On Saturday, Aug. 10, a very special community conversation is scheduled to take place at Studio Park’s Celebration Cinemas following a free screening of the feature film Kemba.
“Kemba is an award-winning film that touches on some major issues plaguing our community: mental health, crime, domestic abuse and addiction,” said Grand Rapids filmmaker Jash’d Kambui Belcher, who will co-host a discussion following the screening with Grand Rapids Second Ward City Commissioner Joe Jones.
Panelists will include the film’s director, Kelley Kali, Michigan’s 82nd House District Representative Kristian Grant (D–Grand Rapids), and Kemba Smith, whose story inspired the film.
Based on the true story of Kemba Smith, Kemba follows the journey of a sheltered college student who falls in love with a man, only to find out he isn’t who he seems. When Kemba learns of her boyfriend Khalif’s true identity as a drug kingpin, he turns abusive—grooming strait-laced Kemba to overlook his illicit dealings. Though she never dealt or handled drugs, in a tragic turn of events, Kemba receives an outrageous sentence for her boyfriend’s crimes—placing her in the middle of the government’s “war on drugs.” Never losing hope, her parents, along with an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, launched a campaign for appeal and later clemency, harnessing the power of Black Civic Organizations, sororities, celebrities, and lawmakers to help free Kemba. The film stars Michelle Hurd (Star Trek: Picard, Law & Order Special Victims Unit), Sean Patrick Thomas (Barabershop, Till), and Nesta Cooper (The Edge of Seventeen) in the title role.
The screening will take place at 2 p.m. at Studio Park, 123 Ionia Ave SW, in downtown Grand Rapids. The Studio Park(ing) Ramp adjoining Studio Park theater and restaurant complex is located at 120 Ottawa Ave SW.
Check out the trailer for Kemba here.
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