[photo credit: 5th Annual Black August Film Festival]
The Pasadena African American Film Foundation scheduled it to open at 10:30 a.m. at the Flintridge Center, 236 West Mountain Street, Suite 106. It is the fifth year for a festival named after a commemoration that began in 1979 inside San Quentin State Prison, where incarcerated men marked the deaths of two brothers.
The closing block holds “Alpha Centauri,” “SuperSHEro: The Journey of Johna Rivers,” “Dena Matriarchs” and “Toll.” Awards follow at 1:00 p.m. in six categories: Best Feature Film, Best Feature Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Short Documentary, Most Historical Film and Best Foreign Film.
Dennis Haywood founded the foundation and directs the festival. Tugene Davis is program director. In a statement announcing the fifth year, Haywood said the festival “belongs to the community.” When the fourth edition opened last August, he said, “Black August is not just a commemoration — it’s a call to action.”
Jonathan P. Jackson died August 7, 1970, in Marin County. His brother George Jackson died August 21, 1971, at San Quentin. The foundation identifies Jonathan Jackson as a Pasadena resident, and displays a line from George Jackson across the top of the festival’s website: “Patience has its limits. Take it too far… And it’s cowardice”
The foundation held its first festival in 2022 and reports that the previous edition screened 50 films from 22 countries for an audience of more than 400. Its stated mission includes documenting Pasadena and Altadena history. It publishes the Pasadena Black Pages, a digital newspaper covering the African American community in both communities since 2015, and runs the Michael Zinzun Film and Journalistic School, a twelve-week program for aspiring filmmakers and journalists from underserved communities.
Tickets are sold online at $15.00 for a single block or $45.00 for a general all-access pass, exclusive of booking fee and local sales tax. Sales end Sunday, and the foundation does not offer refunds.
The foundation has committed the Zinzun students to one film in particular — a documentary on Altadena residents rebuilding after the Eaton Fire. The fire is 19 months past. That film has yet to arrive.
NEED TO KNOW
The 5th Annual Black August Film Festival, presented by the Pasadena African American Film Foundation, closes Sunday, August 16, 2026. The Sunday program is scheduled to open at 10:30 a.m., with “Alpha Centauri,” “SuperSHEro: The Journey of Johna Rivers,” “Dena Matriarchs” and “Toll,” followed by awards in six categories at 1:00 p.m. Admission is $15.00 for a single block or $45.00 for a general all-access pass, exclusive of booking fee and local sales tax; sales end August 16 and the foundation does not offer refunds. The venue is the Flintridge Center, 236 West Mountain Street, Suite 106, Pasadena, California 91103. For more, call (626) 241-5714 or visit blackaugustfilmfest.com.
Ticket link: https://filmfreeway.com/BlackAugustFilmFestival/tickets
