Here is a pic of some of the many who came out to see the film, "SKIN." It was a packed house. And if you look closely you can see YOURS TRULY posing with promoter Mocha Latte.
The poster of the acclaimed 2008 film, "Skin" starring Oscar nominee Sophie Okanedo 
A photo advertising the exhibit, "Race: Are We So Different?"
The crowd during the Red Carpet reception
Inside the RACE exhibit and one of the areas of interest.
One of the featured exhibited items was the Hapa Project.
The project took several everyday people of different races who described themselves base don their heritage Promoter Mocha Latte and patron looks at the project.
In the lobby area people networked.
The entrance to the RACE exhibit.
From Missouri Histiry Museum's website, " Race" is a powerful concept that shapes how one sees others and is seen by others, yet the public poorly understands what race is, and inherent assumptions and misconceptions about race affect scientific and scholarly research. To clarify what race is and what race isn’t, the American Anthropological Association (AAA), with its sections, members and other science and humanities organizations, including the Science Museum of Minnesota, developed an interactive museum exhibition, RACE: Are We So Different?, that allows visitors to learn the history of race, the role of science in that history and the subtle and obtrusive expressions of race and racism in institutions and daily lives.
The exhibit is FREE and runs until April 4.
Attendees included FREETIME's Roy Robinson and his lady.
Also attended were St. Louis Zoo;s Jennifer Poindexter and 4246's Anthony Robinson.
Music was provided by the Tre Buen Trio
Inside the theater was a welcome and housekeeping duties about upcoming events by Maurice Falls
The host of the film was Majic 104.9s Tony Scott who talked about his roots as a Latino and being married to an African American woman and having their children respect both cultures. he also said that he spend over half f his life living in St. Louis coming from Detroit. he also told the crowd that he would be celebrating the big 5-O on Tuesday.
THE FILM, RACE, was then filmed. It was very powerful and gets into the tragedy of being black in a white caste system during Apartheid South Africa.
BEIGE WORLD did a review of the film back in November 2008 at last year;s STL International Film Festival and here is what they had to say about it (AND WE DITTO ITS REVIEW OF IT AS WELL)
EXCERPT
"............ Skin, an independent film directed by Anthony Fabian. This film.... is based on the true story of Sandra Laing, a biracial girl born to parents Abraham and Sannie Laing, both of whom are white Afrikaners, and is set in South Africa during the apartheid era. Sandra is biracial because of what's known in genetics as a throwback, an anomaly in which the black genes in her parents' ancestry never manifested until she was born. Nevertheless, Abraham (Sam Neill) and Sannie (Alice Krige) raise Sandra as a white girl.
The young Sandra (Ella Ramangwane) is tormented in school by her classmates, the teachers, and the principal, because of her appearance. Consequently, the government classifies her as Coloured (the South African term for multiracial), and she's expelled from school.
Undaunted, her father goes to the highest court in the land to have her declared as a white person - which was widely publicized in the press at the time, during the late '60s - but is unsuccessful. However, later, during Sandra's adolescence, a change in South Africa's racial classification law allows children to be classified as the same race as their parents. In the eyes of the law, Sandra was now a white person.
Nevertheless, as a teenager, Sandra (Sophie Okonedo) can never relate to white society because of her appearance, and ultimately starts sneaking off to go to the black townships of South Africa to be among those who look more like her.
She falls in love with a black man, Petrus (Tony Kgoroge), much to the dismay of her parents, especially her father Abraham. She elopes with Petrus to Swaziland, and her father has them arrested and sent to prison. After her imprisonment, she refuses to leave Petrus and return home with her parents. Abraham disowns her, and tells her she can never come back, much to the dismay of her mother Sannie.
From this point on, Sandra lives as a black person in the townships of South Africa, with all the challenges associated with it during the apartheid era. However, over the years, she never forgets about her parents, and always secretly hopes for a reunion.
Years later, when she hears about her father's death, she goes on a mission to reunite with her mother, navigating through government bureaucracy to ultimately find her convalescing in a nursing home after a series of strokes. Their reunion is a joyful one, and is a testament to forgiveness and reconciliation.
There are two poignant scenes in Skin. In one scene, Abraham applies skin lightening creme to young Sandra's face. In another, young Sandra overhears her mother and older brother Leon (Hannes Brummer) discussing how Sandra's appearance has caused so many problems. Upon hearing this, Sandra goes into the bathroom, mixes various household cleaning products into a bowl, and applies the concoction to her skin in an attempt to lighten it. But all she does is cause severe burns to her face and arms. These images of self-hatred were especially striking.
Sophie Okonedo - most known for her roles in Hotel Rwanda and The Secret Life of Bees - delivers an exceptional performance as the elder Sandra. Through clever use of her body language, she successfully communicates Sandra's insecurity about where she truly belongs in the world. At the same time, she convincingly exudes the inner drive and determination to reconcile and make peace with her mother - a trait that, ironically, Sandra inherited from her father Abraham, the man who drove her away. His favorite saying was "Never give up.
Anthony Fabian's choice to portray the young Sandra, Ella Ramangwane, was a stroke of genius. She bears a striking resemblance to the actual Sandra as a child, and she did a wonderful job in the film as well.
The music score, coupled with the sights and sounds of the South African countryside and the black townships, beautifully complement the film, which was shot entirely in Johannesburg. As you watch it on the big screen, you feel as though you're actually there.
Look for more screenings of Skin through Saturday, April 3. The April 3 matinee screening will feature informational tables hosted by local organizations.
No comments:
Post a Comment