One World Films will open its 2019 film festival series with the showing of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" on Feb. 10 at the Kentukcy Theatre (note: this opening screening was originally scheduled for to take place at the Michael and Ellen Karpf Auditorium in UK’s Health Care Hospital). The locally organized festival will feature nearly a dozen film showings in the weeks that follow, all of which are free and open to the public.
One World Films, the organization behind this annual festival, is a non-profit organization created with the vision of presenting films that challenge, highlight social issues and broaden viewers’ outlook through glimpses into culture, ethnicity and politics.
Since its inception in 1998, One World Film Festival has shown over 160 films at venues that include the Lexington Public Library, the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University in addition to the Kentucky Theatre, where all of this year's screenings will take place. Some movie screenings are followed by discussions about the issues brought up in the films.
2019 One World Film Festival Schedule:
- "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" at 11 a.m. on Feb. 10 (note time and location change from originally announced schedule!)
- "Dealt" at 7 p.m. on Feb. 14 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "I Am Evidence" at 10 a.m. on Feb. 16 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "Wondrous Oblivion" at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "RBG" at 10 a.m. on Feb. 23 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "Moonlight" at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "Wonder" at 10 a.m. on March 2 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "Wind River" at 7 p.m. on March 7 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "Dolores" at 10 a.m. on March 9 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "Shoplifters" at 7 p.m. on March 14 at the Kentucky Theatre
- "A Man Called Ove" at 10 a.m. on March 16 at the Kentucky Theatre
In addition to these 11 films, One World Films will be showing "Loving" at the Kentucky Theatre at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21 in conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Separate from the main festival, this annual event is coordinated with other activities occurring in Lexington throughout the day. OWF has been screening a film on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day every year since 2009.
From acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols, this film celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Their civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia, went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 1967 reaffirmed the very foundation of the right to marry – and their love story has become an inspiration to couples ever since.
Visit https://lexfilm.org/ for more information or to see trailers and descriptions of each film featured in this year's festival.