Rebel Diaz Presents: The Mike Brown Rebellion

Tuesday, December 16th, 5:30pm

Rebel Diaz Presents: The Mike Brown Rebellion

Following the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Rebel Diaz with the Ñ Don't Stop crew has documented the people's demand for justice, the militarization and repression by the State, and the responses to the verdict of no indictment of officer Darren Wilson. With interviews of young leaders on the front lines in the Ferguson and footage of the demonstrations, this documentary has been created as a tool for education and starting discussions around policing, militarization, resistance and organizing in communities.

Join the Harlem community for a screening of The Mike Brown Rebellion and the discussion that follows. We will speak on the national illness of police brutality, #EricGarner and next steps in organizing and mobilizing in New York City.

Limited space. To RSVP groups, email: education@maysles.org

For more info about the film, email: info@rebeldiaz.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/712497978846820/

The Throwaways

Friday, December 12th, 7:30pm

The Throwaways

Ira McKinley and Bhawin Suchak, 2014, 62 min.

The Throwaways is the story of homeless filmmaker and ex-felon, Ira McKinley, documenting his struggle to bring positive changes to his community in inner-city Albany, NY. As he strives to get his voice heard and capture the stories of people living on the margins, McKinley confronts the unavoidable stories of his past and battles against the stigma of being formerly incarcerated. Guided by this personal narrative of survival, The Throwaways is a timely and provocative look at the impact of mass incarceration and police brutality on black males in America.  

More than an illumination of marginalized people at their weakest moments; this film is a call to action, a story of directly engaging in the fight for justice.

"The Throwaways courageously explores the most pressing racial justice issue of our time: the mass incarceration and racial profiling of poor people of color.”

- Michelle Alexander author, The New Jim Crow

Q&A with co-directors Ira McKinley, Bhawin Suchak and

Executive Producer Sam Pollard.

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/986059

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QipuC-72-LU

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1556172681263845/

Love Child

Thursday, December 11th, 7:30pm

Love Child

Valerie Veatch, 2014, 75 min.

In 2010, a South Korean baby named Sarang died of malnutrition. The death of a child is always horrific, but the circumstances leading up to this one were even more shocking: Sarang died because her parents were playing games online. Ordinarily, this would be a clear case of negligence, but Love Child takes a different approach by looking at what led to the parents gaming addiction and how their child became a secondary concern. The film then expands from this tragedy to examine the way that South Korea's place as the world leader of Internet infrastructure has adversely affected its communal society.

Valerie Veatch, the youngest director to debut two feature films at the Sundance Film Festival (Me @ The Zoo in 2012 and Love Child in 2014), skillfully weaves a story of personal tragedy together with social commentary. Instead of merely condemning the parents, she shows how embracing technology can have unforeseen negative consequences. By interjecting footage from the game the parents loved to play into the film, Veatch vividly conveys how intoxicating these games can be and shows how easily the lines between real life and virtual reality can blur.

Q&A with director Valerie Veatch and Cinematographer Daniel B. Levin.

Tickets:http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/989841

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF9vd31drIc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/746764252069742/

Oscar Buzz Presents: The Overnighters

Tuesday, December 9th-Wednesday, December 10th, 7:30pm

Oscar Buzz Presents: The Overnighters

(2014 Oscar qualifying, shortlisted and nominated feature documentaries.)

Jesse Moss, 2014, 102 min.

In the tiny town of Williston, North Dakota, tens of thousands of unemployed hopefuls show up with dreams of honest work and a big paycheck under the lure of the oil boom. However, busloads of newcomers chasing a broken American Dream step into the stark reality of slim work prospects and nowhere to sleep. The town lacks the infrastructure to house the overflow of migrants, even for those who do find gainful employment.

Over at Concordia Lutheran Church, Pastor Jay Reinke is driven to deliver the migrants some dignity. Night after night, he converts his church into a makeshift dorm and counseling center, opening the church’s doors to allow the “Overnighters” (as he calls them) to stay for a night, a week or longer. They sleep on the floor, in the pews and in their cars in the church parking lot. Many who take shelter with Reinke are living on society’s fringes and with checkered pasts, and their presence starts affecting the dynamics of the small community. The congregants begin slinging criticism and the City Council threatens to shut the controversial Overnighters program down, forcing the pastor to make a decision which leads to profound consequences that he never imagined.

