Formerly known as the Delta Film Series, the newly rechristened WNY Black Film Festival begins its fourth edition this Saturday, February 11, with a screening of Keith Beauchamp’s acclaimed documentary The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. A 14-year-old Chicago boy who made the fatal mistake of whistling at a white woman while visiting cousins in Mississippi, Till was murdered after being tortured with such ferocity that a description of the damage done to his corpse is the stuff of nightmares. Nonetheless, his mother insisted that Emmett’s coffin be open at his funeral to show what had been done to the boy, a tactic that brought the case national attention. Outraged at the outcome of the sham trial that followed, filmmaker Beauchamp spent nearly a decade investigating the murder, uncovering enough new evidence for the Justice Department to re–open the case 50 years later. The series moves into a lighter mood on February 18 with Love Trap, an urban drama filmed in Jacksonville Florida about a law student who loses his footing when faced with sexual temptation. Capping the Festival on February 25 is the Quincy Jones production A Letter to the President, a documentary tracing the relationship between national politics of the Reagan era and the rise of rap and hip–hop music.

Feb. 11 at 7pm; Feb 18 and 25 at 2pm. Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre, 639 Main St. (855-3022). $8/show, $15/series (call 894-0914).