'If Beale Street Could Talk' Brings 1970s Harlem to the Winter KCET Cinema Series on December 11
A Q&A will immediately follow the screening with producers Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner, costume designer Caroline Eselin, and editors Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders.
Academy Award®-winning writer/director Barry Jenkins is back with his first film since the Best Picture Oscar®- winning “Moonlight.” “If Beale Street Could Talk” is Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel — the first English-language feature film based on the work of the author, to whom the movie is dedicated.
Set in early 1970s Harlem, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is a timeless and moving love story of a couple’s unbreakable bond and the powerful embrace of an African-American family, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (screen newcomer KiKi Layne). A daughter and wife-to-be, Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her to artist/fiancé who goes by the nickname “Fonny” (Stephan James). Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.
“The characters in Baldwin’s work are drawn in a very specific way, from Tish to Fonny and on throughout their loves and families,” said Jenkins. “Being the first person entrusted to bring any of Baldwin’s novels to the screen… it’s been a goal of mine to draw these characters as close to Baldwin’s imagining as possible.”
The film screens at 7:00 p.m. at the ArcLight Cinemas in Sherman Oaks. Immediately following the screening, Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond, who can also be seen on KCET’s Must See Movies, will moderate a Q&A session with producers Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner, costume designer Caroline Eselin, and editors Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders. “If Beale Street Could Talk” will be released by Annapurna Pictures on December 14, 2018.
Deadline.com is the presenting sponsor for the winter season of the KCET Cinema Series, which runs October 23 through December 11. The winter series is sold out and there will not be walk-up admissions available for the screenings.
