A film festival, anime and a 'sick and twisted' Threepenny Opera: CBC Manitoba's weekend picks for Feb. 22-24

A festival of films by black artists — including one up for a best picture Oscar on Sunday — a chance to pull out your best anime costume and a unique take on a classic of musical theatre are among your entertainment options in Winnipeg this weekend.

Three of CBC Manitoba's on-air personalities share their top picks for the final weekend of February.

Sam Samson's pick: Afro Prairie Film Festival

Instead of trying to find a new movie on Netflix this weekend, head out to Cinematheque for the second Afro Prairie Film Festival.

The four-day festival, which started Thursday night, is put on by Black Space Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Film Group. It celebrates black filmmakers from around the world, with more than a dozen films all screening in the Exchange District theatre, including the Oscar-nominated film BlacKkKlansman and the Canadian Screen Award-nominated Brown Girl Begins.

The offerings range from documentaries to Brown Girl Begins — a movie that falls into the Afrofuturist genre, which explores the intersection of black culture and technology.

"You have all these different new voices that are starting to sprout up and say, 'This is our vision of what we see in the future for us,'" said Ben Williams, an organizer with the Winnipeg Film Group.

"You don't see too many futurism-related themes that black people are either stars of, or even in. You can look in a lot of sci-fi films in the past, and we're barely even extras. So it's cool to see some themes that deal with Afrofuturism. It's finally seeing somebody like yourself."

Williams says there aren't a lot of black filmmakers who come through their organization, but you can see one Winnipegger's work on Sunday. Bisong Taiwo's five-minute short Dreamchasers will screen on Sunday at 7 p.m. CT as part of a presentation of short movies.

Single film screening tickets cost $10, but check out the festival website for more information on festival passes.

Shannah-Lee Vidal's pick: Ai-Kon Winterfest

This weekend, you can celebrate Japanese anime and pop culture at Ai-Kon's Winterfest. The daylong event on Saturday is a smaller version of the annual Ai-Kon anime convention that takes place in the summer. 

The event is an opportunity to meet other fans of the genre, while you cosplay as your favourite anime character, watch a traditional fashion show and learn how to wear a yukata (a type of kimono), or even unleash your inner Mario or Zelda by joining in some role-playing games.

There will be plenty of live entertainment, including a performance by the Seishun Youth Academy.

The Vancouver-based group was created as a "sister group" to Japan's Seishun Gakuen. The musical team sings original songs in Japanese and English.

See Seishun Youth Academy in performance:

Of course, it wouldn't be an anime event without watching some anime. There will be a screening of the film Liz and the Blue Bird, which follows two high school friends who are in band class together. As their lives change, so does the music they make.

Ai-Kon's Winterfest will run at the RBC Convention Centre from noon until 11 p.m. on Saturday. Day passes for the family-friendly event are $24 and can be purchased online or at the door.

For those bringing the little ones, the first child (aged 12 or under) is free with the price of an adult pass. You can also purchase up to three additional children's tickets for $5 each.

Ismaila Alfa's pick: Threepenny Opera

I want to send you to a unique production of The Threepenny Opera.

It's not really exactly the opera — the 1928 "play with music" by master playwright Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill is actually a parody of an opera, sort of poking fun at the pretentiousness of the form.

You'll recognize some of the music from Threepenny Opera, as some tunes have become  standards, including Pirate Jenny and Mack the Knife — which has been covered by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Bublé.

Here's the story: Boy meets girl. Boy marries girl. The problem is the boy is Macheath, a.k.a. Mackie, a.k.a Mack The Knife!

As you might guess, the girl's father is not pleased with this and pushes to get Mack arrested and hanged. Second major problem for dad — the police chief is Mack the Knife's BFF. So of course, Mack is able to avoid execution. Mack somehow is arrested and imprisoned again, but manages to be freed and actually comes out in a better position on the other side.

That's a quick synopsis of the story, but the production you can see in Winnipeg this weekend at the West End Cultural Centre is being put to stage as a co-production by the Sick + Twisted and AA Battery theatre companies.

Sick + Twisted is a local company run by Winnipeg actor, director and writer Debbie Patterson, who lives with multiple sclerosis, and her company focuses on creating work that explores the experience of living with a disability.

Threepenny Opera will be performed by dancers, singers and actors of all abilities — including some actors who are deaf, some who are physically disabled and some who live without physical disability.

You can see Threepenny Opera at the West End Cultural Centre on opening night Friday, or any other day this weekend at 7:30 p.m. It also runs Wednesday through Friday next week at 7:30 p.m., and there's a Saturday matinee on March 2 at 2 p.m.

The Feb. 23 and March 2 shows will have ASL interpretation.

Tickets are $30 and are available online.