The British costume drama, Belle, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays the lead character Dido Elizabeth Belle was the closing film of the Atlanta edition of the Pan African Film Festival this past weekend.
The screening of the film was preceded by an invitation-only luncheon with guests of honor Mbatha-Raw and filmmaker Amma Asante at the newly opened Center for Civil and Human Rights, where Dr. Barbara King delivered the invocation. PAFF executive director, Ayuko Babu, offered greetings and a lesson in history was led by author and professor of history and African American studies (University of Houston) Gerald Horne, who expressed how the British directly impacted slavery in America and how this beautiful film about race, love and politics serves as an example.
