Free movies hit the big screen in honor of Black History Month

Published 8:52 pm Thursday, February 4, 2016

VAIL STEWART RUMLEY | DAILY NEWS ZERO COST: Through February, free movies will be shown at the Turnage Theatre on Tuesdays at 4 p.m., including “Selma,” which was nominated for best picture at the 87th Academy Awards.

VAIL STEWART RUMLEY | DAILY NEWS
ZERO COST: Through February, free movies will be shown at the Turnage Theatre on Tuesdays at 4 p.m., including “Selma,” which was nominated for best picture at the 87th Academy Awards.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Turnage Theatre and Arts of the Pamlico are showing free movies in February.

Each Tuesday at 4 p.m., movie lovers can find a free movie on the big screen at the downtown Washington theater. The series started this week with the Will Smith film, “The Pursuit of Happiness,” and continues with “Akeelah and the Bee” on Feb. 9, Academy Award Best Picture-nominated “Selma” on Feb. 16 and “The Long Walk Home,” starring Whoopi Goldberg and Sissy Spacek.

“It’s really to reach out to the community that might not necessarily be coming to our larger events — the families,” said AOP programming director Lauri Arntsen.

As part of its mission to provide both free and paid events at the theater, AOP has offered free movies to the public. Last summer, a Sunday series of B-movie cult classics hit the big screen; during December, the theatre featured a rotation of Christmas movies including “Christmas Vacation” and “Miracle on 34th Street” all day, every day.

February’s movies aren’t the only celebration Black History-centric events at the Turnage this month: on Feb. 13, jazz singer Diana Tuffin will perform.

“She’s got quite a huge following in the Triangle,” said AOP Director Joey Toler. “She’s very well regarded amongst jazz and blues aficionados.”

A friend of Washington Postmaster Mya Lynn, Tuffin came at Lynn’s recommendation, Toler said. Lynn also will bring an additional element to the show: the unveiling of two national Black History Month stamps during the intermission of Tuffin’s show.

“The stamp unveiling really does tie in to Black History Month,” Toler said.

The Turnage Theater is located at 150 W. Main St., Washington. Tickets for Tuffin’s Feb. 13 performance are $25 and can be purchased through artsofthepamlico.org, calling 252-946-2504 or stopping by the box office.

 

Free Turnage Movies

Feb. 9, 4 p.m.

“Akeelah and the Bee,” rated PG. A young girl’s love for words leads here to enter a number of spelling contests and unwittingly unites a neighborhood in her quest to compete in a national competition.

 

Feb. 16, 4 p.m.

“Selma,” rated PG-13. Nominated for best picture at the 87th Academy Awards, this film covers the three-month period in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to secure voting rights in the face of violent opposition. This journey resulted in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories of the civil rights movement.

 

Feb. 23, 4 p.m.

“The Long Walk Home,” rated PG. An Alabama bus boycott results in a housekeeper’s exhausting 9-mile walk to and from work. When a white woman offers her a ride, racist tension puts both of their lives in danger, but they eventually find common ground, a strengthened friendship and deep respect.