The 8th New York African Film Festival

April 5 - 11, 2002

photo: the price of forgiveness

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about the series | film descriptions and times

The 8th New York African Film Festival is presented by African Film Festival Inc., The Film Society of Lincoln Center, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. This program was organized by Richard Penã and The African Film Festival, Inc. (Mahen Bonetti, Prerana Reddy, Belynda Hardin, Saya Woolfalk, Maguette Ndiaye). Thanks are due to Kaine Agary, Joan Baffour, Luca Bonetti, Michael Clarke, Kevin Duggan, Joy Elliott, Tunde Giwa, Brigitte Houngbedji, Glenda Johnson, Kojo Associates, Ira Moseley, Maureen Slattery, Alonzo Speight, Cat Stephens, and Don Webster.

The programs of AFF are made possible by the generous support of Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, JP Morgan Chase, New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, American Express, UNDP, UNESCO, Piper Heidsieck, KWV International, Estudio Inc., The New York Times, and Mayflower Hotel. Ethiopian Airlines is the official airlines of AFF.

Africa, regarded as the birthplace of human development, finds itself increasingly caught between the demands of global capitalism and the sway of local traditions. As part of this crucial cultural dialogue, African filmmakers attempt to portray the tensions generated by the evolution of new cities, new migrations and new selves. Displaced populations - pushed by environmental degradation, war and global economic forces - are forced to forge new lives in increasingly dense African cities, or in unfamiliar cities abroad. In their new environments, Africans create new neighborhoods, often patterned on traditional African villages, where Western popular culture mingles with ancient myths.

With work ranging from pro-independence political dramas to postcolonial urban comedies, this year's AFF will explore these themes from a variety of viewpoints. A major focus of the program will be a "Spotlight on Southern Africa," featuring films from Zimbabwe and South Africa dealing with historical and contemporary issues facing the region. Another focus will be "African is…," a group of contemporary films by second-generation African immigrants, particularly those in Britain and France. This program explores how new immigrants both preserve and transform African culture, how urban spaces are reshaped, and how these migrations challenge traditional notions of nationality and citizenship. Furthermore, these films disrupt classic notions of a unified national cinema. Praised as some of the most rigorous, controversial and artistically experimental work of recent years, they are redefining African cinema and creating new audiences around the world.

As usual, many African directors will be present during the festival. Look for an asterisk (*) before the showtimes of films that are expected, at this time, to be introduced by visiting directors. Please phone 212-875-5600 or check back on this page for updated information about guest appearances. Also as in previous years, AFF will hold panel discussions in association with New York University on April 12th. Special student rate: $6 with photo ID. This program continues at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, April 13 - 14.

THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS / NDEYSAAR
US Premiere
Mansour Sora Wade, Senegal, 2001; 90m
Wolof with English subtitles
For many months, a strange mist has enshrouded a small Senegalese fishing village. In this setting, ideal for the intensification of fears and superstitions, two childhood friends, Yatma and Mbanik, compete for the love of the beautiful Maxoye. Mbanik, the son of a marabout, dares to challenge the spirits on his own and manages to make the mist vanish. He becomes the village hero and wins Maxoye's hand in marriage. Yatma, however, has trouble keeping his envy in check.. . .
*Fri April 5: 1;
*Sun April 7: 7:30
*Tue April 9: 6:45

BLUE SKY
NY Premiere
Patrick Meunier, Zimbabwe, 2000, video; 52m
In the 50s, they were ten singers of African Jazz in Bulawayo, a beautiful town in then Southern Rhodesia. They had created two groups, The Cool Four and The Golden Delicious Rhythm Crooners, and they sang all night in the taverns. Life, death, and the fight for the independence of their country separated them for many years. Today, in Zimbabwe, only three survive. Now in their 60's, Abel, Ben and Lucky have revived the music of their beginnings. With white costumes and synchronized dance moves, and the moniker "The Cool Crooners of Bulawayo" they once again draw fans of all ages. In the manner of Buena Vista Social Club, BLUE SKY recalls the history of these singers, weaving together archival images, interviews and performances. In the words of Lucky: "We are like the British.... The British never capitulate."
preceded by

