'Waiting to Exhale' to 'Set It Off': At these Black film screenings, the soundtrack reigns

Some films linger successful our minds due to the fact that of their crisp plots, quotable one-liners and unforgettable characters. Others enactment with america due to the fact that of the music.

That favoritism was unmistakable astatine a caller screening of Forest Whitaker’s 1995 romanticist dramedy “Waiting to Exhale” arsenic portion of a Cult Classics Cinema lawsuit astatine Inglewood’s Miracle Theater. As the movie played, astir 80 attendees swayed their bodies and sang on to songs from the Grammy-winning soundtrack, including “Sittin’ Up successful my Room” by Brandy, Mary J. Blige’s “Not Gon’ Cry,” and Toni Braxton’s “Let It Flow.”

When Whitney Houston’s rubric track, “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” played during a country successful which her character, Savannah, reconnects with a antheral with whom she’s been having an on-and-off again affair, the assemblage crooned the lyrics successful unison similar a choir: “Everyone falls successful emotion sometime / Sometimes it’s wrong, and sometimes it’s right.”

“It’s truly a clip capsule of ‘90s R&B,” says attendee Deonna Tillman, 33, of Miracle Mile, who listened to the Babyface-produced medium during her thrust to the lawsuit arsenic a mode to hole herself for the screening. “It besides has our greats connected there, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin. ... It’s iconic.”

Each period Cult Classics Cinema screens a movie event, hosted by Diamora Hunt, past theatergoers tin be a casual listening party, wherever the movie soundtrack is played from commencement to finish.

Part movie screening, portion listening party, Cult Classics Cinema is an lawsuit bid that celebrates beloved Black films and the euphony that helps bring them to life. Each month, laminitis Diamora Hunt, who besides goes by DJ Rosegawd, screens a movie — titles person included “The Wiz,” “The Wood,” “Set It Off” and “Love Jones” — and past invites attendees to instrumentality astir for a much casual listening party, wherever the soundtrack is played from commencement to finish. The caller screening of “Waiting to Exhale,” the movie adaptation of Terry McMillian’s 1992 caller starring Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine, celebrated the film’s 30th anniversary.

In Los Angeles, wherever screenings hap conscionable astir each nighttime of the week astatine venues similar Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theater and the New Beverly, and the TCL Chinese Theatre arsenic good arsenic astatine peculiar events similar Rooftop Cinema and Cinespia, Cult Classics Cinema stands retired due to the fact that of its communal ambiance that gives radical the abstraction to not lone geek retired connected films and their soundtracks, but besides commemorate Black stories.

“I privation it to consciousness similar erstwhile I’m successful the surviving country with my friends,” says Hunt, 36, adding that its go a ritual for her to ticker euphony videos from the soundtrack aft finishing a movie. “I consciousness similar they spell manus successful manus successful satellite building.”

For Hunt, who’s been DJing for astir a decade, everything ever comes backmost to the music.

As a person of movie soundtracks, Cult Classics Cinema laminitis Diamora Hunt (a.k.a. DJ Rosegawd) wanted to make an acquisition wherever radical could bask the movie and the music.

During the COVID lockdown, she spent her lone time disconnected from her security and telephone halfway jobs doing hourslong unrecorded DJ sets connected Twitch from her bedroom. Each Saturday, she would prime a antithetic artist, chiefly pistillate performers, and tally done their full discography and stock absorbing facts astir them. Among the artists she spotlighted were Missy Elliott, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Drake.

In 2022, Hunt began hosting Club Renaissance, a creation enactment wherever she’d play Beyoncé’s seminal “Renaissance” medium successful bid from apical to bottommost astatine assorted venues successful L.A. The relation instantly took off, and she had to upgrade to a larger venue to accommodate a 1,200-person crowd. At 1 party, Grammy-winning rapper Doechii performed “Heated” with her DJ Miss Milan. Also, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, posted astir the lawsuit connected Instagram, saying that Jay Z sent her a recap video.

After hosting the lawsuit for respective months successful L.A. and taking it to New York, Hunt wondered whether she could bash the aforesaid happening with different beloved albums. To trial retired that theory, she debuted the Cult Classics enactment nether her lawsuit institution Ladera Hearts successful February 2023. The archetypal medium she highlighted was Brandy’s 3rd workplace album, “Full Moon,” connected the nighttime of a afloat satellite astatine the Blind Barber successful Highland Park.

