Mario Van Peebles’ “Baadasssss!” to Screen at RIFF

A masquerade party will follow this screening.

Saturday, November 13, will prove to be one “Baadasssss!” night for RIFF attendees! Special guest Director,  Mario Van Peebles will be in attendance.

Van Peebles’ film “Baadasssss!” chronicles the complicated production of his father, Melvin Van Peebles’ , classic 1971 film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." Playing his father in the film, Mario Van Peebles offers an unapologetic account of Melvin's brash and sometimes deceptive conduct on the set of the film, including questionable antics like writing bad checks, tricking a local fire department and allowing his son, Mario, to shoot racy sex scenes at the age of 11.

Melvin Van Peebles told NPR in an interview (1990), "My original reason for going into films was that I had gotten tired of seeing Blacks portrayed in an image that I didn't agree with. And so I said, gee, I can do better than that. And if you don't control your images, then you don't have a base for controlling your destiny. So I wanted to control how I was perceived.”

There is a movement at work in the biographical drama, as it challenges the narrative of the cinematic portrayal of African Americans.

In a 2004 interview with NPR, Mario Van Peebles shared sentiments of his father’s work and the impact behind it, “If Ali were, you know, one of the first athletes to use the ring not just to box but to stand for something, then Melvin Van Peebles was one of the first filmmakers to use the silver screen not just to entertain us but to stand for something; to say, we no longer want to be depicted as butlers and maids or as uber-Negroes trying to fit in and guess who's coming to dinner? That's fine. It's got its place. But there's also a place for folks - Black folks in cinema that do live to the end, that do have a sexuality, that are empowered and are not just sort of dealing with the oppressor.”

The film will screen Saturday November 13, at 4:45pm at the Rome City Auditorium. Following the film, a masquerade party will be held at the Lewis Loft in downtown Rome. 

Van Peebles will be presented with the inaugural Melvin Van Peebles Award at the festival, named after his father (the late actor, filmmaker, playwright, novelist, and composer), the Godfather of African American film.

Passes can be purchased at riffga.com. 

Pass options include all access Patron passes, day passes, as well as individual tickets for films. An all access pass is required to attend the masquerade party. 

For tickets to “Baadasssss!,” visit https://www.riffga.com/2021films

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