PAFF Premieres ‘Behind The Movement’, Cast and Crew Q&A

We all heard and know the story about Rosa Parks; however, many do not know it on a deeper level. Most assumed because as it has been stated throughout books and news articles was that Rosa was tired. But she was not tired, but fed up with the treatment towards our people. This is one of the reasons why TV One decided to produce the film Behind The Movement. On Friday, February 9, the Pan African Film Festival premiered this exclusive film during a private screening which was followed by a cast and crew Q&A session.

“I always knew who Rosa Parks was and that she was the one who sparked this movement,” Meta Golding explained when asked how it felt to play such an iconic character in history. “This film was really educational for me about Mrs. Parks and Raymond Parks, her husband who she always described as the first real activist that she ever met because he was an activist in the 30s. When I found out I got the role I was initially terrified because I knew how much Mrs. Parks meant to everyone, not just in this country, but around the World, so it was really daunting. But then it became a tremendous responsibility to attempt to try and tell her story and because the power of film can become what we think of us the power of history.”

She continues, “I felt a tremendous responsibility, but more than anything a tremendous honor to step into the shoes of this giant.”

Behind the Movement was directed by Aric Avelino and written by Katrina O’Gilvie. These two did a phenomenal job of bringing this story to life and giving the audience a more in depth, as well as an educated look into what went on behind the scenes and why the movement was started and why Mrs. Parks was the chosen one to lead it.

Of course a great film and script is nothing without a talented cast to cease everything together. The film featured Meta Golding as Rosa Parks, Roger Guenveur Smith as Raymond Parks, Isaiah Washington as E.D. Nixon, Al Mitchell as A. Philip Randolph, Shaun Clay as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Keith Arthur Bolden as Ralph D. Abernathy, Loretta Devine as Jo Ann Robinson, Derek Roberts as Fred Gray, and a host of others. Each cast member did an excellent job as well in bringing their character to life.

Behind the Movement aired on TV One on Sunday, February 11. If you missed it, you can catch it again tonight, February 13 at 9 p.m. For a deeper insight on the film, check out the Q&A session below.