NYIHA: Under My Nails

Friday, May 10th, 7:30pm

Under My Nails

Ari Maniel Cruz, 2012, 90 min, Puerto Rico

Under My Nails is a Puerto Rican psychological thriller written by Kisha Tikina Burgos who also starred in the film as Solimar, a longtime Puerto Rican immigrant living an isolated life as a manicurist under the overhead trains of the snow covered Bronx. Her character is born of trauma—the film begins with an eerily cinematic suggestion of the violent deaths of both her mother and father. At her father’s wake, another child releases a green lizard into Solimar’s hair. This lizard haunts the narrative, lending an air of magical realism to this story.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdcg7cjEeFo

BPT - http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ref/17367/event/368125

Post screening Q&A with writer Kisha Tikina Burgos, director Ari Maniel Cruz and moderated by Dr. Steeve Coupeau, President NYIHA MEDIA.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/359322657522466/

NYIHA MEDIA promotes global aspirations for human rights beyond borders. By human rights we mean the right to food, shelter, water, health care, education, decent work, free speech, and justice and peace. Can solidarity allow us to think creatively about coming together within or across social formations to transcend the limitations of inherited oppositions between sovereignty and human rights? Global civic engagement might be the best means to achieve long-distance support for multiple citizen actions in different places. NYIHA is an African word for the bush and more broadly the borderlands. The nyiha are an ethnic and linguistic group spanning several countries including southwestern Tanzania and northeastern Zambia.

http://www.nyiha.com/

NYIHA Film Festival: A Present Past: Afro-Brazilian Memories in Rio de Janiero

Wednesday, May 8th, 7:30pm

 

A Present Past: Afro-Brazilian Memories in Rio de Janeiro

Hebe Mattos and Martha Abreu, 2012, 43 min, Brazil

This documentary highlights the strong oral tradition of slave descendants from the former plantations of the Souza Breves family, in the south of the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazli. It rescues vivid details about the illegal trade of slaves and the experiences of slaves and freed ancestors. The jongo and oral tradition are part of the cultural and family heritage that became a core aspect of the ‘maroon’ identity of these communities. Both support broader political struggles against racism and contribute to ensuring collective ownership of land.

Post screening Q&A with director Hebe Mattos, moderated by Dr. Steeve Coupeau, President NYIHA MEDIA.

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ref/17367/event/368115

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/55135160