The 2014 African World Documentary Films
African Genesis: Ghana, the Door of No Return
Bob Lott (Ghana, USA) - 100min
An epic story of the heroic sojourn of African American People to “The Door of No Return” along the Gold Coast in Ghana. The film captures the affect, the emotions, wonder and transformation it engenders by following two sets of siblings as they travel to Ghana. It also focuses on several adults who accompany the children and integrates the life altering experiences of two Jewish women who took a separate journey to Ghana on their own. The series shows the experiences and reactions while they are in Africa providing a platform for all to articulate what they were thinking, feeling and going through and how these experiences impacted them.
Ana and I (Ana Y Yo)
Primavera Ruiz (Spain) - 83min
Ana and I is the story of a daughter's search for answers. As she confronts the mystery that surrounds the deaths of her sister and father, and the reasons for the sudden adoption of her two sisters, Primavera presents her enigmatic mother, Ana, a single parent who does whatever it takes to provide for her large family; the family that became the first Spanish equestrian champion vaulting team.
Asni: The Life of Asnakech Worku. Coyrage, Passion and Glamour in Ethiopia
Rachel Samuel (Ethiopia) - 80min
A documentary film on an extraordinary artist, Asnaketch Worku who is as much a cultural icon to Ethiopians as Billie Holiday is to Americans and Edith Piaf to the French. Asnaketch lived her life on the edge of her artistry, over the edge of her passions. She brought high standards to theater and excitement to music in conservative Ethiopia in the 1950's-60's. Her gift and transparent nature made her infectious to audiences not only in Ethiopia but also around the world.
Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years, 1984 to 1992
Dagmar Schultz (Germany) - 79min
Audre Lorde, the highly influential, award-winning African-American lesbian poet came to live in West-Berlin in the 80s and early '90s. She was the mentor and catalyst who helped ignite the Afro-German movement while she challenged white women to acknowledge and constructively use their privileges. With her active support a whole generation of writers and poets for the first time gave voice to their unique experience as people of color in Germany. This documentary contains previously unreleased audiovisual material from director Dagmar Schultz's archives including stunning images of Audre Lorde off stage. With testimony from Lorde's colleagues and friends the film documents Lorde's lasting legacy in Germany and the impact of her work and personality.
Beyond Forgiving
Imad Karam (South Africa, UK) - 28min
A film, which depicts the journey of two South Africans trying to bring healing and reconciliation to their country. Ginn Fourie and Letlapa Mphalele form an unlikely pair: a black atheist man and a white Christian woman. One has suffered directly from actions of the other, but both have been victims - and risen beyond their pain. What brings them together is a pro- found story of tragedy and hope.
Black Africa White Marble
Clemente Bicocchi (Congo, Gabon, Italy USA) - 77min
'Black Africa White Marble' is a gripping, real-life David-and-Goliath thriller told through an innovative blend of animation, puppetry, archive materials, graphics, and original documentary footage. In the 1880s, there were two paths for Central Africa: Pietro di Brazza's and Henry Stanley's. Italian by birth and French by education, Brazza rejected the racism of his age, using his philosophy of non-violence to penetrate the rain-forests of the Congo Basin, sowing trust along the way. Meanwhile, his rival Stanley (in the service of the Belgian King Leopold II) advanced with the roar of the cannon. More than a century later, when the current Congo president decides to transfer di Brazza's remains from his grave in Algiers to a multimillion-dollar mausoleum in Congo's impoverished capital, writer Idanna Pucci discovers an insidious hidden agenda behind the plan--one that sheds harsh light on both Central Africa's colonial past and its corrupt present.
Brothers of the Black List
Sean Gallagher (USA) - 71min
The film tells the story behind the longest litigated civil rights case in American history. It all began in September 1992, when an elderly woman in Oneonta, New York reported that she had been attacked in an attempted rape by a young black male who cut his hand during the altercation. This led to a college administrator at nearby Suny Oneonta giving the police a list of the names and residences of the 125 black men who attended the school. Police used this list to track down every black male in town, questioning them and demanding to see their hands. An outcry from the students and community and the attention from the national media led into the judicial system where the case would be shuffled around state and federal courts through fourteen years of litigation.
City of the Damned
Stephanie Lincoln, Matt Rogers, Mor Albalak, Shaneika Lai, Stephanie Lee (USA) - 15min
City of the Damned focuses on LGBT rights in the face of the brutal anti-homosexuality bill before the Ugandan Parliament. Although the death penalty has been withdrawn from the bill due heavily to international pressure, punishments are harsh and public opinion remains the biggest threat to the Ugandan LGBT community. The daring non-governmental organization Youth on Rock Foundation is fighting against this stigma by promoting economic empowerment among its members. Najib, YRF's treasurer, sells clothes in Uganda's largest market. He wants to prove that his sexuality does not define him; it's his respect for life, his determination for equality, and his aspirations to become a lawyer and self-respecting Ugandan citizen.
