Classic Black Cinema Series: Abby

Abby is a film about a marriage counselor who becomes possessed by a demon of sexuality, when her father-in-law, an exorcist, freed it while in Africa. This film stars Carol Speed as the title character, William H. Marshall and Terry Carter. It was directed by William Girdler, who co-wrote the film's story with screenwriter Gordon Cornell Layne.

Blaxploitation horror movie Abby was a big hit when released in 1974, but it was pulled from distribution following a lawsuit from Warner Brothers, who claimed it was a rip-off of its 1973 hugely popular film, The Exorcist. Abby is a similar movie, although there are enough variations from the plot of The Exorcist where it could have had a fair chance to become major success.

Specifically designed as a vehicle to expose the community to the vast artistic value black film has had throughout the years, the goal of the film series is to appeal to as diverse a population as possible and further the appreciation of Black cinema.

Curator and host, Felix Curtis, came to Charlotte from the Oakland/San Francisco Bay area where he curated The San Francisco Black Film Festival and Black Filmworks, the annual film festival component of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, where he later served as Executive Director.