Dallas Author Cynthia Wells to Premiere Film Based on Her Time Growing Up in the King Years

Dallas resident Cynthia Reid Wills will realize a childhood dream and help advance Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision when a movie about her life — produced and filmed in Dallas — premieres Sunday.The movie, Content of Character, has the same name as an autobiographical book that Wills wrote about the impact of King's dream on a young African-American girl as she grew up in the South.The film is getting positive buzz in the local black arts community, from financial supporters and from educators and youth leaders who say the movie should direct youth and their families toward building character and overcoming obstacles.The sold-out event at the Irving Arts Center, 333 N. MacArthur Blvd., will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, with the movie starting at 3:30 p.m. A formal red carpet pre-celebration is planned. The Irving Black Arts Council, of which Wills is board vice president, is the event's host.The film will have a run of 7 p.m. public showings during Black History Month on what promoters are calling Black Thursdays — Feb. 1, 8, 15, and 22 — at the Angelika Film Center, 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane in Dallas. Tickets are $12.50 and are available at www.eventbrite.com. Search for "Content of Character." Later, the movie will be shown in Spartanburg, S.C., the location portrayed in the film and the city where Wills was born and grew up.  Continue reading...