Comrade President
Mosco Kamwendo (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Portugal) - 90min
Samora Mois's Machel is a 1930's Mozambican village boy who is initiated into the struggle for the independence of his country, through his own experiences with Portuguese colonialism. With vigor and charisma, he rises to become a daring military strategist and a psychologically resourceful leader. But the independence of Mozambique alone is not enough as his country cannot survive with racist Rhodesia and Apartheid South Africa as neighbors. This is a difficult situation requiring difficult solutions, some of which leaves Samora’s image in poor light. A unique, non-corrupt African leader who insists on the executive being the first to sacrifice and the last to benefit, but nonetheless a human being with his own weaknesses and mistakes to make. After helping the Zimbabweans to achieve their independence, Samora decides to go for apartheid South Africa, which has the strongest military on the African continent. Although he has enjoyed popular support from his people and his colleagues in government, all along, the war with apartheid South Africa is one he finds himself fighting alone, towards his final days.
Daughters of the Niger Delta
Ilse van Lamoen (Nigeria, Netherlands) - 56min
The film tells a different story about the Niger Delta than the usual media reports about oil outputs, conflict, and kidnapping. The film gives a taste of everyday life in the region through the eyes of three ordinary women: Hannah, Naomi, and Rebecca. Their personal stories shed light on human rights violations in the Niger Delta that we rarely hear about in the news.
Even Me
Megan Ebor (USA) - 24min
The film provides an intimate portrait of ethnic minority older adults living with HIV/AIDS, in an effort to dispel the myths that perceive older adults as asexual and, therefore, not at risk. Despite popular belief, older adults are sexually active and remain sexually active well into their 80s, 90s and beyond. As a result, heterosexual transmission of HIV/AIDS among older adults has risen considerably since the mid-1980s. This film explores aging, sexuality and HIV among ethnic minority older adults. Taking a direct approach in exploring this highly stigmatized topic and exposing the consequences faced by a group that has little knowledge of safer sex practices or their risks of contracting HIV/AIDS, this documentary gives a face to the older adult group that has been identified as an 'invisible at-risk population.'
Finding Home
Samantha Andre, Margot Czeropski, Mike Agnew (USA) - 13min
Currently there are over 10 million refugees throughout the world and only 60,000 are allowed to enter into the United States each year. Finding home is a short, cinema verit' style documentary that follows the Abdis, a refugee family from Somalia, throughout their first two months in the United States. The Abdi parents gave up everything they had for the chance of peace and a better life for their five children. Finding Home provides a first-hand look at the lives of refugees inside the United States and exposes the struggles and hopes refugee families face when trying to adapt to their new lives and cultures.
Freedom
Cheryl Halpern (Ethiopia, USA) - 25min
'Natsanat' (freedom) documents the the heroic stories of young female freedom fighters in Ethiopia during the 20th century. These women left their families and homes to join the struggle to bring freedom, peace and democracy to their country. They serve as role models for leadership and courage for women.
Freedom (Natsanat)
Cheryl Halpern (Ethiopia, USA) - 25min
'Natsanat' (freedom) documents the heroic stories of young female freedom fighters in Ethiopia during the 20th century. These women left their families and homes to join the struggle to bring freedom, peace and democracy to their country. They serve as role models for leadership and courage for women.
Grenada: Colonialism and Conflict
Valerie Scoon (Grenada, USA) - 45min
This documentary chronicles the philosophical and sometimes bloody struggles Grenadians have waged against colonialism and its long lasting psychological influences. Grenadian leaders fought against colonialism in different ways. Julian Fedon freed 100 slaves to fight the British. Eric Gairy led the poor people in massive strike and obtained many improvements for them. Maurice Bishop led a successful coup against Eric Gairy in 1979, promising education and societal reform. History tells the tale, however, that even as Grenadian leaders have struck blows at colonialism, they have at times employed the tools of oppression taught to them by their colonial masters.
Just to Let You Know That I’m Alive
Emanuela Zuccala, Simona Ghizzoni (Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Italy) - 64min
Since 1975, Saharawi people live half in Western Sahara and half in refugee camps in Algeria divided by a 2,700 km wall built by Morocco during the war. “Just to Let You Know That I’m Alive” gives voice to Saharawi women who were victims of violence, both in Western Sahara and in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria. Reconstructing, through their testimonies, diaries and old photographs, the history of the Saharawi people from a female and intimate perspective.