Director Jesse Moss' award-winning documentary The Overnighters, which made the shortlist for the 2014 Best Documentary Feature Oscar, engages and dramatizes a set of universal societal and economic themes: the promise and limits of re-invention, redemption and compassion, as well as the tension between the moral imperative to “love thy neighbor” and the resistance that one small community feels when confronted by a surging river of desperate, job-seeking strangers.

There will be a live Q&A with director Jesse Moss following the screening on Tuesday, December 9th and a Skype Q&A with Jesse Moss on Wednesday, December 10th.

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/978555

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/102881502

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/330832303767674

Bronx Obama

Saturday, December 6th - Sunday, December 7th, 7:30pm

Bronx Obama

Ryan Murdock, 2014, 92 min.

When Louis Ortiz shaved off his goatee one day in 2008, his life changed forever. He looked in the mirror and he didn’t see himself – a middle-aged, unemployed Puerto Rican father from the Bronx. He saw the face of change, of hope… of money. Bronx Obama tells the strange and improbable tale of a Barack Obama impersonator who tries to cash in on the “look of a lifetime” and chases a fevered American dream from opportunity to oblivion.

Filmmaker Ryan Murdock’s debut feature film has been in the making for nearly 3 years, as he intimately documented Mr. Ortiz’s transformation during Obama’s first term and the 2012 election season. Murdock has rolled out this story in multiple parts – first as a 36-minute radio piece for NPR’s This American Life, then as a short film for The New York Times. The 90-minute feature documentary reveals a host of new characters; a manager who pushes Louis hard to “become Obama,”  a seasoned “Bill Clinton” who dispenses advice, and a hard-working “Mitt Romney” who bets it all on his newfound career. Murdock captures unexpectedly hilarious moments along this Twilight-Zone-esque campaign trail while delving deep into the question of what it means to be someone you’re not.

There will be a Q&A with director Ryan Murdock and the subject of Bronx Obama, Louis Ortiz, following both the screening on December 6th and 7th.

“Funny and insightful” – Variety

“An intricate and compelling documentary that deftly weaves together multiple narrative layers—the American Dream, surrealism, fatherhood, race relations, celebrity” – VICE

“9 out of 10…An achievement in tone, finding the perfect balance between thought-provoking and entertaining film.” - The Arts Guild

“4 out of 5…Hollywood itself couldn’t have crafted a more perfectly sad story and equally deserved triumph.” - We Got This Covered

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/978585

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lANFL0IMWvI

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/569450213200193

No Time for Hate Presents Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

Wednesday, December 3rd, 7:00pm

No Time for Hate Presents Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

(A Benefit Screening For the Ali Forney Center)

Join the “No Time for Hate” crew as we choose "love not hate” and resist bigotry in our neighborhood.  In reaction to continued hate speech, we continue to raise money for the Harlem-based Ali Forney Center that helps homeless LGBTQ youth.  Every night, 3800 young people are homeless in NYC.  40% are LGBTQ.  Many have been pushed from their homes because of religious-based rejection. Together we'll draw inspiration from the life and work of Bayard Rustin (1912 – 1987) and Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer's incredible film on Rustin, Brother Outsider. Rustin was a tireless advocate for peace and social justice who dared to live as an openly gay man during the fiercely homophobic 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. A mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and a disciple of Gandhi, Rustin received a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 due to the tireless advocacy of his surviving life partner and Executive  Director of The Bayard Rustin Fund, Walter Naegle.

Q&A with Brother Outsider directors Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer and Walter Naegle, Rustin's surviving life partner and Executive Director of The Bayard Rustin Fund.

Reception with DJ Lady DM to Follow Q&A!

Powerhouse Broadway director and Harlem resident Scott Ellis has donated three extraordinary prizes.  Each winner receives two tickets and will be brought backstage to meet the cast of one of the following shows he is directing:

“You Can't Take It With You” starring James Earl Jones

“The Elephant Man” starring Bradley Cooper

“On the Twentieth Century” starring Kristen Chenoweth

Seating is limited. Tickets begin at $25.

