Buck and the Preacher
12A
Why watch?
“Following the recent loss of both Poitier and Belafonte, this film hits home just how magnificent and trailblazing these two were. To watch a Black-led big studio western is a humbling and exhilerating experience, especially restored to its gorgeous former glory!”
Mosa Mpetha,
Creative Engagement Officer and member of the Scalarama Leeds team
Widely regarded at the time of its release as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with a social conscience, Buck And The Preacher is an immensely satisfying Western which marked Sidney Poitier's directorial debut, as well as his first screen pairing with superstar Harry Belafonte. Poitier stars as Buck, an ex-Union Army Cavalry sergeant who becomes a scout for freed slaves heading to the Colorado frontier.
Tagging along with him are his wife (Ruby Dee in a scene-stealing performance) and a Bible-thumping con artist known as the Preacher (Belafonte). Attacked by racist bounty hunters determined to return the former slaves to a life of sharecropping in Louisiana, Buck and his followers must summon all the courage they have in order to reach their destination and help settle the Wild West.
This event is the programme launch for Scalarama Leeds Film Festival 2023. During this event you will get to see the premiere of the festival trailer, collect your own festival brochure, and hear all about the programme of events coming up this September. There will also be free popcorn and general Scalarama good vibes.
Scalarama Leeds is a DIY, co-operative, volunteer-led organisation ‘by everyone, for everyone’, supporting people across Leeds to screen the films they love in a festival every September, in a celebration of community-led cinema, skills sharing and pop-up film programmes. We champion physical screenings as new ways to creatively engage diverse audiences.
Scalarama Leeds