Living as Brothers
Kevin Fraser (Canada) - 88min
'Living as Brothers' looks at the lives of Jamaican migrant men toiling in the orchards of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, unseen by the thousands of tourists who descend on the small town each year. In their own words, these men, some of whom have been returning for over twenty years, tell of the second life they've created for themselves in Canada, the reasons for their making this journey, and their struggles back in rural Jamaica. Told over a season of picking fruit, their story is arduous, stressful, precarious, offering few second chances, but is ultimately one of brotherhood.
Lost & Found in China (Red White Black & Blue II)
James Brown, Anton Leach (New Zealand, USA, China) - 75min
Lost & Found in China follows rugby legend Stuart Krohn as he takes a boys' and a girls' rugby team to tour China and Hong Kong finally reaching the Hong Kong Sevens where Stuart made his rugby career. The teams are made up of students from ICEF public schools, a charter school program in South LA that promotes excellence in academics. The students go on an adventure, discovering ancient sights and cultural experiences in an unknown land while playing fiercely on the rugby field.
Man Up and Go
Randy Bacon (USA, Ethiopia, Uganda) - 92min
When Roger went to Ethiopia to get his adopted daughter, she was 6 months old, but only 7 pounds, dying. Roger asked himself, is there a way out of this? He called his dad and heard words that rocked his core: Roger, man up! If she dies, at least she will die in the arms of a father. Roger had to inspire men to be better husbands and fathers, so he launched the Man Up movement. With 28 other men, they traveled to the depths of Africa to love big on orphans and the least of these. In the end, the men discover their lives were impacted the most. They travel home but will they be the same?
Mountains Will Move
Douglas McCann (Tanzania, USA) - 30min
In the shadow of Africa's highest peaks, a new generation of Tanzanian girls struggles to overcome poverty and inequality. On the other side of the world, an all-female group of Australian teenagers sets out to raise money and awareness by taking on a challenge of new heights. What begins as a movement to offer a helping hand turns into a journey for two groups of young women that will climb together side by side to reach for the top of one of the highest mountains in Africa, Mount Meru (14,977 feet). Theirs is a touching story that reminds us that the efforts of working together can yield unimaginable results, and that by empowering girls today we ensure a brighter world for the women of tomorrow.
Mountains will Move
Douglas McCann (Tanzania, USA) - 30min
In the shadow of Africa's highest peaks, a new generation of Tanzanian girls struggles to overcome poverty and inequality. On the other side of the world, an all-female group of Australian teenagers sets out to raise money and awareness by taking on a challenge of new heights. What begins as a movement to offer a helping hand turns into a journey for two groups of young women that will climb together side by side to reach for the top of one of the highest mountains in Africa, Mount Meru (14,977 feet). Theirs is a touching story that reminds us that the efforts of working together can yield unimaginable results, and that by empowering girls today we ensure a brighter world for the women of tomorrow.
Move
Theodore Collatos (USA) - 73min
'Move' is about world-renowned dance choreographers Kevin Lega Jeff and Gary Abbott and their inspiring Chicago based contemporary African American dance company 'Deeply Rooted Dance Theater'. Set to the contemplative music of Wynton Marsalis the film follows the group during a winter tour as we glimpse the intimate world of the dancers and the spiritual and emotional nature of the artistic process. As the grass roots company struggles to budget the tour, issues of gender identity in dance, race dynamics in a mixed-race company, and politics are explored in a fresh and powerful new way.
Natsanat (Freedom)
Cheryl Halpern (Ethiopia, USA) - 25min
'Natsanat' (freedom) documents the heroic stories of young female freedom fighters in Ethiopia during the 20th century. These women left their families and homes to join the struggle to bring freedom, peace and democracy to their country. They serve as role models for leadership and courage for women.
Sahel Calling
John Bosch (USA) - 39min
Sahel Calling embodies the motivational and re-conciliatory power of music to confront a radical political agenda and its consequences on peace and survival in West Africa. Using violence to control the population, the radicals also banned music, synonymous with life for many. Based around events in 2012-2013 in Mali, the fears and hopes of a terrorized and splintered population are expressed by musicians, the voice of the voiceless. Interviewed at ceremonies, refugee camps and concerts, the musicians demonstrate music's ability to raise global awareness about Mali, its culture and its challenges. The musicians also carry a local message: sing to bear witness, to forgive and to reconcile. A low budget, independent film, Sahel Calling was released for free as a dedication to Malian people.
Saya: Dance and Survival in an Afro-Bolivian Village
Beret Strong, John Tweedy (Bolivia, USA) - 21min
The film reveals how the elders and ancestors of the people of Toca'a worked under a form of slavery that persisted until the 1950's. Community members still perform dances rooted in their African cultural heritage. The 'Saya' dance troupe performs in the plaza of a nearby tourist town before an audience of local indigenous Andeans, rich weekenders from the Bolivian capital of La Paz, and international tourists. The film highlights the dilemmas of cultural survival and emergence for an endangered subculture in an era of globalization.