Tickets: http://harlemagainstviolencehomophobia.mydagsite.com/

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFJDlzm5zDM

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1555597811344405

The Homestretch

Saturday, November 22nd - Wednesday, November 26th, 7:30pm

and Wednesday, November 26th at 4:30pm

The Homestretch

Anne de Mare and Kristen Kelly, 2014, 89 min.

The Homestretch follows three homeless teens as they fight to stay in school, graduate,and build a future. Each of these smart, ambitious teenagers - Roque, Kasey and Anthony - will surprise, inspire, and challenge audiences to rethink stereotypes of homelessness as they work to complete their education while facing the trauma of being alone and abandoned at an early age. Through haunting images, intimate scenes, and first-person narratives, these teens take us on their journeys of struggle and triumph. As their stories unfold, the film connects us deeply with larger issues of poverty, race, juvenile justice, immigration, foster care, and LGBTQ rights.

With unprecedented access into the Chicago Public Schools, The Night Ministry’s Crib emergency youth shelter and Teen Living Programs’ Belfort House, The Homestretch follows these kids as they move through the milestones of high school while navigating a landscape of couch hopping, emergency shelters, transitional homes, street families and a school system on the front lines of this crisis. The film, a co production between Spargel Productions and Kartemquin Films, examines the struggles these youth face in obtaining a high school level education, and then follows them beyond graduation to focus on the crucial transition when the structure of school vanishes and homeless youth struggle to find the support and community they need to survive and be independent. A powerful, original perspective on what it means to be young, homeless and building a future in America today.

The screening on Saturday, 11/22 at 7:30pm will be sponsored by the True Colors Fund and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The screening on Sunday, 11/23 at 7:30pm will be sponsored by the Door and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The screening on Monday, 11/24 at 7:30pm will be sponsored by Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and representatives of GEMS.

The screening on Tuesday, 11/25 at 7:30pm will be sponsored by Coalition for Homeless and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

The screening on Wednesday, 11/26 at 4:30pm will be a youth focused screening in partnership with Maysles Education and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/103951897

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/570957836370625

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/902412

DocWatchers Presents: A World Not Ours

Thursday, November 20th, 7:00pm

DocWatchers Presents:

(Curated by Hellura Lyle)

A World Not Ours

Mahdi Fleifel, 2012, 93 min.

Director Mahdi Fleifel's first documentary feature is a uniquely engaging and personal project. Drawing on a family history of video-taping, Fleifel offers an intimate glimpse into the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon—a settlement of less than a square mile that's home to over 70,000 people and has existed for over 60 years. Dubai-born and London-based writer, director, and cinematographer Fleifel spent his formative years in the camp in the 1980s, before his family settled in Denmark. For years he's been returning and keeping a video diary, and in A World Not Ours he provides a frank yet affectionate portrait of the community. Fleifel's conversations with the camp residents provide an unfiltered take on Palestinian grievances with Israel, Lebanon, and their own political leaders. Elsewhere he explores how residents use the World Cup series to articulate their own ideas of home, community, victory, and hope. Engaging and accessible, with a quirky, upbeat soundtrack, Fleifel's personal journey offers a fresh and inviting point of entry to a thorny political history.

Q&A (via Skype) with Director Mahdi Fleifel & Reception to follow screening.

Trailer: vimeo.com/57316804

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/916758

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/645662225552017/

Hoop Dreams: A 20th Anniversary Celebration

Monday, November 17th, 6:30pm

Hoop Dreams: A 20th Anniversary Celebration

Steve James, 1994, 171 min.

First exhibited at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the audience award for best documentary, Hoop Dreams is the remarkable true story of two American dreamers; an intimate reflection of contemporary American inner-city culture, following two ordinary young men on the courts of the game they love.

Q&A with Hoop Dreams Producer and Kartemquin Films founder Gordon Quinn and filmmaker and Maysles Documentary Center founder Albert Maysles.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TRIx7oD3lo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/862642550432804

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/950820

Films for Change: Short Documentaries from the South Bronx

Saturday, November 15, 7:00pm

Maysles Education Presents:

Films for Change: Short Documentaries from the South Bronx

Suggested Donation: $5

Join Maysles Education and NeON Arts for the Harlem premiere of four new

documentary films on spirituality, domestic violence, the impact of technology on human

relationships, and a portrait of a Brooklyn-born comedian. Directed and produced by

students in South Bronx filmmaking program for adults.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/583291891775847/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jUrBVqvN0Q

