African Diaspora International Film Festival: Today’s Screenings

Tango

Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango

 

Monday, December 7, 2015

Kirikou and the Sorceress
11am @ The Chapel, Teachers College
This animated film exquisitely recounts the tale of tiny Kirikou, born in an African village in which Karaba the Sorceress has placed a terrible curse. Kirikou sets out on a quest to free his village of the curse and find out the secret of why Karaba is so wicked. Directed by Michel Ocelot, 1998, 74 min, animated feature in English.
 

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BOW TIE CHELSEA CINEMAS STORIES OF COLORISM:

White Lies
1pm

Paraiti is the healer and midwife of her rural, tribal people – she believes in life. But new laws are in force prohibiting unlicensed healers. She gets approached by Maraea, the servant of a wealthy woman, Rebecca, who seeks her knowledge and assistance in order to hide a secret which could destroy Rebecca’s position in European settler society. Directed by Dana Rotberg, 2014, New Zealand, Drama, Maori, English, English subt.

Shown with White Like The Moon
A Mexican-American girl struggles to keep her identity when her mother forces her to bleach her skin. White Like the Moon is a revealing film about a dilemma not very well known outside Latino communities; that of the myth of the light skin superiority in Indigenous and Indigenous descendant communities. Directed by Marina Gonzales Palmier, 2001, USA, 23 min, short drama in English

Impunity
3:20pm
In competition: Best Film By Woman of Color
Investigating the gruesome murder of a cabinet minister’s daughter, a special investigator and a local police detective find themselves knee-deep in political corruption and conspiracy, in this sizzling noir thriller set in post-apartheid South Africa. Directed by Jyoti Mistry, South Africa, 2014, 85min, noir thriller in English/Zulu/Afrikaans with English subtitles

Shown with ACES:
Aces is the story of a young man who fights against the battering of his mother by his drunken father. The situation escalates until Ace desperately stabs his father to death, and is sent to jail for a period of 15 years. Nine years later he is out on parole. He kills again within a day’s time of his release. Directed by Ntandazo “Didi” Gcingca, 1999, 17 min, short drama, English

Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa

5:30pm + Q&A
Soft Vengence is a film about Albie Sachs, a lawyer, writer, art lover and freedom fighter, set against the dramatic events leading to the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Shining a spotlight on Albie’s story provides a prism through which to view the challenges faced by those unable to tolerate a society found on principles of slavery and disempowerment of South Africa’s majority black population. Directed by Abby Ginzberg, 2014, South Africa / USA, 84min, documentary in English

White Water

7:40pm + Q&A
An aura of innocence and an immense sense of humor are qualities that director Cundieff (Fear of a Black Hat) brings to this story of a little boy’s eye-opening encounter with the facts of segregation in his Alabama hometown. Based on the novel by Michael Bandy and Eric Stein, the film charts a curious seven-year-old’s growing obsession with tasting the rare, special water that he believes will flow from the “Whites Only” public drinking fountain. Light-hearted but not lightweight, White Water creates a lovely panorama of small-town black life against the reality of the 1960s South. Directed by Rusty Cundieff, USA, 2015,  95 min, drama, English

Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango
9:45pm
More than two hundred years ago, there was an influx of slaves from Africa into Uruguay. Long after their empancipation, these individuals continued to comprise the poorest and most marginalized strata in society. Musician Fernado Nunez sees himself as the heir to “candombe,” a dance and musical expression initiated by these individuals, his slave ancestors. As the far-reaching, socio-cultural legacy of of candombe has yet to be acknowledged, Fernando Nunez and his friends from the back street quarter of Montevideo have taken on the responsibility of keeping these important cultural roots alive in the consciousness of the Uruguayan people. Directed by Rafael Deugenio, 1993, Uruguay, Documentary, 16 min, Spanish w/ English subt.

ADIFF 2015 FESTIVAL PASSES
A VAP Pass (Very Artsy Person Pass)  is $260
A VAP Pass gives access to all festival events.

A Festival Pass is $160
A Festival Pass gives access to all regular screenings and to the panel discussions.

A FAN PASS is $55
A Fan Pass gives access to any six regular screenings during the festival.

To purchase a VAP or Festival Pass, indicate the name of the person to be printed on the pass and enclose a passport size photo of that person together with the order form and your check or money order.  Pass holders should arrive at least 15 minutes before screening to secure seats.

 

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