This winter the Bruce Museum has partnered with the Connecticut Film Festival to present Movie Nights. In February, which is Black History Month, the Bruce will show four films on that theme.

 

This winter the Bruce Museum has partnered with the Connecticut Film Festival to present Movie Nights. In February, which is Black History Month, the Bruce will show four films on that theme.

 

First up is Spike Lee’s “School Daze,” a musical/drama starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell-Martin. The film focuses on fraternity and sorority members clashing with other students at a historically black college during homecoming weekend. The screening is Friday, February 8.

 

“Pitching Man: Satchel Paige Defying Time” celebrates the life of one of baseball’s most enduring legend. In an era when baseball was segregated, Paige was the single most important player in the Negro Baseball Leagues, and in 1948 went on to triumph in the major leagues as a 42-year-old rookie. The film will be shown February 13. The evening will feature a Q&A with director/screenwriter and baseball historian Craig Davidson.

 

Next up, on February 20, is “The Fields of Margraten: Bitter Harvest.” The sobering documentary takes viewers back to 1944, when the Netherlands town of Margraten had 1,300 residents. By V-Day their lives had been changed forever after a U.S. Army company of 280 African-American servicemen was commanded to take over much of their farm lands and dig the largest American and Allied forces cemetery in World War II, interring over 28,000. Jeff Wiggins, the last surviving gravedigger, is the featured guest.

 

The last in the series is “Privacy,” which will be shown February 27. Amidst a web of romance, murder, and political intrigue, “Privacy” explores the dangerous, unintended consequences of privacy invasion taken too lightly. The featured guest is producer Anre Garrett.

 

All screenings are at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20; $65 for all four films. Most evenings feature a VIP reception with principals of each film. Complimentary refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

 

To purchase tickets, visit brucemuseum.org and click on Movie Night(s) at the Bruce Museum under Events.