New York African Film festival 2009 - 2014
DocWatchers and the African Film Festival Present: Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony
Thursday, November 6th, 2014, 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
African Film Festival Inc, Doc Watchers' Inc, and Maysles Cinema Present: Five Days of african Docs
Monday, May 6th, 2013, 7:00pm
Mugabe: Villain or Hero?
Roy Agyemang, 2012, 11 6min, UK
Is there more to President Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe than is being shown on our television screens? What’s the true extent of Mugabe’s support inside Zimbabwe? What has happened to the country that they all called the bread basket of Africa – and why? These questions and more led British filmmaker Roy Agyemang on a journey to Zimbabwe to make a documentary about President Robert Mugabe. What started out as a three-month mission turned into three life-changing years, culminating in a rare interview with one of the world’s longest-serving yet most reviled leaders. Mugabe: Villain or Hero? Is an epic personal journey, narrated by Agyemang who, together with his UK-based Zimbabwean fixer, found themselves in Mugabe’s entourage, on Colonel Gaddafi’s private jet and around a host of prominent African leaders.
Post-Screening Skype Q&A with Director, Roy Agyemang and reception to follow screening.
Trailer: http://youtu.be/L3aGgktbGyY
Sunday, May 5th, 1:30pm
Footprints of My Other
Directed by Claude Haffner, 2011, 52 min, France/Congo
Claude Haffner, daughter of a French father and Congolese mother, sets off for Congo in search of her African identity. Her starting point is the archive of photos left by her late father, a specialist in African cinema. She also speaks with her mother, who tells of life in Congo and adjusting to France. In 2004, Claude and her mother visited Congo for the first time since the family left in 1981. This experience has inspired Claude to return again, now alone, to deepen her relationship with her mother’s family. Her journey brings her face to face with the diamond trade, and with her sense of otherness, both in Congo and back home in France.
Post-Screening Skype Q&A with Director Claude Haffner.
3:00pm
Touba
Dir. Chai Vasarhelyi, 2013, 83 min, Senegal/USA
Touba chronicles the Grand Magaal pilgrimage of one million Sufi Muslims to the holy city of Touba, Senegal. This observational film takes us inside the Mouride Brotherhood, one of Africa's fastest growing religious organizations.
Q&A with director Chai Vasarhelyi to follow screening.
Saturday, May 4th, 1:00pm
Creation In Exile
Daniela Ricci, 2013, 53 min, France
This documentary follows the personal and artistic paths of five major African filmmakers in exile from Paris to Washington, from Ouagadougou to London, via Uppsala.
Post-Screening Q&A with Director Daniela Ricci.
2:30pm
Sifuna Okwethu: We Want What's Ours
Bernadette Atuahene, 2011, 19min, South Africa
Under Apartheid, the Ndolila family’s ancestral land was stolen. Years later, with their descendents trying to regain ownership of the land, the family is still battling apartheid and its lingering effects. And much to the dismay of the middle-class black mortgage holders who now own their ancestral land, the Ndolilas have built shacks on the disputed property.
Dear Mandela
Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza, 2012, 90 min, South Africa
When the South African government promises to 'eradicate the slums' and begins to evict shack dwellers far outside the city, three friends who live in Durban's vast shantytowns refuse to be moved. Dear Mandela follows their journey from their shacks to the highest court in the land as they invoke Nelson Mandela's example and become leaders in a growing social movement. By turns inspiring, devastating and funny, the film offers a new perspective on the role that young people can play in political change and is a fascinating portrait of South Africa coming of age.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPc62K9su_k
5:30pm
Jeppe On A Friday
Arya Lalloo & Shannon Walsh, 2012, 85 min, Quebec/South Africa
The directors and a team of local filmmakers spent a single day following five distinct characters, creating a portrait of a community pulsing with life. The result is an astonishing work that stands as a fluid exploration of the complex and fascinating spectrum of South African society.
Skype post-screening Q&A with filmmakers.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPhfQlIVnNw
8:00pm
You Laugh But Its True
David Paul Meyer, 2011, 84 min, US/South Africa
In South Africa’s emerging world of stand-up comedy, comedians of color have only recently started performing on stage. With the opportunity to finally command the attention of a large audience, they go beyond just settling for easy laughs and confront the legacy of apartheid head on in their material. Against the backdrop of this volatile environment, 25-year-old Trevor Noah ambitiously pursues his passion to entertain. Yet his fledgling career as a comedian is largely relegated to headlining at corporate events due to the country’s comedy scene being so small. Determined to pursue his dream of performing all over the world, Trevor decides to produce his first one-man show, despite his lack of experience performing on stage. Based on the size of the proposed venue alone, it will be the most ambitious debut ever attempted by a comedian in South Africa. To prepare for the show, Trevor revisits his past, creating material from memories of growing up in the township under apartheid. As the child of an interracial couple, a union that was illegal in South Africa at the time of his birth, Trevor’s life reveals the story of an outsider who has somehow figured out a way to relate to everyone through his comedy. Despite this progress, the preparation for the show becomes increasingly difficult as Trevor faces a multitude of challenges: an underdeveloped comedy scene, criticism from other comics, strained personal relationships, lingering racial tension, and a shocking family tragedy. They combine to form a crisis that threatens not just the success of the show, but Trevor’s dreams of lifting himself and the South African comedy scene to the global stage.
Post-Screening Skype Q&A with Director David Meyer to follow screening.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5PZcU9VE2k
Friday, May 3rd, 7:30pm
Rasta: A Soul’s Journey
Stuart Samuels, 2011, 93 min, Canada
Rasta: A Soul's Journey tells the story of the journey of Rita and Bob Marley's granddaughter, Donisha Prendergast, to eight (8) countries around the world to explore the roots and evolution of Rastafari. Her journey takes her to places where her grandfather's captivating performances and his message are still fondly remembered. The documentary boasts an uplifting and inspiring reggae soundtrack that features established as well as emerging contemporary, reggae stars such as Humble, Matisyahu and Damian Marley. This exciting mix of travel, music and culture packs a powerful punch that will appeal to audiences around the world.
