Montclair Film + The Clairidge Celebrate Black History Month

Special Event: Odie Henderson Book Talk + SHAFT (1971)
Friday, February 2 @ 7:00pm
Join us for this special evening exploring the history of Blaxploitation cinema with author Odie Henderson, who will be discussing his new book Black Caesars and Foxy Cleopatras: A History of Blaxploitation Cinema following a one night only special screening of the 1971 classic SHAFT.

LIFE (1999)
Saturday, February 3 @ 11:00am
Tuesday, February 6 @ 7:30pm
During Prohibition, loudmouth Harlem grifter Ray (Eddie Murphy) and the no-nonsense Claude (Martin Lawrence) team up on a bootlegging mission to Mississippi that could bring them big bucks. But they run into trouble when a crooked lawman hits them with a phony murder charge. Ray and Claude are given life sentences and shipped off to jail, where they must think of a way to prove their innocence and avoid the brutal guards while battling their biggest enemies — their opposing personalities.

THE SPACE RACE
Monday, February 5 @ 7:00pm
Free screening presented in partnership with National Geographic Documentary Films, and as part of our Science on Screen® programming.
THE SPACE RACE weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden among many others. In THE SPACE RACE, directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists, and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth. From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in THE SPACE RACE, turning science fiction into science fact, and forever redefining what “the right stuff” looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate, and a fresh history to explore.

POETIC JUSTICE (1993)
Saturday, February 10 @ 11:00am
Tuesday, February 13 @ 7:30pm
Still grieving after the murder of her boyfriend, hairdresser Justice (Janet Jackson) writes poetry to deal with the pain of her loss. Unable to get to Oakland to attend a convention because of her broken-down car, Justice gets a lift with her friend, Iesha (Regina King) and Iesha’s postal worker boyfriend, Chicago (Joe Torry). Along for the ride is Chicago’s co-worker, Lucky (Tupac Shakur), to whom Justice grows close after some initial problems. But is she ready to open her heart again?

I’M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA (1988)
Saturday, February 17 @ 11:00am
Tuesday, February 20 @ 7:30pm
Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to fight bad guys in the 70s.

FRIDAY (1995)
Saturday, February 24 @ 11:00am
Tuesday, February 27 @ 7:30pm
It’s Friday and Craig Jones (Ice Cube) has just gotten fired for stealing cardboard boxes. To make matters worse, rent is due, he hates his overbearing girlfriend, Joi (Paula Jai Parker), and his best friend, Smokey (Chris Tucker), owes the local drug dealer money — and that’s all before lunch. As the hours drag on, Jones and Smokey experience the gamut of urban life, complete with crackheads, shoot-outs and overly sexual pastors, concentrated into one single, unbelievable Friday.