Photo by Antonio Carrasco

2010 was a big year for former Alaskan Cedric Sanders. The East High School graduate starred in "The Least Among You," which was released on DVD in August. The young actor starred opposite Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett, Jr., and the role earned Sanders the Best Actor Award at this year's San Diego Black Film Festival. After that he made a brief appearance in the "The Social Network," the box office smash hit about the founders of Facebook.

Sanders has another movie coming out, "Rocksteady," which happens to be premiering in Alaska during the Anchorage International Film Festival next week.

Sanders plays the lead role of B.C. Cook, whose world-class skill as a stock car dirt-track racer earns him a spot as the only black driver on the otherwise all-white dirt tracks of rural New York. The races serve as the backdrop in a coming-of-age story where Cook identifies with his late father's identity as a Jamaican immigrant.

"Rocksteady" screens 7:55 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Bear Tooth, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Mustapha Khan.

ADULT ADVISORY: The trailer below contains strong language.

Rocksteady trailer from Rockin' The Stove on Vimeo.

For more film festival coverage, visit the AIFF page.

--Matt Sullivan