DocWatchers Presents: Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth

Thursday, November 13th, 7:00pm

DocWatchers Presents:

(Curated by Hellura Lyle)

Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth

Pratibha Parmar, 2013, 84 min

Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth offers a penetrating look at the life and work of this artist, human rights activist, and self-confessed renegade. Though Walker broke into national prominence in 1983 as the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, her influence on American literature was already well-established. Director Pratibha Parmar traces Walker's extraordinary journey from the cotton fields of Georgia, through her precarious life as a black rights activist living in an interracial marriage, to her international fame as the writer of The Color Purple. But the success of that novel, as well as the subsequent film and stage versions, came at a high price. Employing intimate interviews with Walker and members of her inner circle including Angela Davis, Quincy Jones, Gloria Steinem, Howard Zinn, and Walker's ex-husband, Beauty in Truth seeks not simply to document Walker's many achievements, but to restore her to her rightful place in history; not only as a key literary figure of the 20th Century, but as a profoundly influential activist whose inspiring journey reflects the national story of our country and people during a time of great historical change.

Q&A (via Skype) with Director Pratibha Parmar & Reception to follow screening.

Trailer: vimeo.com/29261995

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/916353

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/645662225552017/

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Presents: Jazz on Film: Spotlight on Comedy

Tuesday, November 11th, 7:00pm

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Presents:

Jazz on Film: Spotlight on Comedy

Moms Mabley, Pigmeat Markham and Redd Foxx all recorded classic albums with routines that drove the Apollo audiences into frenzies. We'll sample these as well as rare film footage of Nipsey Russell and Dusty Fletcher doing their classic routines as well. Be prepared to laugh until you cry!

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/916888

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1503704999881755/

The Americas Media Initiative Presents: Elena

Saturday, November 8th, 7:30pm

The Americas Media Initiative Presents: Elena

Marcelo Martin, 43 mins, 2014

The new Cuban documentary Elena follows several residents in the “Elena” building, located in Central Havana, over a three-year period. Elena is one of the first contemporary investigative documentaries made in Cuba about a serious social problem that affects many Cubans.

Since 1988, following a decision by the government to demolish the bathrooms and kitchens of a wing of the building, the inhabitants of Elena still await the needed repairs. They are experiencing an alarming deterioration of their property along with the social degradation that has affected their daily life. Threatened by an imminent collapse of their building these residents are also victims of endless broken promises by the government. Some await a miracle while others have adapted to coexist with misery, where even death doesn’t scare them anymore.

Elena was filmed with a small “MiniDV” camera by director Marcelo Martin. Martin is part of the new generation of documentary filmmakers living in Cuba who are beginning to document the many serious issues facing Cuban society, with the intent to provoke discussion within Cuba.

Q&A with director Marcelo Martin.

Americas Media Initiative

Founded in 2010, Americas Media Initiative (AMI) is charting new territory using the power of film to give Cuban and U.S. citizens a better understanding of one another. AMI is presenting Cuban films by young filmmakers that speak directly to issues of concern for Cuban citizens. These films present a critical perspective that challenges many of the U.S. stereotypes around censorship and freedom of expression in Cuba.

AMI has consistently done groundbreaking work in Cuba; organizing tours of independently produced U.S. films in the provinces, engaging with Cuban audiences, and generating significant media coverage on Cuban television, in the press and on the Internet. In the U.S., AMI has facilitated four tours, bringing Cuban filmmakers to universities and community centers across the U.S. AMI also distributes DVDs of independently produced Cuban documentaries, animations and short fictions in collaboration with Icarus Films, New York.

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/881337

FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/364882140331396/

History of 8mm

Friday, November 7th, 7:30pm

History of 8mm: 50 (-) Years in Space: (A) History of the (American) Space Program (as told through films): (8mm) NASA/space footage and other related film(s): 1959-? (Volume 11 and other related films)

(Yet) another 8mm anonymous event...

