Producers of the 2013 BronzeLens Film Festival will celebrate the life and legacy of Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize recipient and prolific author, through its screening of the award-winning documentary, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth. The screening will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, 6 p.m., at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center located at 349 Ferst Drive. Both Walker and filmmaker Pratibha Parmar will participate in a post-screening talkback, moderated by Valerie Boyd, associate professor of journalism and Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at the University of Georgia. She is also co-founder of the Alice Walker Literary Society and author of Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston.
In 1983, Walker became the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her groundbreaking novel, The Color Purple. The novel was the inspiration for famed director Steven Spielberg’s 1985 Hollywood film and was adapted as a musical for the stage by Scott Sanders.
"We are honored to host Alice Walker and filmmaker Pratibha Parmar for our 2013 festival kick-off screening. Walker is an American treasure and the film is a must-see for all age groups, races and ethnicities. We are also grateful to our co-hosts Spelman College, Africa in Atlanta, Emory University, The Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech and the Alice Walker Literary Society for making this event come to fruition,” said Kathleen Bertrand, BronzeLens Film Festival executive producer.
Filmmaker Parmar focuses on Walker’s upbringing and evolution during years of turbulent social change, as well as her artistic legacy and political activism. Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, founding director of the Spelman College Women’s Research & Resource Center, is interviewed in the film, as well as Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Quincy Jones, Howard Zinn and Yoko Ono.
"This stunning documentary captures the inspirational and extraordinary life of Alice Walker, a canonical figure in American letters," said Dr. Guy-Sheftall. "Novelist, short-story writer, essayist, activist, teacher, visionary, Walker’s writings have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and her books have sold more than 10 million copies. We are fortunate to host Alice and Pratibha during the Atlanta premiere of Alice Walker: Truth in Beauty. It will be an unforgettable evening."
$25 general admission event tickets are available through Eventbrite at http://blff2013alice.eventbrite.com
About BronzeLens Film Festival
Founded in 2009, The BronzeLens Film Festival of Atlanta, Ga., is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing national and worldwide attention to Atlanta as a center for film production for people of color. Its mission is twofold: to promote Atlanta as the new film Mecca for people of color; and to showcase films and provide networking opportunities that will develop the next generation of filmmakers. Since its inception, the BronzeLens Film Festival has evolved as one of the most comprehensive film festivals for filmmakers of color in the United States. Visit www.bronzelensfilmfestival.com for more information.
Sponsors of the BronzeLens Film Festival are Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Coca-Cola Company Turner, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Delta Air Lines, HBO Documentary Films, BET Networks, Georgia Pacific, The Woodruff Arts Center, AT& T, Macy’s, Institut Française, The Sai Sai Group, Inc., Southern Company, MHR International, Movie Magic, White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails, National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Atlanta Technical College: The Cleveland Dennard Center.
About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a highly selective, liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, Ga., the college's picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Outstanding alumnae include Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman; Sam's Club CEO Rosalind Brewer; JPMorgan Chase Foundation President Kimberly Davis; former acting Surgeon General and Spelman's first alumna President Audrey Forbes Manley; former Harvard College Dean Evelynn Hammonds; author Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu.