Exclusive screening of ‘KEMBA’ film about Richmond native Kemba Smith to be held at local Movieland

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — An exclusive movie screening of “KEMBA,” will be held at the Movieland theater in Richmond for a back-to-school event for students.

A movie screening of “KEMBA” will be held at Movieland at Boulevard Square, located at 1301 North Arthur Ashe Boulevard, from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3 for rising high school juniors and seniors, as well as rising college freshmen.

“KEMBA” follows the story of Richmond native Kemba Smith , who was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison in 1994 for a drug crime she says she did not commit.

The film explores Smith’s time as a student at Hampton University before meeting her then-boyfriend, Peter Hall. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Hall was a drug kingpin, and after he was murdered, authorities turned their eyes to her. Though she’d never dealt or sold drugs, a judge sentenced her to the more than two decade sentence.

Smith’s story captured headlines across the nation through the activism of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other Black organizations, and Smith served just 6.5 years of her term before then-President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence.

Following the screening, attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with Smith.

The event is currently sold out. For more information, visit the event’s page .

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