Director who grew up in Detroit brings new project home for Black film fest showing

Outside a busy airport terminal, a feisty passenger cuts to the front of the line at curbside check-in and starts insulting the agent when he stops her. Dead set on catching her plane, she next commandeers a wheelchair escort by lying about her identity.

“Who is that woman?” asks a man nearby. “My worst nightmare,” replies a woman, Celeste, who is about to embark on a road trip with her nemesis, Paula, in “Albany Road,” an emotionally rich comedy-drama that earned the best feature award at this year’s Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.

Starring Tony winner Renee Elise Goldsberry as Celeste and Emmy winner Lynn Whitfield as Paula, the movie opens in theaters Nov. 15. But its next stop on the festival circuit is in the Motor City, a place with strong ties to its director-writer, Christine Swanson, and one of the leading actors, Goldsberry.

“Albany Road” will be screened Thursday night as part of the fifth annual Detroit Black Film Festival, which kicks off Wednesday and runs through Sunday. Founded and co-directed by husband-wife team Lazare and Marshalle Favors and presented by the Ford Foundation, the cinematic event highlights the work of Black independent filmmakers and features nearly 60 movies that will be shown at three Detroit venues (the Carr Center, the Marlene Boll Theatre at the Boll Family YMCA and the Michigan State University Detroit Center) and one suburban multiplex (Emagine Royal Oak).