South Side Film Festival begins July 11

South Side Film Festival begins July 11July 03, 2008Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

The Syracuse University South Side Initiative and the Southside Community Coalition will host the popular South Side Film Festival on four upcoming Fridays. The festival is co-sponsored by Visual Technologies.

A film will be shown beginning at 8 p.m. in the Key Bank parking lot, located on the corner of South Salina and Colvin streets, on each of the following Fridays: July 11, July 18, July 25 and Aug. 1. The showings are free and open to the public. Those attending should bring chairs or blankets. Refreshments will be available for purchase; no coolers, alcohol or glass bottles will be allowed on the premises.

“The Southside Community Coalition is very excited about its second annual Film Festival, after having such a successful first year,” says Khalid Bey, executive director of the Southside Community Coalition. “To be able to provide another opportunity for friends, families and neighbors to join one another for good movies, popcorn and laughs creates such camaraderie within the community. The coalition is happy to be one of the contributors toward the improvement of the south side of our city.”

This year’s lineup:

• “Akeelah & the Bee” (2006) — Starring Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, the film is the story of Akeelah Anderson, an 11-year-old girl from inner-city Los Angeles who works hard and overcomes many obstacles for the chance to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

• “The Great Debaters” (2007) — The film is centered on the efforts of Melvin B. Tolson, the debate coach at historically black Wiley College, to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s. The film stars Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise and Forest Whitaker. The screenplay was written by former Syracuse resident Suzan-Lori Parks.

• “Catch a Fire” (2006) — Based on a true story, the film is a dramatic thriller about terrorism and freedom fighters in apartheid-era South Africa. The film stars Derek Luke and Tim Robbins.

• “Pride” (2007) — Based on true events, the film chronicles the story of Jim Ellis, a charismatic schoolteacher who changed lives forever when he founded an African American swim team in the 1970s in one of Philadelphia’s roughest neighborhoods. The film stars Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac and Kimberly Elise.

For more information on the South Side Film Festival, contact Margie Gantt, director of the South Side Initiative, at 443-1979.