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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Pan African Film and Arts Festival, originally planned for early February, has been postponed due to the rise in COVID-19 infections, organizers announced.
``The decision to postpone this year's PAFF did not come easy because we were looking forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary in-person with our community,'' Ayuko Babu, PAFF executive director, said in a statement. ``But we could not in good conscious put the PAFF community in harm's way.
``Our primary concern is always the responsibility we feel towards our staff, artists, audience, and filmmakers who travel to Los Angeles from around the world, and for whom without them, there is no PAFF,'' Babu said. ``We remain committed to the city of Los Angeles, where we've hosted the Pan African Film and Arts Festival for 30 years and will do so again when it is safe.''
Organizers said planning is already under way in hopes of holding the event April 19 through May 1 at various venues, including the Directors Guild of America, Cinemark Baldwin Hills and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. They are also exploring possible online programming.
When it is held, the PAFF will feature more than 150 Black films from the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, the South Pacific, Canada and Asia, organizers said.