Aunjanue Ellis Ellis & ImageNation to participate in 5th Annual WOW Festival
The Apollo Theater’s fifth bi-annual WOW – Women of the World Festival, an international festival that elevates the voices, experiences, and truth of women spanning all ages, will bring Hollywood to Harlem and beyond with award-winning and Emmy nominated film & TV actress Aunjunue Ellis headlining the festival and Imagenation celebrating Black Girl Magic by hosting a “cocktails & Sol cinema” screening of five films by Black women directors.
The festival will take place online this year starting Saturday March 20th to Sunday March 21st via apollotheater.org. The two-day, all digital festival sets the tone with this year’s theme Black Women Transcending! and will provide global access to an array of music, film, workshops, conversations, panels and performances featuring participants including HBO’s “Lovecraft Country” award-winning actress Aunjanue Ellis; New York Times best-selling author and co-host of CBS’ “The Talk” Elaine Welteroth; poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni; host of SiriusXM’s “Bevelations,” media personality and author Bevy Smith, motivational speaker, editor, and author Harriette Cole; and political and women's rights activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu with performances by Adeline, Dionne Farris, and many more to be announced. Festival tickets are available beginning today.
As part of the festival, the Apollo will feature a Live Wire conversation, Hazel Scott: The Darling of Café Society, part of the Apollo’s popular series that honors iconic individuals who have impacted the Theater’s history. Karen Chilton, author of “Hazel Scott: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist,” will lead this celebration of Scott with special guests, Damien Sneed and Camille Thurman.
Returning this year to the festival, WOW: Teen Summit will dissect gender politics and how it impacts girls and young women of color. Through performances from singer, songwriter and spoken-word artist Brianna Knight and singer Alyssa Martinez and a panel discussion moderated by reporter and producer Kay Angrum with community activists Akia S. Callum, Malaysia Freeman, and Hebh Jamal, audience members will be encouraged as a collective to take action towards their goals. The Festival will close with Apollo Film Presents: ImageNation’s Cocktails & Sol Cinema, featuring short films by women from around the world in speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy and folklore. Additional details and a complete WOW Festival line-up will be announced at a later date. WOW Apollo is presented in partnership with The WOW Foundation.
TICKET INFO:
Tickets for WOW (Women of the World), the live, virtual, two-day event start at $15 (through March 13), $20 for the week of the event (March 14-21) and are available now via www.apollotheater.org