I know Tuesday is Valentine's Day and all, but it's a manufactured holiday and I will be spending it alone again this year anyways, so why bother writing about it?!
Instead, I thought I would update you on the events still to come this month at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines relating to Black History Month.
There's been plenty to take in already and the next week or so will continue with several events planned, beginning with a couple of Film House presentations this evening.
At 6 pm there will be a screening of the U.S. film from 2018, "Sorry to Bother You", the debut film for director Boots Riley. It's an R-rated film starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Jermaine Fowle and is presented by The Film House in collaboration with the Brock University Communication, Popular Culture and Film Student Society.
This is part of the Essential Cinema program designed to bring student-led programming to Niagara and basically form part of a list of films deemed to be must-see. Each film in the series will be preceded by a short presentation by the student programmers.
"Sorry to Bother You" follows Cassius "Cash" Green as he starts a new job at a telemarketing company. The film comments on race, class division and the dark side of American business, and the role of Green proved to be a breakout role for Lakeith Stanfield.
Reserved seating can be booked by contacting the PAC box office; tickets are general admission and there is a discount for Film House members.
At 9 tonight there is the second of three screenings this month of another Film House presentation, Saint Omer, with the final screening coming up Thursday of this week at 2 pm. Directed by Alice Diop and rated PG-13, this film came out just last year and is in fact France's official Oscar entry this year.
Starring Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda and Valerie Dreville, Saint Omer follows the novelist Rama, who attends the trial of a mother accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her on a beach in northern France, leaving her to fall victim to the rising tide. But what comes out at the trial it turns out shakes Rama's convictions and calls into question our own judgment.
Seating is once again reserved with a discount for Film House members, and the film is in French with English subtitles.
Moving over to Partridge Hall for a live music event, the PAC presents the acclaimed Nathaniel Dett Chorale in a programme entitled "Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom". It's a two-act opera that tells the story of Harriet Tubman, the legendary Underground Railroad conductor who began life as a slave herself. The story is told in the context of Tubman's tight-knit family of lively characters, based on recent biographies of Tubman.
The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is Canada's first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles and was founded and is still directed by Artistic Director and conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.
Their namesake, of course, had close ties to Niagara.
The performance takes place a week from tonight, February 18th at 7:30 pm and tickets are available through the PAC box office.
Finally on Sunday, February 19th at 2 pm there's another Film House presentation at the PAC, the U.S. film from 2021 entitled "In Our Mothers' Gardens", directed by Shantrelle P. Lewis. Rated NR, the film celebrates the strength and resiliency of Black women and Black families through the complex and often humorous relationships between mothers and daughters.
The film stars Tarana Burke Tina Farris and Shantrelle P. Lewis.
This is a free screening and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Moderator Sodienye Waboso Amajor, a Dora-nominated Nigerian/Canadian artist living and working here in Ontario. Panelists are Katwe Henry, Nicola Hasmatali and Chidera.
There is lots to discover this month celebrating Black History Month, both at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines and various other locations around Niagara and indeed Ontario as well. Take the time if you can to see what you can discover this month and throughout the coming year!
Have a great weekend.
February 11th, 2023.
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