Lexington's One World Film Festival, which celebrates 15 years this season of presenting films that address issues surrounding culture, society, ethnicity, gender and politics, will host its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Film, "Sing Your Song," at 2 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Kentucky Theatre.
"Sing Your Song" is an up close look at Harry Belafonte's dedication to worldwide human rights. Told from Belafonte's point of view, the film charts his life from a boy born in New York and raised in Jamaica, who returns to Harlem in his early teens where he discovers the American Negro Theater and the magic of performing.
From there the film follows Belafonte’s rise from the jazz and folk clubs of Greenwich Village and Harlem to his emergence as a star. However, even as a superstar, the life of a black man in 1960s America was far from easy and Belafonte was confronted with the same Jim Crow laws and prejudices that every other black man, woman and child in America was facing.
Among other things, the film presents a brief look at the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of an insider, someone who despite his high profile, wasn’t afraid to spend time in the trenches.
For more information about the 2013 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Film, visit www.owff-lex.org.
The 15th Annual Old World Film Festival runs from Feb. 10 - March 14, and will include the following films. All shows are free and open to the public. Please visit the festival's website for more information about the 2013 showings.
2013 One World Film Festival Showings