BINTOU
NY Premiere
Fanta Regina Nacro, Burkina Faso, 2001; 30m
Mooré with English subtitles
Counter to the opinion of her husband, Bintou - the mother of a family of three children in Ouagadougou - decides to send her daughter to school. On the counsel of a friend, she starts her own business, much to the chagrin of her husband, who suspects her newfound financial freedom might lead her to adultery.. . .
Fri April 5: 3:15;
Sun April 7: 1
Wed April 10: 1

L'AFRANCE
NY Premiere
Alain Gomis, Senegal/France, 2001; 90m
French and Wolof with English subtitles
This winner of the Silver Leopard for Best First Feature at the 2001 Locarno International Film Festival looks at the problems of migration and identity faced by most young Africans in Europe. Set in Paris, the film centers on El Hadj, a young Senegalese student whose legal residency has come to an end. He is torn between his wish to remain in Paris and his desire to return home and serve his country. Juxtaposing images of El Hadj's sometimes troubled memory of Africa with the harsh realities of young Africans living a penurious existence in downtown Paris, director Alain Gomis shares with us El Hadj's torment as he teeters on the brink of suicide. El Hadj's experience mirrors the dilemmas of many Africans who have sought sanctuary in the cities of Europe. Making the most of his talented young cast, particularly Djolof Mbegue in the lead role, Alain Gomis has fashioned a film from the heart.
*Fri April 5: 5;
*Sun April 7: 5:15

KARMEN GEI
NY Premiere
Joseph Gai Ramaka, Senegal, 2001; 84m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
Director Joseph Gai Ramaka has completely recast Bizet's classic Carmen using the finest musicians and choreographers in Senegal, including Doudou N'Diaye Rose's sabar drummers, Juliern Jouga's choir, the romantic ballads of El Hadj Ndiaye and the prophetic voice of folk diva Yande Coudou Sene. But the real revelation of the production is Djeinaba Diop Gai, whose proud portrayal of Karmen and intoxicating dancing set a new standard of sensuality. Ramaka complicates the sexual tension further through the bold leap of making her the first bisexual Carmen. As director Ramaka explains, "Carmen is a myth but what does Carmen represent today? Where do Carmen's love and freedom stand at the onset of the 21st century? Therein lies my film's intent, a black Carmen, plunged in the magical and chaotic urbanity of an African city."
KARMEN GEI opens at Film Forum on April 10.
*Fri April 5: 7:15;
*Mon April 8: 7:15

HIJACK STORIES
US Premiere
Oliver Schmitz, South Africa/Germany/UK, 2000; 94m
Thirteen years after his acclaimed anti-apartheid gangster film Mapantsula, Schmitz return with HIJACK STORIES, a high-octane action thriller set in the post-apartheid South African ghetto. Through themes of racial identification and reflections on Hollywood-style violence, it mixes social commentary and humor while looking at the most painful and violent aspects of South African society. Sox is a talented actor and part of the rising black middle class in Jo'burg. The possibility of landing a role as popular TV gangster Bra Biza sends Sox back to the ghetto to rediscover his roots. His education into the finer points of thug life lands him in roles he had not anticipated.... .
Fri April 5: 9:45;
Thurs April 11: 8:30

MAMA AFRICA
NY Premiere
Narrated by Queen Latifah, MAMA AFRICA consists of three films about modern Africa, told by women, about women.
RAYA
Zulfah Otto-Sallies, South Africa, 2001; 30m
A modern tale of the fight to leave behind a criminal past, RAYA plays out in the shadow of Cape Town's Table Mountain. Having rebelled against her respectable Muslim upbringing, Raya returns home after a stint in jail, determined to reunite with her mother and daughter, turn her back on her past, and make a new life for herself. But release from her own personal history is not as easy as she thinks.
preceded by
HANGTIME
Ngozi Onwurah, Nigeria, 2001; 30m
In this heartbreaking story, a young, poor, but talented West African basketball player's desperation to wear the right shoes - to impress an American basketball scout - ends in tragedy.
preceded by
UNO'S WORLD
Bridget Pickering, Namibia, 2001; 30m
UNO'S WORLD charts a young mother's rite of passage. Playing out a universal theme in a Namibian context, the young heroine is forced to accept the inescapable responsibilities brought about by her obsession with bad boy Kaura.
Sat April 6: 2