Post-Screening Q&A with director/granddaughter of legendary artist Bob Marley, Donisha Prendergast.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Thursday, May 2nd, 7:30pm
Uprising
Fredrik Stanton, 2012, 85 min, Egypt
Produced by an Academy Award-winning team including the Executive Producer of Taxi to the Dark Side and the Editor of Inside Job, Uprising tells the inside story of the Egyptian revolution from the perspective of its principal leaders and organizers, including four Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Their success in forcing the downfall of a brutal dictatorship has changed the face of the Middle East and provided hope for millions of oppressed people across the world. Above all, it is a story of profound hope, and of courage rewarded.
Post-Screening Q&A with Director Fredrik Stanton followed by reception.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-zI-HefD3M
DocWatchers and the African Film Festival Present: A Black History Month Special: Black Like Me
(The Current Australian Aborigine Black Power Movement in Australia)
Friday, February 10th, 2012, 7:00pm
Rabbit Proof Fence
Phillip Noyce, 2002, 94 min.
The true story of three aboriginal girls who were forcibly taken from their homes in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of an official Australian government policy. They make a daring escape and embark on an epic 1,500 mile journey to get back home -- following the rabbit proof fence that bisects the Australian continent -- with the authorities in hot pursuit. A verite-fiction classic.
Reception to immediately follow screening
Saturday, February 11th, 5:00pm
The Tracker
Rolf de Heer, 2002, 98 min.
The year is 1922 in this docu-drama. The Tracker (David Gulpilil) has the job of pursuing a fugitive, an aborigine who is suspected of murdering a white woman, as he leads three mounted policemen across the outback. As they move deeper into the bush and further away from civilization, the toxic forces of paranoia and violence begin to escalate, stirring up questions of what is black and what is white and who is leading whom. Their journey becomes an acrimonious and murderous trek that shifts power from one man to another.
7:00pm
Our Generation
Sinem Saban & Damien Curtis, 2010, 73 min.
Our Generation is a powerful and upfront documentary on the Australian Aboriginal struggle for their land, culture and freedom -- a story that has been silenced by the Australian Government and mainstream media. In this film, national indigenous leaders, historians and human rights activists explore the ongoing clash of cultures that is threatening to wipe out the oldest continuing culture in the world.
Reception to immediately follow screening
Link to trailer for Our Generation:
DocWatchers and the Maysles Cinema Present: The New York African Film Festival
Friday, April 29th, 2011, 7:30pm
Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children
Xoliswa Sithole, 2010, 90 min., South Africa
The story of three children trying to survive in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
Followed by Q&A with Peabody Award Winning Filmmaker, Xoliswa Sithole and Reception
Saturday, April 30, 3:30pm
All I Wanna Do
Michelle Medina, 2010, 59 min., Morocco
Forty-eight year-old Simohamed, who works as a parking guard, and his 17-year-old son Ayoub, get the opportunity to pursue their dreams of being Hip Hop artists.
Jazz Mama
Petna Katondolo, 2010, 30 min., Congo
How do you talk about rape in a place where basic human rights are systematically violated? Katondolo skirts the boundaries of reality and fiction, offering a compelling portrait of Conoglese women who stand strong in their communities and denounce the violence they experience.
A Blues for Tiro
Steve Kwena Mokwena, 2007, 48 min., South Africa
A poetic tribute to an extraordinary black consciousness activist and inspirational leader, who was murdered in 1974.
Saturday, April 30, 7:30pm
Ladies In Waiting
Dieudo Hamadi & Divita Wa Lusula, 2010, 24 min., Congo
In a maternity ward in the Congo, new mothers are "held hostage" until they are are able to settle their medical bills.
Shouting Silent
Xoliswa Sithole, 2002, 50 min., South Africa
An adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS journeys back home in search of other young women who have also lost their mothers to HIV/AIDS and are now struggling to raise themselves (and, in many cases, their siblings) on their own.
Followed by Q&A with Peabody Award Winning Filmmaker, Xoliswa Sithole and Reception
Sunday, May 1, 3:00pm
Alex’s Wedding
Jean-Marie Teno, 2003, 45 min., Cameroon
Three people's lives are about to change dramatically. Alex goes to his in-laws' to bring home his second wife. His childhood sweetheart and first wife, Elise, reluctantly accompanies him.
North-South.com
Francois Ducat, 2007, 53 min., Cameroon
In a country where nearly half the population lives under the poverty threshold, many young women surf the internet hoping to “escape” by marrying a rich, white foreigner.
Sunday, May 1st, 5:00pm
Zero Tolerance
Dieudo Hamadi, 2010, 18 min., Congo
The systematic use of rape casts a dark shadow on the Congolese society. Ordinary men are guilty of violently exploiting women, and are unable explain what came over them.
Driving with Fanon
Steve Kwena Mokwena, 2010, 70 min., Sierra Leone
Avant-garde filmmaker, Kwena Mokwena travels through Freetown, Sierra Leone with the ghost of Frantz Fanon, engaging a new generation into conversation about the radical black scholar, psychiatrist and revolutionary thinker.
Docwatchers & African Film Festival Present: Streetball
June 7, 2010
Streetball
Dir. Demetrius Wren (2010) 78 min.
A fast-paced documentary that follows the lives of eight men whose lives are changed by soccer and sport, this film tells a story of redemption and the different realities of Post-Apartheid South Africa.
After the Movie: Reception & Talkback with Demetrius Wren