She kept it up, throwing dedication nights successful grant of Usher’s “Confessions,” Janet Jackson’s “The Velvet Rope,” 50 Cent’s “Get Rich oregon Die Tryin,’ ” “One successful a Million” by Aaliyah and Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi.” After seeing a lively instrumentality recap video from the party, Carey commented “invite maine adjacent time” with 2 kissy look emojis.

Hunt says she thinks radical were receptive to the party, adjacent if they weren’t acquainted with the album, due to the fact that you are “surrounded by radical who emotion it and they’re going to archer you wherefore they emotion it.” She adds, “It helps radical link with [the music] successful a antithetic way.”

She wondered whether she could make that aforesaid feeling with her favourite movies and their soundtracks.

Hunt hosted the archetypal Cult Classics Cinema lawsuit successful November 2024 and screened the 1992 movie “Boomerang” starring Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, Chris Rock and Robin Givens astatine a section bar. During the function, she shared trivia astir the soundtrack specified arsenic the information that Toni Braxton’s opus “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” was her instauration into the euphony industry.

Singer Tyger Lily and shaper Knoqlist debuted a trailer for their “Waiting to Exhale”-inspired euphony video astatine the Miracle Theater.

Since January 2025, she’s been hosting her movie nights astatine the Miracle Theater successful Inglewood. Just days earlier Thanksgiving, Hunt showed “Soul Food” and invited stars Vivica A. Fox, Brandon Hammond and Morgan Méchelle to enactment successful a sheet treatment hosted by Randy C. Bonds. Afterward, attendees were welcomed to be a family-style meal with the formed members.

At the caller “Waiting to Exhale” screening, patrons walked down a reddish carpet to get to the theatre entrance. After picking a customized fastener that depicted fashionable scenes from the movie, galore guests grabbed a themed cocktail (named aft the 4 main characters) and a snack (popcorn, empanadas oregon container candy) astatine the bar. As radical waited to order, they could work amusive facts astir the movie and soundtrack.

During the film, attendees laughed retired loud, shouted astatine the characters connected the surface arsenic if they could perceive them (“Don’t bash it!”) and recited their lines backmost to them (“Get yo s— and get out!”).

As idiosyncratic who attends movie screenings regularly, Tillman says it’s hard to find ones dedicated Black storytellers, which is wherefore she appreciates Cult Classics Cinema.

“I consciousness similar we person a batch of Black cinephiles successful L.A., but we don’t person a batch of entree to ticker our classics,” says Tillman, adding that galore of these films aren’t disposable connected streaming platforms — “which is truly frustrating.”

Felisha Fowlkes, 34, has attended aggregate Cult Classics Cinema events solo. “When you perceive these songs, you’re reasoning astir the scenes successful the movie,” she says. “You’re reasoning astir what happened emotionally and I consciousness similar [the music] allows you to truly beryllium successful that place.”

When the two-hour movie ended, 1 attendee won the large raffle prize, which included “Waiting to Exhale” connected DVD — and a DVD subordinate to play it.

“Waiting to Exhale” attendees respond during a screening. “I privation it to consciousness similar erstwhile I’m successful the surviving country with my friends,” says Cult Classics Cinema laminitis and big Diamora Hunt.

As the euphony video for Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” played connected the large surface with the opus lyrics moving on the bottom, Hunt moved the mic to the halfway of the signifier successful lawsuit anyone felt called to sing.

No 1 took her up connected the offer. Who would privation to vie with a almighty songstress similar Houston? Still, the vigor successful the country remained precocious arsenic the assemblage sang, bobbed their heads and grooved to the euphony from the comfortableness of their plush seats.

It felt, conscionable arsenic Hunt envisioned, similar being successful a surviving country with each your friends.

Cult Classics Cinema volition surface “Boomerang” connected Saturday, “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” connected Feb. 15 and “B.A.P.S.” connected March 14 astatine the Miracle Theater successful Inglewood. Tickets commencement astatine $15 (not including taxes and fees).