We are proud to be collaborating with Jacaranda Books and the Rio to present a very special screening of the Barry Jenkins 2018 adaptation on Baldwin's 'If Beale Street Could Talk' plus a post film Q&A with Tina Andrews, Anni Domingo and Magdalene Abraha.

If Beale Street Could Talk: Screening + Q&A at the Rio Cinema

If Beale Street Could Talk is a an angry and sometimes brutal love story set in the Bronx, New York. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions—affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.

The Baldwin 100 Festival celebrates the centenary of James Baldwin’s birth, and commemorates his visit to Hackney in 1985. Hackney Libraries are proud to be collaborating with Black History Walks, Hackney CVS, Jacaranda Books, Rio Cinema, Way Wive Wordz, Words of Colour and Young Lit Stars to bring you a fantastic programme from July to September 2024.