ABANITU: A Family Documentary
When Lucy, a grieving mother of five, lost her teenage son to racial terror in Person Co., NC, she channeled her energy into buying a five-acre plot of rocky terrain that she and her children toiled into a farm in 1906. Years later, her eldest son, John, expanded the farm to 150-acres, which would become Abanitu Organics, the first Black-owned, USDA certified farm in Person Co. Today, Lucy’s great-grandson Coy stewards Abanitu, a century-certified farm, which means “from the heart of God,” and teaches food education to the community. “In a time where people are being poisoned by unhealthy foods, God on the planet would say, ‘Let’s heal the people through food.'”
That’s the mission of Abanitu Organics, but the healing is deeper than healthy food. Follow five generations of the Obie Family as they heal through the indigenous practice of farming and face heart-breaking challenges when people try to separate them from the land. Written, directed and narrated by Lucy’s great-great-granddaughter Brooke C. Obie in her feature film debut.
Learn more about Abanitu Organics family farm here.
SCREENINGS
JUNE 20, 2026
120TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING
RCE Theatres at Palace Pointe, @6PM
Tickets here: https://bit.ly/Abanitu120
JUNE 2026
CHARLOTTE BLACK FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SECTION
Charlotte, NC
MARCH 2026
COAL CITY FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION
Lagos, Nigera
JULY 2025
RCE Theaters at Palace Pointe, Theater 6
Roxboro, NC
July 4, 2025 @ 6P.M.
March 2025
AARP Virtual Screening and Q&A
March 13, 2025
July 2024
Essence Film Festival (WORLD PREMIERE)
July 5, 10:45AM
Cultural Connections Theater, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center,
New Orleans, LA
June 2024
Private Screening
June 30, 2:00 PM
Centreville, VA