45th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 (Mission) Landing/Walking on the Moon and (the) 55th Anniversary of the (American) Space Program (in general) not to be confused with the Russian Space Program. History of 8mm: Volume -?- (sort of -?- of a sequel to/continuation of (8mm) World War II propaganda/newsreels: Volume Ten...): Al-?- history of the (sub) genre plus another 50th or 60th birthday celebration and the 30th anniversary of Wallpaper ("a magazine on walls"): Another raceless program (or program beyond race depending on how you look at it.)  For a horse of a different color (No pun intended.) we present for your consideration: a race of a different kind (altogether): The Space Race... I was (always) an avid stamp collector (amongst other things). My father had seen to that... ever since I was a (little) kid, like many of my age (group) growing up in the 60's (under it's influence) I wanted to be an astronaut (who didn't? I was one of those (them). Not a fireman. Not  a police officer. An explorer (same thing/difference). (Astronaut) Neil Armstrong landing/walking on the moon, declaring: "It's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind!", as he put the American flag, in a crater, on the moon. I was hooked (almost) immediately! If that didn't do it, nothing (else) would! My (little) eyes darting around (excitedly)! My (little) heart beating at a thousand miles a minute!.., another (concentrated) focus on another particular (different) type of newsreel (a (sub) genre (space/NASA footage/films(s)) within a (sub) genre (newsreel(s)) many of which were made (this time during the 1960's).

Trip to the Moon

George Melies [Black Hawk Films silent, B&W, c.1902. Transferred to Super (-)8, Reg. 8mm & 16mm]

Ranks as the first great international success in the history of film. Trip to the Moon begins as the president of a congress of astronomers announces that he and five colleagues will visit the moon, And their space ship is a bullet designed to be shot from a huge gun. And it works, and the travelers approach the moon which becomes identifiable as a large face. In one of the most famous images in early cinema, the ship hits the face. And other adventures (including moon men who attack) take place in this remarkable film with both imagination and pioneering visual tricks.

The War of the Worlds  

Mike Cassidy, of Salt Lake City, Utah [Reg 8mm, Silent, color, 1960's, c.12 mins]

Teenage version/adaptation of the H.G.Wells' classic (story) comes off (more) like an episode of the -?- (American) -?- show(s) Star Trek & Land of the Lost. (Another 1960's (American) T.V. show).

America on the Moon

[Castle Films, c. 1969/1970, B&W, Reg 8mm, Silent, c. 12 mins]

The Eagle Has Landed

[From the (film) collection of filmmaker Gibbs Chapman, 16mm (Sound, Color, c. 20mins)

Apollo 11 - Man on the Moon

[Columbia Pictures, Super 8, Silent, Color, c. 1969/1970, c. 12 mins]

Moonwalk

[Castle Films, Reg 8mm, Silent, B&W, 1960's, c. 12 mins]

An excerpt from Do They Exist?

[Super 8, Sound, Color, c. 2003-?, c. 3 mins]

Film essay about UFOs, featuring UFOlogist and author Paul Meehan (of Saucer Movies: a UFOlogical History of the Movies) containing -?- interviews, archival footage/photos, and, other documents/materials.

BPT : http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/897419

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/789089877798702/

DocWatchers and the African Film Festival Present: Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

Thursday, November 6th, 7:00pm

DocWatchers and the African Film Festival Present:

(Curated by Hellura Lyle)

Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

Lee Hirsch, 2002, 103 min

Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony depicts the extraordinary role of freedom songs in the very long struggle against apartheid in South Africa.Featuring Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Abdullah Ibrahim, Vusi Mahlaselaand others, the film uses a mixture of interviews, musical performances and historical film footage. Amandla follows South Africans’ stories to be told through the voices of the people themselves.Amandla!is a beautifully crafted film which gives a fresh perspective on the importance of resistance songs throughout a conflict. This celebratory film is a testimony to the power of song and reveals that the inspiration of music provides fuel for the soul.

Q&A with Director Lee Hirsch & Reception to follow screening.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkv2dUcGAn4

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/916014

Facebook (general for all DocWatchers): https://www.facebook.com/events/645662225552017/

Black Africa White Marble

Sunday, October 26th, 3:00pm

Black Africa White Marble

Clemente Bicocchi, 2012, 78 min.

