Black Music In Film

Celebrate Black History Month at The Village at SOPAC during their Black Music in Film Series.

Dreamgirls
January 30 & February 2
A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.

Cadillac Records
February 6 & 9
In 1947 Chicago, Polish emigrant and bar owner Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) hires a blues combo that includes guitarist Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and harmonica player Little Walter (Columbus Short). Waters’ and Walter’s success leads to Chess’ management of stars Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and others. Inevitably, business and personal lines blur as the sometimes-turbulent lives of the musicians play out.

Ray
February 13 & 16
The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.

Get On Up
February 20 & 23
A chronicle of James Brown’s rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.

Straight Outta Compton
February 27 & March 2
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels-armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent-stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.