Plazadrome: Riverbend: The Director's Cut 6K Restoration
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Join us for the Atlanta premiere of one of the most subversive films in Black cinema history.</div><div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>The Spook Who Sat by the Door</i> meets <i>Seven Samurai</i> in a powder-keg action drama about Black resistance, collective power, and a town pushed to fight back.</div><div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Set in 1966, <i>Riverbend</i> stars Steve James (<i>I’m Gonna Git U Sucka</i>) as one of three Black Vietnam soldiers who join forces with a determined local woman, played by Oscar-nominated actress Margaret Avery (<i>The Color Purple</i>), to organize a small Southern town against a violent racist sheriff. Directed by Sam Firstenberg (<i>American Ninja</i>), the film is a powerful story of Black self-determination, community, and collective action that remains fiercely relevant today.</div><div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">After a brief theatrical run and VHS release in 1990, <i>Riverbend</i> disappeared for decades. The recovery of its original 35mm elements made possible a painstaking, director-approved restoration. Now, more than 35 years later, this Georgia-set film will finally screen in Atlanta.</div><div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The evening includes a post-screening conversation and Blu-ray signing with members of the cast and creative team. Scheduled guests include actors Margaret Avery, Julius Tennon (<i>The Woman King</i>), Alex Morris (<i>Baskets</i>), Vanessa Tate Goodrich, and Marcus Coleman; co-producer Valerie Coleman Vance; poster artist Aaron Kai; Debbi James (Daughter of Steve James);<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and restoration executive producer Michael J. Dennis of Reelblack Renaissance.</span></div><span class="im" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Presented in partnership with Black Eye Film Club, Reelblack Renaissance, and the BronzeLens Film Festival.</div><div><br></div></span>ActionPT1H50M2026-08-15Steve James
Margaret Avery
Tony Frank
Sam Firstenberg
Norman Stevens
Samuel Vance
Plazadrome: Riverbend: The Director's Cut 6K Restoration"Plazadrome: Riverbend: The Director's Cut 6K Restoration"Showtimes
August 15, 6:00 pm
Loading...