Seeds of Hope
Fiona Lloyd-Davies (Congo, United Kingdom) - 71min
In a corner of Eastern Congo one woman puts herself at risk every day to help thousands of Congolese rape survivors embark on a journey of healing. Seeds of Hope tells the story of Masika, herself the victim of multiple rapes, who runs a center that helps other rape survivors and children born from rape come to terms with what they have lived through. The women and children farm a small patch of land together that provides them with an income, a sense of stability and a form of therapy. However, the battle against endemic rape is far from over. Filmed over two years, Seeds of Hope takes us deep into the lives of women and children rarely seen.
Sons of Africa
James Becket (USA) - 57min
Uganda's Idi Amin and Tanzania's Julius Nyerere were bitter enemies who went to war in 1978. Today, Amin is reviled as the 'Butcher of Uganda', while Nyerere is revered as the 'Founding Father of Tanzania.' Nyerere's army forced Amin and his family into exile in 1979, ending Idi Amin's blood soaked regime. In “Sons of Africa,” the two leaders' sons, Jaffar Amin and Madaraka Nyerere, attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, on a symbolic journey of peace and reconciliation.
Standing with the Students
Valentine Eben (Cameroon, Nigeria) - 60min
In the spring of 2005, students of the University of Buea, Ambazonia (former United Nations Trust Territory of Southern Cameroons under British Administration) have striked to request basic rights and essential amenities in challenge of a 10 year illegitimate ban on all forms of protests. As usual Cameroon forces were brought in to forcefully stop the strike. By November 2006, the forces have shot and killed 5 students, beaten another to death and severely injured many more. This documentary tries to tell the story of these shocking events.
Stateless
Scott Erlinder (Rwanda, USA) - 47min
Since the 1994 Genocide, Rwandan refugees from that conflict - and from subsequent events - have created a population of over 150,000 (some say 250,000) living around the world. In July 2013, these people will lose their refugee status and be forced back to Rwanda by the UNHCR and host countries. The refugees fear repatriation to a country they see as dictatorial and oppressive. The film explores why it is not a proper time to invoke this return. Stateless has interviews with major figures in refugee studies, Paul Rusesabagina (the real 'Hotel Rwanda' person), Theogene Rudesingwa (former Ambassador to the US from Rwanda, currently in exile), as well as UN officials, Human Rights activists and refugees themselves.
The Lives of LaMott Atkins
Robert Philipso (USA) - 34min
W. E. B. DuBois famous wrote that every Black in America grow up with 'this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others.' But what happens when the double consciousness of being gay is overlaid on that? This self-narrated documentary follows a man of extraordinary talent: running back for the Stanford Cardinal; dancer at Julliard; model, singer, and performer in Europe; the epitome of Black masculinity and grace. And yet he's closeted for the first 40 years of his life. When he finally crashes and burns, his wanderings bring him to the very heart of gay life in San Francisco. And still he won't come out.
True Somebody - The African Soccer Dream
Stephen Latty (Ghana, USA) - 99min
'True Somebody' documents a vital time in African soccer. The extraordinary success of African players competing in European leagues has inspired a surge of soccer passion throughout the continent. Set in Ghana at the Cup of African Nations, the film is a portrait of four soccer stars during a prestigious tournament and a journey through the dream that inspires young players to commit their lives to the game.
Unfinished Journey: A City in Transition
Swarnavel Eswaran Pillai, Mark Huelsbeck (USA) - 26min
'Unfinished Journey: A City in Transition,' documents three significant events which took place in the summer of 2011 at St. Augustine, in Florida. St. Augustine, the oldest city of the nation, was also the place where, in the early 60s, civil rights activists protested against segregation through non-violent demonstrations like the sit-ins at lunch counters and wade-ins at the beaches. This documentary records St. Augustine's acknowledgment of its racial past by the recognition of the contributions of Andrew Young, the foot soldiers, and the beach protesters through the dedications and commemoration ceremonies. The efforts of the people of St Augustine toward reconciliation underscore the relevance of the non-violent philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, as espoused by his aides in the film, in solving contemporary problems.
Wecome to Loliondo
Morten Vest (Denmark) - 59min
'Welcome to Loliondo' is the untold story behind the presumably harmonic surface of wildlife, tourism and indigenous peoples in the world's finest safari-location in northern Tanzania. A Maasai is shot in the head, hundreds of Maasai houses are set on fire as tourist-companies, Arab investors and Maasais fight over the right to the land. Meanwhile a young Maasai decides to use music as a weapon in order to get the world's attention.
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