In the 1880s, there were two paths for Central Africa: Pietro di Brazza's and Henry Morton Stanley's. Brazza rejected much of the racism of his age, using his philosophy of non-violence to penetrate the rainforests of the Congo basin and win over the people living there. Meanwhile, Stanley, in the service of Belgium's King Leopold II, advanced with the roar of the cannon. More than a century later, when the current president of Congo decides to transfer di Brazza's remains to a multimillion dollar mausoleum in Brazzaville, a descendent of di Brazza discovers an insidious hidden agenda behind the plan, and launches a human rights battle. Told through an innovative blend of animation, puppetry, archival material, and original footage, Black Africa White Marble is a gripping real-life thriller spanning two centuries.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeYlSCEicUc

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/881286

Film Festival FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/366756816812834/

Film Voyagers Children's Program Presents: Afric'Anim'Action

Sunday, October 26th, 2:00pm

Film Voyagers Children's Program Presents:

Afric'Anim'Action

Jean Michel Kibushi, 2014, 45 min.

A lively collection of 8 kid-friendly animated films, created by young artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo-Brazzaville, under the supervision of legendary Congolese filmmaker/animator Jean Michel Kibushi.

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/881267

Virunga + Closing Night Celebration

Saturday, October 25th, 7:30pm

Virunga + Closing Night Celebration

Orlando Von Einsiedel, 2014, 97 min.

Virunga Park, the oldest National Park in Africa and home to the last of the mountain gorillas, is one of the most bio-diverse places in the world -- it also happens to be one of the most unstable. In 2012 it was the site of a standoff between the M23 rebel group and Congo's national army, and is full of rich minerals coveted by a shady, money-hungry multi-national corporation. Amid these threats, a brave collection of individuals -- including an ex-child soldier turned ranger, a gorilla handler, a Belgian conservationist, and a French journalist -- risk their lives to protect the park, and Von Einsiedel's sensational documentary tells their story.

Followed by post-screening discussion with special guests TBA + Closing Night Celebration with refreshments and live music by Isaac Katalay and the Life Long Project

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/92226142

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/881244

Special Panel Discussion: Peace and Stability in the DRC: The 2016 Elections and Congo's Constitution

Saturday, October 25th, 3:00pm

Free Event!

Special Panel Discussion:

Peace and Stability in the DRC: The 2016 Elections and Congo's Constitution

A central issue of concern to the Congolese populace at large is the transition from the current government to a new one in 2016. President Joseph Kabila's second term in office will expire in December 2016 and per the Congolese constitution, he is not permitted to run for a third term. His political party has signaled that they will seek to change the constitution in order to allow Kabila to run again. Congolese civil society, youth, faith leaders and opposition forces have called for Kabila and his political party to respect the country's constitution. In addition, the United States via Secretary of State, John Kerry and Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region Russ Feingold has called on Kabila to step down at the conclusion of his second term and organize elections to usher in a new government and peaceful transition. A key component of the Peace Framework established by the United Nations and 11 African countries to advance peace in the Congo calls for the Kinshasa government to subscribe to the principles of good governance, which entail respecting Congo's constitution.

Congo in Harlem has gathered a panel of experts to discuss Congo's prospects for a peaceful democratic transition in 2016. Panelists TBA. Moderated by Jason Stearns (Congo Siasa).

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/881233

Double feature of films about Che Guevara’s time in Congo

Friday, October 24th, 7:30pm

Double feature of films about Che Guevara’s time in Congo

Tatu: Che In Congo

Jorges Fuentes,1997, 56 min.

In 1965, Cuba sent an expeditionary force to eastern Congo to train Marxist rebels in the fight against Congo's American-backed central government. The Cuban Expedition was led by none other than Che Gueverra who, under the code-name "Tatu" ("Three" in Swahili) cemented himself a place in Congo's history. Fuentes' rarely screened film is an account of Che's travels and political influence, as told by the Cubans and Congolese who knew and fought alongside him.

Freddy Ilanga: Che's Swahili Translator

Katrin Hansing, 2013, 24 min.

Freddy Ilanga, a fifteen-year-old Congolese youth, became Che Guevara’s personal Swahili teacher and translator during the Cuban Expedition to Congo. After seven intense months by Che’s side, the Cuban authorities sent Freddy to Cuba, displacing him from his family and abruptly changing his life. Hansing's film captures Ilanga's recollections of his time with Che, and his reconnecting with his family after 40 years of separation.

Followed by post-screening discussion with guests TBA.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/9432188

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/881119