"Jackson 5 in Africa" At LA Film Festival

The West Coast premiere screening of "Jackson 5 In Africa," a film of rare footage documenting the Jackson 5 during their 1974 tour in Senegal , will be the centerpiece of the Closing Night Gala for the 2009 Downtown Film Festival=2 0 L.A.; it was announced today by festival organizers. The film will screen twice at 7 pm and 9 pm on Saturday, August 22 with a venue to be announced later.

Tickets will go on sale August 1st.

The screening of the film, which will debut in New York on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at the National Black Theatre in Harlem, is being co-presented with the nonprofit Downtown Film Festival L.A. by ImageNation Cinema Foundation and Hines Media Group.

Narrated by renowned actor Robert Hooks, the camera follows Michael Jackson and family cinema-verité style on their first-ever visit to Africa. The film includes live footage of their visit to an African market, classic live footage of the group spontaneously performing "Hum Along and Dance," and extraordinary footage of the Jackson 5 performing on stage before a packed audience at the height of their career in the mid-Seventies.

"We're thrilled to have the privilege of being the organization that brings this fascinating film to the West Coast," said festival director Greg Ptacek. "As a film festival committed to showcasing the diversity of cinema, we wanted to honor the memory of Michael Jackson with a fitting motion picture p rogram of fresh material. Our L.A. premiere screening of 'Jackson 5 In Africa' amply fulfills both goals."

"The history of the film is nearly as interesting as the footage itself," explains Jaymes A. Hines, President of Hines Media Group. "It was made by a group of African investors who ran out of money trying to finish the film. In 1982, the owner of this film, an anonymous businessman bartered with one of the original producers, acquiring a 16mm print of this rare documentary, in exchange for a rough diamond.

Years later, the film's owner reached out to Gregory Gates, Exec Producer of ImageNation Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to progressive media created by and about people of color, to help him find a collector/buyer for the never-before-screened work. " The makers of this movie shared of our mission to unite throughout the African Diaspora using film and music," said Gates. "We are extremely proud to help further their agenda, while honoring Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5."

Source: MJFC / JK|YM & Associates