Screening of ‘Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me’ at Cinema Art Theater Jan. 30
On Wednesday, Jan. 30, the Rehoboth Beach Film Society’s Cinema Art Theater will present a special screening of “Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me,” the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress in 20th-century America. The film is being co-presented by the Rehoboth Beach Film Society’s African-American and Jewish film festivals.
Sammy Davis Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority.
Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, “Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me” explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.
The screening time is 7 p.m. Admission for the screening is $10. Customers are encouraged to purchase tickets online. If seats are available, tickets can be purchased at the theater, starting 30 minutes prior to each screening.
The second annual Rehoboth Beach African-American Film Festival will take place Feb. 15-17. The fourth annual Rehoboth Beach Jewish Film Festival will take place March 13-17. For details visit www.rehobothfilm.com.
For more information on this series, other events, or to become a member, call 302-645-9095.
