Women’s centre takes group to see ‘Black Panther’

THE Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre followed in the footsteps of international stars yesterday when it booked a cinema at Hemingways Movies to watch Marvel’s Black Panther with some of the women the organisation supports.

The film has been wellreceived all over the world, with celebrities booking out cinemas for the underprivileged to see it.

According to MovieWeb – a website that writes about movies – Black Panther has become one of Marvel’s most lucrative creations, bringing in $905.1-million (R11-billion) from domestic US and international sales, making it the second highest grossing Marvel film of all time at the box office. Marvel’s 2012 Avengers brought in $1 519-billion (R17trillion). Speaking with the Saturday Dispatch before watching the movie, Masimanyane’s Dr Lesley-Ann Foster said the rave reviews the movie had received compelled them to have the special screening for their staff and some of the women they help.

“The women in the film are strong and we need to watch such content that will inspire us. Also, the film features some South African actors and the entire cast is black, so this is an affirmation for us. This is a film everyone should watch, especially the women we work with,” she said.

“We deal with a lot of critical issues women face, such as domestic violence and rape.

“These are all heavy subjects that we have to deal with and this was a way of just taking them away from that and treating them to an afternoon out as a team,” she said, adding that the team comprised 60 members and an additional 38 women from Duncan Village and Scenery Park, making the total 98.

Masimanyane followed in the footsteps of US stars such as Kendrick Lamar, Serena Williams, Zendaya, Chadwick Boseman, Travis Scott, Octavia Spencer and TI, who all booked cinemas for the underprivileged to watch the movie. South African actors Dr John Kani and Connie Chiume, who both feature in the film, also booked a cinema in Johannesburg for more than 300 children to see the film.

According to the 947 website, the station’s Breakfast team raised more than R1million to take over 8 000 young South Africans from underprivileged backgrounds to see the film, Black Panther.