Special Silver Screeners Classic Movie Matinee “A Raisin in the Sun”

The 1961 critically acclaimed classic film, “A Raisin in the Sun” will be featured at a special Silver Screeners Movie Matinee on Sunday, April 14, 2:00 p.m. at the Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County, 201 N. Mulberry Street, Mount Vernon.

Member of the cast and crew of the MTVarts performance of “A Raisin in the Sun,” opening May 2, 3 & 5 at the Woodward Opera House will be on hand to discuss the production.  

Directed by Daniel Petrie, the film stars Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn, and Louis Gossett Jr. (in his film debut). Adapted from the 1959 play of the same name by Lorraine Hansberry, the story follows a black family that wants a better life away from the city. 

This lauded drama follows the Youngers, an African-American family living together in an apartment in Chicago. Following the death of their patriarch, they try to determine what to do with the substantial insurance payment they’ll soon receive. Opinions on what to do with the money vary. Walter Lee (Poitier) wants to make a business investment, while his mother, Lena (McNeil), is intent on buying a house for them all to live in — two differing views of the American Dream. 

In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. 

The program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call the main library at 740-392-(BOOK) 2665, visit www.knox.net or email communityrelations@knox.net.