Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience that is cut from the frame. A small cup rests on top of a wooden stool beside him. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. An unidentified man is partially visible standing behind him on the left. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of a closeup of a woman at 24-Hour Film Feast. She has dark, curly hair and wears a black outfit. The background is dark. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Barbara Steele, Isabell Cottrell, Melvin Van Peebles, and two unidentified men standing on a stage. An unknown man stands on the far left wearing a black shirt with jeans. Isabell Cottrell, another unknown man, and Barbara Steele stand to his right, all dressed in black. Melvin sits in a chair in front of them, wearing a leather jacket and a cap. Dark red curtains hang in the background. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of a woman sitting in Melvin Van Peebles's lap. Melvin sits in a chair on stage and wears a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. The woman wears a sparkly jacket and a large necklace. She holds a purse in one hand. Curtains hang up behind them. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Curtis King, founder of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, standing up with a microphone. He wears eyeglasses, a black sweater, and black pants. He holds a card and pen in his other hand. Curtains hang behind him. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Melvin is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talking to the audience. A small cup rests on top of a wooden stool beside him. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket and cap and is moving his arm in expression. Curtains hang in the background. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket and a cap. He moves his hands in an expressive manner. Curtains hang in the background. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket and a cap. He rests his hands in his lap. Curtains hang in the background. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Melvin is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience. A wooden stool is partially visible behind him. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. He moves his hands in an expressive manner. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Melvin is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience that is cut from the frame. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Curtis King, Barbara Steele, Isabell Cottrell, and four unidentified individuals stand up at the back of a stage and appear to be clapping. Curtis holds a microphone in one hand and a card in the other. Melvin rises up from a chair in front of them, wearing a leather jacket and a cap. A brick wall and curtains are visible in the background. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Isabell Cottrell and an unidentified man standing on a stage. Isabell wears a black dress with a long, layered necklace. The man wears a jacket over a black shirt. Dark red curtains hang behind them. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles posing for a picture with an unidentified woman and man. The woman stands on the left and makes a funny face. She has short, dark hair and wears a black turtleneck sweater. Melvin stands in the middle, wearing a black shirt, a leather jacket, round eyeglasses, and a cap. The man stands on the right and puts his arm around Melvin's shoulders. He wears a charcoal, button-up shirt. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles and Barbara Steele hugging on a stage. Barbara wears a black outfit with a large, embellished hat. Melvin wears a leather jacket, leather pants, and a cap. An unidentified man is partially visible standing behind them. Curtains hang in the background. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket and a cap. He moves his hands in an expressive manner. Curtains hang in the background. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Melvin is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience that is cut from the frame. A small cup rests on top of a wooden stool beside him. He is dressed in a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. He points towards an audience member on the left with one hand. A brick wall and tall, red curtains are visible behind him. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Curtis King, founder of The Black Academy of Arts and Letters, standing up with a microphone. He wears eyeglasses and a black outfit. He holds a card in one hand. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience that is cut from the frame. A wooden stool stands beside him. He is dressed in a leather jacket and a cap. A brick wall is visible in the background. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience that is cut from the frame. He is dressed in a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. A small cup rests on top of a wooden stool beside him. A man dressed in black is partially visible standing behind Melvin. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of an unidentified man talking to Melvin Van Peebles. Melvin sits in a chair on stage. He wears a leather jacket, dark pants, and a cap. A man in a plaid shirt kneels down next to him. Curtains are visible in the background. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Melvin is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talking to the audience. Beside him is a wooden stool with a small cup of water that's available to him. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket and cap and is moving his arms in expression. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles posing with a man at 24-Hour Film Feast. Melvin stands on the left. He wears a leather jacket, a black shirt, round eyeglasses, and a cap. The man standing next to him has his hair styled in long, dark dreadlocks. He wears a black turtleneck shirt with a long pendant necklace. They both look towards the left and smile. Photograph was taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles. He sits in a chair on stage and talks to a woman who kneels down in front of him. Melvin wears a leather jacket and a cap. The woman wears dark clothing and holds some papers in her hand. Photograph taken at a 24-Hour FilmFeast event featuring Melvin Van Peebles, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.

Photograph of Melvin Van Peebles, writer, and director most famous for creating Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He is seated on stage in front of a microphone and talks to an audience. Melvin is dressed in a leather jacket and a cap. Curtains hang in the background. This photograph was taken at the 2010 - 24-Hour FilmFeast event, sponsored by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Clarence Muse Cafe Theatre, 1309 Canton St, Dallas, Texas.