Black Culture Rewind Film screening: 'Daughters of the Dust,' at the SCAD Museum of Art | Friday, July 19, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Ingrained in the beautiful Sea Islands, which dot the Savannah and South Carolina coastlines, is the rich history of the Gullah Geechee people. Descendants of formerly enslaved West and Central Africans, the Gullah Geechee retained many of their cultural practices despite brutal oppression. Enjoy the second installment of Black Culture Rewind, a summer film series presented by the Walter and Linda Evans Center for African American Studies, at the screening of director Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, a 2004 selection for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Dash’s seminal film shines a cinematic light on the rich Gullah Geechee history of St. Helena Island as the fictional women of the Peazant family grapple with the preservation of tradition and the acquiescence of modernity.
Prior to the screening, join in conversation with Gullah Geechee Sweetgrass Basket expert Amadu Massally as he explores the diasporic connections between the Savannah Sea Islands and West Africa. Refreshments will be provided.
This event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, email Andreia Wardlaw, director of the Walter and Linda Evans Center for African American Studies, at [email protected].
Date and Time: Friday, July 19, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location: SCAD Museum of Art, 601 Turner Blvd., Savannah, Georgia
Savannah-Chatham County Public School students return to class on Thursday, August 1. Registration is open and can be done online, but the district will offer an all-day in-person registration event on July 16 at Southwest Middle School. Spanish interpreters will be available and district staff will be there to assist anyone who needs help with the registration process and many other back-to-school needs as listed below.
In-person assistance available for the following services:
- Registration assistance
- Address Updates
- Interpreters
- Student and Family Services: Kinship Affidavits and Residency Affidavits
- SCCPSS McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison
- SCCPSS Foster Care Point of Contact
- Lunch applications
- Transportation/Bus route information
- Families new to the district who need help registering online
- Families with expired Provisionals/Affidavits
- Families who moved over the summer and need to update their address
When: Tuesday, July 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Southwest Middle School, 6030 Ogeechee Road, Savannah, GA 31419
City invites teens to 2024 Speak Up, Speak Now Youth Summit
The City of Savannah invites all teens ages 13–18 to the 2024 Speak Up, Speak Now Youth Summit at the Civic Center on July 18.
The Youth Summit is free and open to the public. Youth will enjoy a full day of games, food, discussions on social media, entrepreneurship, mental wellness and much more. Teens will hear from notable speakers and engage in interactive sessions all while having non-stop fun.
What: 2024 Speak Up, Speak Now Youth Summer Summit
When: Thursday, July 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Savannah Civic Center, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave.
Ages: 13–18
City to host ribbon-cutting for upgrade at Staley Heights Park
The City of Savannah’s Recreation and Leisure Services Department will celebrate new upgrades at Staley Heights Park on Saturday, July 20. The renovation at Staley Heights Park included new swing bays, spring rider, multi-station play structure and a new shade canopy.
Completed at a cost of $58,448 the new renovations are part of the City’s Recreation Re-Imagined initiative which was approved by City Council in 2021. The initiative focuses on re-thinking how recreation is delivered in Savannah and aims to enrich the lives of residents and guests by providing high-quality recreation experiences.
What: Staley Heights Park Ribbon Cutting
When: Saturday, July 20 at 10 a.m.
Where: Dillon Ave. & Sherman Ave.
SCAD Savannah Film Festival to return Oct. 26–Nov. 2, 2024
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival will return Saturday, Oct. 26 through Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 for its 27th year of celebrating the year’s most buzzworthy films.
Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. The “Docs to Watch” series, hosted by Scott Feinberg of "The Hollywood Reporter," will spotlight the 10 best documentaries of the year; "Variety" returns with its “Artisans to Watch'' and “Pixels and Pencils” programming; "Entertainment Weekly" with “Breaking Big,” spotlighting the next generation of Hollywood talent, and Amazon MGM Studios are back for a second year with the LGBTQIA+ Shorts Competition.
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival has become a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, hosting exclusive screenings, competition films, feature films, documentaries, shorts, animated films, panel discussions, and workshops at SCAD's historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces.
During the 2023 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, SCAD screened 26 Oscar-nominated films including nine of the 10 films nominated for best picture. Twenty-five of the festival's honorees, panelists and other visiting guests received nominations and SCAD alumni also worked on three of the five films nominated for best animated feature: "Elemental," "Nimona" and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." The 2023 festival's guests and honorees included Kevin Bacon, Ava DuVernay, Todd Haynes, Cord Jefferson, Greta Lee, Eva Longoria, Jeff Nichols, and Peter Sarsgaard.
Festival passes for 2024 are available now. Individual event tickets will go on sale Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 online at filmfest.scad.edu, by phone at 912-525-5050, or in person at the SCAD Box Office (scadboxoffice.com) at 216 E. Broughton St. in Savannah. Follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram @savfilmfest and TikTok @scaddotedu.
