SFist Tonight

The Bay Area Hip-Hop Theater Festival kicks off its two-week run of politically-inspired and racially-conscious dramatic and spoken word arts at Berkeley's La Pena Cultural Center at an event featuring the teen poets of Youth Speaks and their Brave New Voices College Tour. $10, 8 p.m., 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley (between Ashby and Alcatraz Aves.)

Other events:

--A documentary about Patrice Lumumba, an anti-colonialist who became the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is still considered a legend in African politics. 7:30 p.m., $8, Yerba Buena screening room.

--Chad Lowe is coming to town to screen the Academy of Art's student film show at the Epidemic Film Festival at the Castro Theater. 7 p.m., free (but tickets must be picked up at the Academy of Art today).

--Intersection for the Arts hosts an opening reception for Iranian-born painter and conceptual artist Taraneh Hemami's Most Wanted show, which explores questions of identity and terrorism. Hemami's work is also being featured in Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi's office in City Hall right now. 6 p.m., 446 Valencia (x 15th), and we think it's free but we can't tell for sure.