Celebration of black cinema to honor sisters Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen
Ada M. Babineaux, founder and director of the San Antonio Black International Film Festival, is a floored that actress Phylicia Rashad will be taking part in the event.
“I’m just honored that Phylicia has agreed and she is coming through,” said Babineaux, who launched the festival in 2019. “She’s so busy. She’s the dean of Howard (University) school of fine arts and she’s directing a play. I’m like, Wow! You fit us in! Thank you!”
Rashad, who is probably best known for playing the no-nonsense mom in “The Cosby Show,” will be receiving the festival’s Ankh Achievement Award. Her sister Debbie Allen, an actress and dancer who currently is appearing in and serving as an executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” also will receive the award, though Babineaux isn’t sure Allen will be able to attend because of her schedule.
“I’m still working on her,” she said. “If she comes, that will be amazing.”
The Ankh is a lifetime achievement award. Previous recipients are filmmaker Charles Burnett,writer and director Euzhan Palcy, and animator and “The Proud Family” creator Bruce W. Smith.
“This year, my mind geared towards HBCUS,” said Babineaux, a San Antonio native and Howard graduate. “So I wanted to bring in someone who exemplified excellence in the arts, and they were from HBCUS, and they were from Texas, so Phylicia and Debbie were a no-brainer.”
The award is the heart of the festival’s opening night on Thursday. The evening will include performances by poet Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, dancer/choreographer Tanesha Payne and tap dancer Raul Tennesse, who will be accompanied by musician Ronald Way.
The festival runs through Oct. 8. It includes screenings, workshops, panel presentations, a free tour of St. Philip’s College, a town hall discussion about the significance of HBCUS and an awards brunch.
There is a virtual element, too, with some films and events being streamed.
There also will be a free outdoor screening of “School Daze,” Spike Lee’s 1988 movie digging into campus life at a fictional HBCU. The Oct. 7 showing will include food trucks, vendors and performances. It begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Philip’s College.
“It’s going to be fun to bring together our generation, who grew up on ‘School Daze,’ with the nuance of the younger generation that knows nothing about it,” Babineaux said. “The intergenerational exchange will be really nice.”
She hopes that a diverse range of people come out for the festival.
“Everybody thinks, ‘Oh, it’s a Black film festival, it’s primarily targeted to African Americans.’ Yes, but it is a festival that is open to all people, and like I tell everybody, I go to German festivals, I go to Spanish festivals, I go to all kinds of film festivals because I want to see the films,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the screen or what color they are. It’s the stories. It’s connecting emotionally with what you’re presented with.”