African Film Festival Inc., Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present:
Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction
Curated by Hellura Lyle and Mahen Bonetti
Thursday, May 15th, 7:00pm
Miners Shot Down
Rehad Desai, 2014, 85 min, South Africa
In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a strike for better wages. Six days later, the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more. What emerges is collusion at the top, spiraling violence and the country’s first post-colonial massacre.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkK_T_vz7cY
BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/663040
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1431228593792702
African Film Festival Inc., Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present:
Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction
Curated by Hellura Lyle and Mahen Bonetti
Friday, May 16th, 7:00pm
Last Song Before the War
Kiley Kraskouskas, 2012, 90 min, US/Mali
Last Song Before the War is a feature-length documentary that captures the inspiring rise and uncertain future of the annual Festival re of Mali’in the Desert. The festival history is told from the perspective of the co-founder and festival director, Manny Ansar, the musicians who perform and the intrepid travelers from around the world who make the long journey to attend the festival. Against the backdrop of stunning musical performances, the film subtly reveals the challenges and triumphs of creating an artistic event in such challenging economic and political circumstances.
Post-Screening Q&A with filmmakers & reception.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jovfADZXRs
BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/663046
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1431228593792702
African Film Festival Inc., Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present:
Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction
Curated by Hellura Lyle and Mahen Bonetti
Saturday, May 17th, 4:00pm
Spotlight on Sudan
Cultural Healing Community Cinema Project
The Cultural Healing project trained Sudanese journalism students, civil society representatives and young people to make short documentary films that expressed their cultures and traditions. This project is based on a concept developed by British-Sudanese filmmaker Taghreed Elsanhouri.
Abuna
Mudzamil, 2013, 11 min., Sudan
A touching tribute to Ami Abdalseed, the caretaker and cook for the Red Sea High-school for boys. As generations of students fondly recollect their memories of Abdalseed, a powerful portrait of a man prepared to live by his principles and defy authority in his own unique way begins to emerge.
Coming Soon
Mustafa Jawhar and Hind Elsheik, 2013,16min, Sudan
A town pays tribute to an abandoned cinema.
The Crying Sea
Aladin Reyhan and Hashim Fath Alrahman, 2013, 12 min, Sudan
The Crying Sea celebrates the gift of the Red Sea to the city of Port Sudan and makes an urgent plea to its citizens to wake up to the consequences of sea pollution.
Mohamed Abdalaziem (aka Fox), 2013, 14 min., Sudan
This film follows a Southern Sudanese musician as he bids a prolonged and bittersweet farewell to Khartoum, the city in which he grew up, before his repatriation to South Sudan.
Only a Child
Eltahir Daoud , 2013, 10 min, Sudan
This film tells the story of a young boy who has given up his schooling so his brothers can continue with their education.
Tayba
Maha Abdalmoniem, 2013, 11 min, Sudan
An intimate portrait of the filmmaker’s aunt as she, from the repose of old age, recollects how she overcame the stigma of divorce and forged an independent life as a woman alone.
Train of Longing
Najwa Yaasin, 2013, 13 min, 2013, Sudan
Atbara was once known as the city of iron and steel and it was the railway that made it one of the most cosmopolitan and prosperous corners of Sudan. This film tells the tale of a city and its population and how the coming of the railway changed them both.
Post-Screening Q&A with Tagreed Elsanhouri and filmmakers & reception.
BPT:http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/663049
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1431228593792702
African Film Festival Inc., Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present:
Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction
Curated by Hellura Lyle and Mahen Bonetti
Saturday, May 17th, 7:30pm
Sodiq
Michael Adeyemi, 2013, 44 min, UK
Hailing from a North Peckham estate, 20-year old Sodiq Adeojo’s childhood dreams to be a doctor were on the cusp of being realized, with offers from universities including King’s College. However, when he was charged with the gang-related shooting of an equally gifted teenager, two promising futures were shattered in one stroke. With a scrupulous look at the evidence in the case, director Michael goes right to the heart of this tragic story.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrDl7Vly5mY
Rêve Kakudji
Ibbe Daniëls & Koen Vidal, 2013, 73 min, Belgium
Serge Kakudji is a twenty-year-old Congolese countertenor who fell in love with opera as a young boy, listening to cassette tapes of opera recordings in his room in Lumubashi. Rêve Kakudji follows Serge to Europe as he works to make it to the top of the classical opera world.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFnmpcGTFmk
BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/663110
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1431228593792702
African Film Festival Inc., Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present:
Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction
Curated by Hellura Lyle and Mahen Bonetti
Sunday, May 18th, 4:00pm
Curse of an Addict
Lovinsa Kavuma, 2013, 25 min, Tanzania
Seif is a young Muslim heroin addict who believes he is cursed. In a battle to be free, he seeks help from a Sheik who conducts an exorcism and summons the curse.
A Lot Like You
Eliaichi Kimaro, 2011, 80 min
Eliaichi Kimaro is a mixed-race, first-generation American with a Tanzanian father and Korean mother. When her retired father moves back to Tanzania, Eliaichi begins a project that examines the intricate fabric of her multiracial identity.
Post-screening Q&A via Skype with Director.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyyPg6pZves
BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/663067
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1431228593792702
African Film Festival Inc., Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present:
Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction
Curated by Hellura Lyle and Mahen Bonetti
Sunday, May 18th, 7:00pm
Living Funeral
(Narrative Short
Udoka Oyeka, 2013, 21 min, Nigeria
Living Funeral tells the inspiring story a young woman coming to terms with her battle with breast cancer. It portrays an incredible journey of hope, bravery and despair. To help her family deal with their grief, the young woman arranges a farewell for her family to help ease their pain; a celebration of life… A living funeral.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRqxVja0KPo
B for Boy
(Narrative Feature)
Chika Anadu, 2013, 118 min, Nigeria
In contemporary Nigeria, a 40-year-old pregnant woman raises a 7-year-old daughter, runs her own successful business and maintains a happy marriage. However, her failure to produce a son for her husband makes her a target of derision among family, friends and neighbors. When her pregnancy ends unexpectedly in a miscarriage, she takes extreme measures to keep the hope of a male heir alive.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEhTbVimeX4
BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/66308
FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1431228593792702
