Despite not having made a movie in more than 10 years, actor/filmmaker Sydney Poitier is widely considered to be a living legend in Hollywood.

Though Poitier was born in Miami — automatically earning him American citizenship — he is especially revered in the Bahamas, which will host the 3rd Annual Sydney Poitier Film Festival in the actor's honor. The event will take place from Feb. 29 to March 4.

Poitier spent the first part of his life in Cat Island and Nassau, before moving to Miami at age 15. He eventually joined the United States Army, where he worked as a dishwasher until a successful audition earned him a spot with the American Negro Theatre. Success on both the Broadway stage and silver screen followed thereafter, and the rest is Hollywood history. Poitier became the first male black actor to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award (for 1958's "The Defiant Ones"), and the first to actually capture the Best Actor Oscar (for 1963's "Lilies of the Field").

The festival takes place each year at the end of February and was established by the School of English Studies at The College of the Bahamas' Nassau campus. The group's aim is to preserve Poitier's legacy for future generations of Bahamians.

Click here to see the full festival schedule. All films are screened are free to the public.