Hundreds of students in the Sacramento area watched "Black Panther" at a private screening on Saturday.
The Marvel superhero movie is breaking box office records and becoming an inspirational film for many.
The character in the film named T’Challa or the superhero "Black Panther" is one of the few black superheroes.
Before the film came out, a man from Harlem, New York, raised $40,000 on GoFundMe to bring children there to the see the film. Frederick Joseph challenged others around the country to do the same.
Cyrus Mulitalo is a Sacramento State graduate and former football teammate of the film’s director Ryan Coogler. He has since raised more than $4,000 to bring children in the Sacramento area to see the film.
The son of Samoan immigrants, Mulitalo said there are few representations of the Polynesian culture in American films. When Disney’s Moana arrived, he says the film was something to be proud of and something he could relate to. He added there should be more films that represent other ethnic groups and races.
Mulitalo worked with a local non-profit and a couple area little league teams to get the students to the Regal Cinema in Natomas.