SAN ANTONIO – Released last year, “The 24th” film has a disturbing tie to San Antonio.
The historical drama depicts the 24th Infantry Regiment and what led to 63 of its Buffalo Soldiers being tried and convicted at Fort Sam Houston, a part of which was known as Camp Travis.
Thirteen of them were hanged and immediately buried along Salado Creek, before being re-interred nearly 20 years later at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
The screening of the film at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Arneson River Theater will be free and open to the public as part of the Black History Film Series.
Both the screening and the 6 p.m. reception at Re:Rooted 210 Urban Winery in Hemisfair Park are hosted by the San Antonio African-American Community Archive and Museum. The reception with $60 tickets for non-members, $40 for members, is a fundraiser benefitting SAAACAM.
Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with Billy Gordon, the co-founder of the Bexar County Buffalo Soldiers Association, Cedric Thomas Smith, an award-winning writer and director from San Antonio, and Kevin Willmot, the director and co-writer of “The 24th.”
Willmot shared an Academy Award with filmmaker Spike Lee for their 2018 film adaption of “BlacKkKlansman.”