Arts & Culture

Wolf Mankowitz’s The Bespoke Overcoat is a theatrical adaptation of The Overcoat, a short story written in 1842 by the Ukrainian-born Nikolai Gogol, who along with Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Gorky is one of the most renowned contributors to Russian literature. The one-acter’s plot seems simple enough, except that it is rendered more complex with an otherworldly dimension Mankowitz derived from the original story (what would you expect from someone who wrote Dead Souls, also written in 1842?).

Scenic designer Rich Rose’s set deftly combines the locations delineated in the play (although there is no samovar, alas!), which takes place in London’s East End at some unspecified time in the early to mid-20th century. Fender (a cherubic Harry Herman) is an aging Russian émigré Jew and shipping clerk, who has worked decades for a family business at a desk located on stage right, in front of racks and racks of overcoats. Despite the expertise he has accumulated over the years, Fender has little pay and even less respect than Rodney Dangerfield to show for his lifelong labors.

The 32nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, took place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. During Black History Month PAFF annually screens movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions and Hallmark Channel TV-movies to indies, foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, animation, etc. Films span the spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here are reviews of short films that audiences had an opportunity to see at PAFF as part of the “New Media” screening:

MOMENTS: A GROUP HUG FOR GROUP THERAPY FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

The 32nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, took place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. During Black History Month PAFF annually screens movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions and Hallmark Channel TV-movies to indies, foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, animation, etc. Films span the spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here is a review of just one of the off-the-beaten track films that audiences have an opportunity to see:

THIS IS LAGOS: A CRIME DRAMA IN URBAN AFRICA

A squeamish soul, I’ve avoided seeing any of the various stage or screenpermutations of the London-set Sweeney Todd saga, which - according to A Noise

The 32 nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, is taking
place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. During Black History Month PAFF annually screens
movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions and Hallmark Channel TV-movies to indies,
foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, animation, etc. Films span the
spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and
beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here are reviews of
just a few of the films audiences have an opportunity to see.
KIPEKEMBOI: KENYA’S GENIUS, FROM A MUD HUT TO WALL
STREET
African director Charles Uwagbai’s charming Kipkemboi is a well-made Kenyan-Canadian co-
production that has almost every ingredient for a film to succeed. In no particular order these
factors include: A David versus Goliath storyline that has you rooting for the underdog;
attractive protagonists; hiss-worthy villains; plot twists; young love; on location shooting at
exotic places; strong female characters; an uplifting POV; and more.

The 32nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, is taking place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. During Black History Month PAFF annually screens movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions and Hallmark Channel TV-movies to indies, foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, etc. Films span the spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here are reviews of just a few of the films audiences have an opportunity to see.  

BECOMING BLACK: FROM BERLIN TO BENIN & TOGO, GROWING UP BLACK IN A “RED” COUNTRY

The 32nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, is taking place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. PAFF screens movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions to indies, foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, etc. Films span the spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here are reviews of just a few of the films audiences have an opportunity to see.  

ME CAPTAIN (IO CAPITANO): FANTASTIC VOYAGE

Writer/director Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things, a tasty full-course movie meal that serves up spectacular cuisine and rarefied romance, is an acquired taste. For popcorn munching multiplex denizens conditioned by frenetic superhero histrionics and antics, the 135-minute Taste will likely unspool at an excruciatingly slow pace, and requires reading dreaded subtitles, to boot. Likewise, those who expect dollops of politics in their pictures may be sorely disappointed. But Taste probably hits the spot for most cinematic connoisseurs and gourmets of fine dining.

Rogue Machine’s first play of its 16th season is a worthy, thought provoking addition to the canon of what is arguably Los Angeles’ best theatre company. There’s an expression that was popularized by second-wave feminists in the sizzling sixties that “the personal is political,” and playwright Juan José Alfonso’s Middle of the World skillfully succeeds in synthesizing both. This one-act drama mixes race, romance, class, idealism, egoism, age and more as Glenn Joyner (Christian Telesmar), a 30-ish African American who works in New York’s financial sector, enters the backseat of a rideshare at JFK Airport. 

A not-so-funny thing happened on the way to the Forum – I mean Geffen Playhouse: A motorcade of truly presidential proportions waylaid traffic, with siren-blaring, orders-giving motorcycle cops squealing via loudspeakers and SUV-type vehicles tying up traffic, so some self-important high-muck-a-muck could impose a mini-police state over Westwood in order to reach some destination. The thought crossed my mind: Either Trump has launched his pig putsch or is Kamala going to watch POTUS on the boards? Through some deft maneuvering I managed to make my way through the pig-created traffic jam (your tax dollars at work!) and reach the Geffen in time for the curtain, with, thankfully, no White House pompous bigwig in sight. (Ironically, a POTUS press release I received had this in the subject line: “POTUS is Now in L.A. (Without the traffic.)” Can I sue for false advertising?)