Director Euzhan Palcy Set To Be Feted At Fest

Euzhan Palcy

In celebration of Caribbean Heritage month in June, the Caribbean Heritage Organization (CHO) will kick-off its CaribbeanLens™ International Film & Art Festival on June 10 with a special tribute to Martinique-born, revered, award-winning director, writer and producer Euzhan Palcy.

For the first time, the festival, which runs June 10 – 14, will dedicate three nights to showcase a slate of films by one filmmaker. Palcy’s César Award-winning film  SUGAR CANE ALLEY will be the festival’s opening night film on Monday, June 10 at the Historic Graumann’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Her acclaimed apartheid-era film A DRY WHITE SEASON, starring Donald Sutherland and earning Marlon Brando a Best Actor in a Supporting Role Academy Award nomination, screens Thursday, June 13 at the Egyptian Theater. The final film, the rarely-screened music fantasy SIMÉON, runs Friday at the Writers Guild Theater.  Each film will feature a post-screening Q&A with Palcy, who rarely visits Hollywood from her Paris base.

The screenings at the CaribbeanLens™ International Film & Arts Festival also marks the 30^th anniversary of the release of A DRY WHITE SEASON and the 35^th anniversary of SUGAR CANE ALLEY’S release.

"It's a great honor and a tremendous joy to have the CaribbeanlLens International Film Festival showcase three of my films and present me with the Trailblazer Award. It is humbling to be asked to join all those who have made lasting contributions to the growth and flourishing of American culture across multiple fields of human endeavor,” said Palcy. “Representing my Martinique heritage is very important to me and to my work. I look forward to returning to Hollywood for this special recognition."

“Euzhan Palcy is one of the most respected directors of our time and a treasured member of our Caribbean family. We are honored to have her join us for three nights of the festival and to celebrate her achievements at the gala,” said Marva Griffiths Herman, executive producer, CaribbeanLens International Film Festival.

Born in Martinique, Palcy directed SUGAR CANE ALLEY (Rue Cases Negres) in 1983, putting the French West Indies on the world cinema stage. This critically acclaimed movie went on to win the prestigious César Award (French Academy Award) for best first film making. Palcy is the first black director (male or female) to be granted this prestigious award. SUGAR CANE ALLEY won more than 17 international awards including the Silver Lion and Best Actress awards at the Venice Film Festival. Palcy successfully brought back Marlon Brando to cinema screens with the anti-apartheid film, A DRY WHITE SEASON. She traveled to South Africa defying the special section of the apartheid regime with the help of Dr. Nthato Motlana, President Nelson Mandela’s personal physician and friend, who smuggled her into Soweto undercover. She received the Orson Welles award for the film in Los Angeles in 1989. After his historic release from Robben Island in 1990, the newly elected President Mandela watched the film and invited her to South Africa in 1995 (during the first anniversary of his election).

Palcy has led the way with many firsts in Hollywood – the first black woman to direct a film for a major studio; the only woman to direct Brando; the first woman director to win a César Award; the first black director to win a César Award.

Tuesday night of the festival will feature films and shorts from Caribbean countries including the Bahamas, Curacao, Jamaica, and Barbados, screening at the Egyptian Theater (lineup TBA), 4 p.m. – 10 p.m. Wednesday, June 12 will recognize Dominican Republic Night at the Movies, with films reflecting that dynamic, diverse island country.

Click here to purchase CaribbeanLens™ screening tickets and for more information.

The weeklong festival concludes Saturday night, June 15, with the Caribbean Heritage Salute to Hollywood Excellence & Gala at the Sheraton Universal. The festival will bestow Palcy with the Trailblazer Award. Other awards to be presented: Robert Nesta Marley Humanitarian Award to Robin Petgrave, Founder & Executive Director, Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum; Excellence in Entertainment to Amanda Seales, comedian, and actress (“Insecure,” “Amanda Seales: I Be Knowin”); Excellence in Entertainment Law to Gordon Bobb, Partner, Del Shaw Moonves 

Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano; Rising Sun to Michele Weaver, Actress (“Love Is…,” “Council of Dads”). Festival-goers will have the chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Martinique.

For more information about the Gala, here. 

Festival and Gala sponsors include Clément Rhum, Grenada Film Commission, Dominican Republic Has it All, La Martinique.

ABOUT THE CARIBBEAN HERITAGE ORGANIZATION

The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the blending of the Caribbean and American cultures and talent to create unique and outstanding work and to raise global awareness of the new renaissance of film-making and music production that the Caribbean region is currently experiencing. CaribbeanLens™ also serves as a platform for international dialogue and collaboration in entertainment education, financing, and production.

For more information on the Caribbean Heritage Organization and Caribbean-American Heritage Month, please visit www.caribbeanheritage.org, and the official website of Caribbean-American Heritage Month, www.caribbeanamericanmonth.org.