TEMPORARY REGISTRATION / IMMATRICULATION TEMPORAIRE
NY Premiere
Gahité Fofana, Guinea, 2001; 78m
French, Fulani, and Susu with English subtitles
The son of a Frenchwoman travels back to Guinea to find his biological father, but is mugged on arrival. His friendship with a street-smart local and the eventual discovery of the truth about his father frame this provocative portrait of a rootless generation. The town is depicted as a kingdom of wheeling and dealing and nightclubs, where silences and glances speak volumes about expectations and uncertainties, and certain things are only filmed, discreetly, through a curtain. Shadows, silhouettes, and lights help convey the uneasy experience by this son as he seeks an absent father, and an Africa, that eludes him.
preceded by

THE SUNGLASSES / LUNETTES NOIRES
US Premiere
Owell A. Brown, Cote D'Ivoire/France, 1997; 6m.
French with English subtitles
Joey and Lisa are ordinary lovers whose lives are turned upside down when they meet Max, a checkout clerk at a gas station. Hyped media has turned Max into a paranoiac living in fear of being attacked by black thieves. The film's outcome is eerily prescient of the Amadou Diallo incident....
*Sat April 6: 4:30;
*Mon April 8: 9:20

100 DAYS
NY Premiere
Nick Hughes, Rwanda/Kenya/UK, 2000; 96m
In 1994, Josette, a beautiful, young Tutsi girl, and her family struggle to survive the Rwandan government's genocidal policy by taking refuge in a church supposedly protected by UN forces. Meanwhile, Josette's brother is murdered in an attempt to escape and her boyfriend rescued by the rebel army. The church, however. fails in its duty - the Hutu Catholic priest betrays Josette's family and only agrees to save her life if she submits to his nightly violations. By the time she is reunited with her boyfriend, neither of them can face the brutal reality of their situation. 100 DAYS was shot in Kibuye Church, the site of an actual massacre, with Rwandan actors playing parts that were only too familiar to them. Four Rwandan investors joined producer Eric Kabera, who lost 32 of his own family, and director Nick Hughes to make this powerful monument to the Rwandan genocide.
*Sat April 6: 7;
*Wed April 10: 9
*Thurs April 11: 1

GOD IS AFRICAN
US Premiere
Akin Omotoso, South Africa, 2001, video; 90m
GOD IS AFRICAN represents a new spirit in South African film, one aimed at breaking down cultural barriers, exposing xenophobia, and portraying a new consciousness of what it is to be African. The film is set in a university campus where youthful optimism seems to permeate the students' outlook on the future. Reality intrudes with the death sentence of Ken Saro Wiwa, Nigerian writer and environmentalist. Ade, a Nigerian student and popular campus DJ, tries to politicize the student body. Suddenly, he is confronted by both a hatred of "kwere-kwere" (foreigners) he had not seen before and a cynical disinterest in what goes on in the "other" Africa. Shot on video - fast becoming the medium of choice throughout Africa - the film has an amazing contemporary feel, as if the action depicted were going on right outside the theater. The cast is awash with top actors, many of whom hail from the television hits Isidingo and Soul City, and includes as well Sami Sabiti (Ade), a popular M-Net VJ, and cameos by well-known South African DJs such as the irrepressible Phat Joe, David Kau (YFM) and T Bose (MetroFM).
*Sat April 6: 9:15;
*Tue April 9: 4:30

SHOUTING SILENT
NY Premiere
Renée E. Rosen and Xoliswa Sithole, South Africa, 2002, video; 50m.
English and Zulu with English subtitles
SHOUTING SILENT explores the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Xoliswa Sithole, an adult orphan who lost her mother to HIV/AIDS in 1996. Xoliswa embarks upon a journey in search of female children who have lost their mothers due to HIV/AIDS. The film documents how most of these children are slipping through the cracks of society without love, nourishment, or guidance from parents or mentors.
preceded by

