Lorraine Hansberry
photo by David Attie
WTCI will host a free screening of the new documentary, American Masters - Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart at the Palace Theater on Thursday, Feb. 15.
Review for Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart:
When Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway it changed the face of American theater forever and she, as the first black woman to author a play performed on such a coveted stage, did not shy away from unprecedented subject matter. This documentary portrays the story of her lifetime commitment to fighting injustice and how she found her way to the theater as her medium for activism at a crucial time for black civil rights.
This free screening will begin at 6 p.m. and tickets can be reserved online at www.wtciTV.org/palace.
Sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union, Allied Eye and Brody Jewelers, this free monthly film screening series is hosted by WTCI and invites audiences to enjoy quality, trusted PBS content in a unique new community venue. Guests of the free community series have enjoyed preview screenings of PBS programs since September, including the debut episode of the Masterpiece series Victoria and, more recently, the Academy Award-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro.
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart is a part of American Masters’ year-long Inspiring Woman campaign. This film focuses on the life of the late playwright and activist best known for A Raisin in the Sun, the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. The film’s title reflects Hansberry’s view that “one cannot live with sighted eyes and feeling heart and not know or react to the miseries which afflict this world.”
Featuring Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose as the voice of Ms. Hansberry, interviews with Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Harry Belafonte and Louis Gossett, Jr. and narration by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, this film is the first in-depth presentation of Ms. Hansberry’s complex life. Guests will explore the influences that shaped the childhood, future art and activism of a woman who believed that words could change society.
New sustaining members who register during this screening event will receive a special PBS gift basket as a pledge thank you from WTCI and become Passport members with access to free online streaming content. WTCI Passport members, sustaining members who contribute small monthly amounts, receive online access to local and national PBS programming, priority seating at WTCI screenings and subscriptions to the Chattanooga Magazine.
Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like will premiere on WTCI on March 6 and will be the featured film for the March 8 screening as PBS celebrates the 50th anniversary of “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” The star-studded one-hour special is a heartfelt tribute featuring interviews with celebrities who have been influenced and inspired by Fred Rogers. Tickets can be reserved online at https://tinyurl.com/yayp7jqv.
Visit www.wtciTV.org/palace to register for upcoming screenings and viewers interested in membership and member benefits can contact Member Services Manager, Lisa McDowd, at 702-7819 or lmcdowd@wtciTV.org.