Giant continent roots give film festival a big tent.
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For the fourth year in a row, the Center for Contemporary Arts Cinematheque presents a surprising swath of films addressing not only the far reaches and many cultures of Africa, but also the global reverberations of African Diaspora. This year's program consists of 10 features and three shorts.
AGOGO EEWO
A sequel to director Tunde Kelani's
Saworide
, this political satire tells the story of a retired police officer who is appointed king by a group of corrupt tribesmen who intend to use him as their puppet.
8:30 pm Thursday, Sunday. 2002, 100 min.
BLACK GIRL
Ousmane Sembene's film, past winner of the Jean Vigo Prize, tells the story of a Senegalse maid named Diouanna who is taken to France by her employers, where she faces degradation and a fight for identity.
8:45 pm Friday. 1965, 60 min.
BROTHER TO BROTHER
Director Rodney Evans' (
The Unveiling
) award-winning film tells the story of a young gay
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artist who discovers a spiritual connection between himself and the gay subculture of the Harlem Renaissance. As Perry (Anthony Mackie) copes with rejection from his family, community and his lover, he meets poet Richard Bruce Nugent (Roger Robinson) and finds strength in the writer's open sexuality and the work of other writers of the period, including Langston Hughes (Daniel Sunjata) and Zora Neale Hurston (Aunjanue Ellis).
6 pm Saturday, 4 pm Sunday. 2004, 94 min.
THE COLONIAL MISUNDERSTANDING
Making its US debut, Jean-Marie Teno's (
Chief!
) film examines the role colonialism has played in the evolution of political thought on the African
continent. Moving from Christian missionaries to the present day influence of globalization and economic development, Teno's film explores the forces that have impacted African customs and continue to wield heavy influence.
2:30 pm Saturday. 2004, 73 min.
COSMIC AFRICA
This documentary explores the African origins of the world's oldest science and follows the journey of astronomer Thebe Medupe as he travels the continent studying indigenous astronomical practices.
7 pm Thursday, 4:45 pm Saturday. 2002, 72 min.
DIRT FOR DINNER
Using the battle for identity in the story of Sam Meffire, the son of an African father and East-German mother and the first black policeman in East Germany, director Branwen Okpako traces his rise and eventual fall in the face of incredible intolerance.
6 pm Friday. 2000, 75 min.
MADAME BROUETTE
When a policeman on the take from the criminal underworld turns up dead, proud single mother Mati becomes the prime suspect. This prize-winning Senegalese musical mixes tradition and sensationalism to create a hybrid tale of passion, corruption and betrayal.
3 pm Thursday, 2 pm Sunday. 2002, 104 min.
THE MAN WHO MADE MOOLAADE
Samba Gadjigo, official biographer of
Moolaade
director Ousmane Sembene, presents his documentary examining the legendary filmmaker's influence on world cinema and African culture.
7:30 pm Friday. 2004, 27 min.
SHORTS PROGRAM: ENCOUNTERS
These three shorts feature a chance encounter (
For the Night
), a gifted hairstylist (
About Braids
) and the secrets revealed in a beauty salon (
Hot Wax
).
5 pm Thursday, 12:45 pm Saturday. 2003-2004, 71 min. combined.
SOLDIERS OF THE ROCK
First-time director Norman Maake mixes action and politics to create a socially conscious film about a business student who spends a school break working beneath the earth alongside a group of South African miners planing to buy their own mine.
4 pm Friday. 2003, 94 min.
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: RAISE YOUR VOICE
Legendary a cappella all-stars Sweet Honey in the Rock have graced the stage of the Lensic and other fine venues over the past 30 years and now their story hits the big screen courtesy of Emmy and Peabody award-winning director Stanley Nelson (
A Place of Our Own
). Though the lineup has changed over the years, Sweet Honey's core-built on a mix of jazz, gospel, blues and West African folk music-has remained the same, maintaining relevance from the Civil Rights era to the present day. This documentary features candid interviews with the musicians and follows them to their natural habitat: on stage performing before a grateful, full capacity crowd.
8:15 pm Saturday, 6:30 pm Sunday. 2004, 82 min.
