recipients will be recognized. They include the African American Leadership Institute, The Spot’s “Art from Ashes” Project, Civil Technology, and Marquis Price, Founder and Executive Director of the Sankofa Artist Collective. These awards are presented to organizations or individuals who work to encourage, engage and support arts education, personal creativity and community engagement.

Other key awards that will be presented during the festival include:

• Beverly Robinson Renaissance Award: Pearl Bowser, film historian, professor and scholar on Oscar Michaeux.
• Heritage Award: Oyafunmike Ogunlano (star of the NAACP Image Award-winning film "Sankofa”)
• Pioneer Awards: BET Pictures Vice President-Nina Henderson Moore, and the director of Sankofa, Haile Gerima.
• SoulSpirit Award: Cicely Tyson, veteran, award-winning actress and activist
• Oscar Brown, Jr. Awards (formally known as the Liberation Award): Local filmmaker/producer donne l. betts for his award-winning documentary Music is My Life, Politics My Mistress; MC Lyte, renowned rapper, author and actor on the UPN hit TV show Half & Half; and poet and Grammy-award winner singer, Jill Scott.

This year's media sponsors include the Urban Spectrum, KUVO radio, KGNU radio, and the Denver Post. Tickets for festival events are available at the Starz FilmCenter Box Office and are free to $35. DPAFF films are $9.

For up-to-date information and schedules, visit www.panafricanarts.org or call 303-298-8188.