SOUTH AFRICA A-Z
US Premiere
Teboho Mahlatsi, South Africa, 2001, video; 50m
English, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Xhosa with English subtitles
Commissioned by the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, to make as a five-channel video installation, Mahlatsi traveled throughout the country to ask South Africans of all colors, religions, and walks of life to free-associate with each letter of the alphabet. From hundreds of interviews - taken in Zulu, Xhosa, English and Afrikaans - Mahlatsi has created a collage that illuminates the many faces of the new South Africa.
*Sun April 7: 2:45;
*Tue April 9: 1
*Thurs April 11: 6

DARESALAM
Issa Serge Coelo, Chad, 2000; 105m
Chadian and French with English subtitles
DARESALAM depicts the Chad of the 1970's. Koni and Djimi, two friends since childhood, are living a peaceful life in their native village when, outraged by army exaction and crimes, they decide to join the rebel FRAP (Revolutionary Front of Popular Army). Koni proves to be an excellent warrior. As for the less talented Djimi he gets wounded in battle. War will alter their destinies forever.
Sun April 7: 9:45;
Wed April 10: 2:45

AND SO ANGELS DIE / AINSI MEURANT LES ANGES
US Premiere
Moussa Sene Absa, Senegal/France, 2001, video; 58m
French and Wolof with English subtitles
Moussa Sene Absa plays Mory, a troubled Senegalese poet living outside Paris with his French wife and their children. We watch his marriage fall apart under cross-cultural pressures, specifically his father's demand that he take a second wife in Senegal. Homeless in winter, separated from his children, his poems scattered over a Paris street, Mory returns to Senegal, penniless and with uncertain prospects. This film pushes the formal boundaries of African cinema to explore the complex interplay of history and psychology in contemporary Africa. preceded by

ONE SUNDAY MORNING
US Premiere
Manu Kurewa, Zimbabwe/UK, 1997; 20m
Mordecai and Margaret have both sought refuge in London from the political unrest in Nigeria. While Margaret's visa is extended, Mordecai's is not.
preceded by
MANGWANA
Manu Kurewa, Zimbabwe/UK, 1998; 26m
Shona and English with English subtitles
A car crash in the Zimbabwean bush brings about a chance encounter between two men who have never met on equal terms. Archie, an aging Scottish farmer, needs to get his truck out of a ditch, but no help is at hand. He demands assistance from Sekuru, an elder of the local village, but nothing can be done until daybreak. Bound by a tradition of African hospitality, Sekuru feels he must offer Archie shelter, and Archie, though distrustful, is compelled by circumstances to accept. Neither man is comfortable with the situation. Can the time spent together bring about a change of attitude?
*Mon April 8: 2:45;
*Tue April 9: 9
*Thurs April 11: 3:15

NJANGAAN
Mahama Johnson Traoré, Senegal, 1974; 86m
Wolof and French with English subtitles with an introduction by Manthia Diawara, Director of the Institute of African American Affairs / Africana Studies Program at NYU
"Njangaan" is the name given to children attending the Dara or Koteb (Koranic Schools). The marabouts, or Muslim clergy, constitute a social class of considerable political and socioeconomic power in Muslim Africa. In this harsh tale, a fanatic father sends his young child to the same Dara he attended to become a soldier in "God's Army." The marabouts exploit the families, and the children are made professional beggars or slave laborers rather than given education. Traoré's daring exposé challenges Senegalese society to confront the religious establishment's exploitation of impoverished families.
Mon April 8: 1;
Wed April 10: 6:45

DOLLAR / DÔLÈ
Imunga Ivanga, Gabon, 1999; 92m
French with English subtitles
Libreville is home to Mougler and his teenage friends. The boys, always strapped for cash, decide to rob a Dôlè stand, a new instant lottery game that makes millionaires daily. The stakes are high, but so is the risk. But Mougler, who is increasingly worried by his sick mother's condition, decides to go ahead with the holdup.
Mon April 8: 5:15;
Wed April 10: 4:50

about the series | film descriptions and times