Four Days of African Docs and Verite Fiction

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