2008 LHAAFF begins April 12!

Festival Runs: April 12 – April 20, 2008
Opening Reception & Special Guest: Donnie L. Betts (4/12; 7:00)
Closing Reception & Special Guest: Charles Burnett (4/20; 7:00)

SEATTLE –Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (LHPAC) will host its Fifth Annual African American Film Festival, featuring a powerful lineup of documentaries, narratives, film shorts and animation. The festival is thrilled to announce that Honeydripper , a film by John Sayles will be featured on Opening Night April 12th. Audience members will get the rare opportunity to see behind the scenes footage of the film and filmmaker Donnie L. Betts will be on hand to share a "making of" insight into the film. On April 20th the festival will wrap with a special showing of Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation and the film’s director, Charles Burnett will be on hand to discuss his work.

The African American Film Festival runs nine consecutive nights from April 12th – 20th and all the showings will take place at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. The festival includes a record number of entries from emerging and established filmmakers from around the world. The selection of powerful, diverse, intelligent and evocative films will include a robust shorts program designed to give rise to the emergent filmmaking voice, and a wide array of talkbacks, panels and receptions provide a much needed bridge for artists and community patrons to engage in meaningful dialogue.

This annual event is expected to draw over 1000 people who are passionate about creating and appreciating films by and about Black people in the world . The Festival spotlights over 40 feature-length and short films by independent filmmakers, and includes panel discussions, readings, special screenings for senior & youth and the rare opportunity to chat face-to-face with prominent filmmakers, industry professionals and community leaders.

“Our goal for each year’ is to present as wide, and as honest, a variety of portrayals of Black life as possible.’ said Zola Mumford, the festival’s curator. “People of African descent are doing all sorts of interesting things all over the world; and this little gem of a festival invites audiences to learn and expand their view of the African experience.”

A few of the films & workshops currently scheduled include:
• Honeydripper is a Rock n’ Roll fable about Guitar Sam set in 1950’s Alabama. It is directed by John Sayles, stars Danny Glover and features music by Keb Mo
• The Seattle premiere of Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation. An epic tale by legendary director Charles Burnett about the rise of Sam Nujoma, the first President of Namibia. Burnett will be on hand to discuss his work
• Seattle filmmaker Eddie Smith premieres two films, Man to Man, a psychological drama; and Behind Closed Doors, a courtroom drama exploring racial identity.
• Women Together as One by Gilda Sheppard is a documentary about Liberian women refugees and child soldiers
• Seattle poet and filmmaker Stacey Tolbert premieres Got Breast?
• Pariah is a coming-of-age drama about a lesbian teenager who unsuccessfully juggles multiple identities to avoid rejection from her friends and family.
• Adopted by Aliens Animators Shawnee and Shawnelle Gibbs will be in town to host an animation workshop
• Alonzo Crawford, Howard University Cinematography Professor and filmmaker will also host a film workshop

Photos and background info on these, and other films are available upon request. A complete list of films and schedules will be released in early April.

All festival activities take place at the historic Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center on 17th & Yesler (104 17th Ave. S). The opening night event, Honeydripper begins at 7 pm. The closing night event, Namibia also begins at 7 pm. All evening showtimes are 7:00 pm. Matinees are at 4:00 M-F and 2:00 pm Sat. & Sun. Tickets are $ 7 for adults $5 for seniors and $2 for youth. An all-access “Langston Pass” is $75. Film details and ticketing information are available at www.langstonblackfilmfest.org or by calling 206-326-1088.

The African American Film Festival is supported by The Lucky 7 Foundation, Seattle Parks and Recreation, 4 Culture, the Washington State Arts Commission, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, and a host of local businesses and organizations. The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival gives Northwest audiences a chance to view a diverse array of irreverent, poignant, provocative documentary films on topics such as youth, politics, history, social justice and relationships.
About the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival: The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival supports community building by providing opportunities for artists and audiences to connect using the medium of film as a catalyst for dialogue that leads to social change. The festival creates year round opportunities to enhance media literacy, self reflection, and community discussion. By creating the shared experience of films that are by and about black people, the festival is a creative and collaborative opportunity to build cultural competency across the aisle and across neighborhoods in greater Seattle. www.langstonblackfilmfest.org

About Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center: Established in 1969 as a dynamic and creative cultural arts center under the Model Cities, Urban Renewal program the Center provides a cultural institution in Seattle’s Central Area, where arts specific to the African American experience could be taught, explored, expressed, and enjoyed by all. LHPAC has been at the core of experimental, cutting edge, traditional, and emerging art forms for more than 35 years. LHPAC became a program of Seattle Parks and Recreation in 1972. It has been a core gathering place for an African American cannon of work in a neighborhood that has seen numerous demographic changes over the past three decades. The Center remains committed to championing that voice and building powerful connections with the diverse cultures in our community. This is accomplished through the creation of dynamic performing arts experiences for all. LHPAC partners with organizations such as: The Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas, Seattle Public Schools, the Paramount Theater, Book-It-Repertory Theater, ReAct Theater, the Seattle Symphony, Earshot Jazz and many more organizations that share our commitment to quality programming for a diverse audience. www.seattle.gov/parks/Centers/langston.htm

Join us for our 5th anniversary, April 12-20!

Join us at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 – 17^th Avenue South, April 12-20, 2008 for the annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival! News about this year's films will be posted soon.

www.langstonblackfilmfest.org / http://lhaaffbside.blogspot.com / (206)326-1088

Photo: Inye Wokoma

Underground Railroad Film Series:ANOTHER AMERICA by Michael Cho

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Underground Railroad Film Series presents ANOTHER AMERICA by Michael Cho. Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. - $5.oo suggested donation at the door (no advance ticket sales). Event location: Theater Off Jackson, 409 7th Avenue S., Seattle,in the heart of the International District. LHAFF Info Line: tel. (206)326-1088.

Filmmaker Michael Cho investigates his own family history and tragedy as he explores the Black/Korean conflict in the inner city as illuminated by the Los Angeles uprisings of 1992.

The murder of his uncle in Detroit forces Cho to take a close look at his family’s own experiences as Korean American merchants. In L.A., he captures the stories of everyday Korean and African Americans as they shop in the mall. Returning to his hometown of Detroit, Cho lets local community members and relatives tell their own stories about race relations -- a Detroit poet, an Amerasian brother and sister, and the daughter of the slain uncle. ANOTHER AMERICA is revealed, one where dreams have fallen short and where this country’s racism and violence continue unchecked.

In the article News at Eleven in the Big City[1], published in the film journal Wide Angle, Cho wrote:

"In Another America, a documentary that I produced about the relationship between Korean American merchants and African Americans in the inner city, I looked at the murder of one of my uncles, an immigrant from Korea, during a robbery at his store in downtown Detroit. When he was murdered, my father, also a downtown merchant, called the local television news stations to have them cover my uncle's death. He wanted to tell them a larger story about how the city had fallen apart under the weight of its abandonment and how this was connected to my uncle's murder. Instead, the TV news programs told a tragic story of a family victimized by a random crime. The emotions were there in their report, but little context. Their coverage undoubtedly moved many who watched the news that night. But did it inform them?

Everyday, we witness other people's tragedies on television. Sometimes, their stories have an impact. Most other times, they are swallowed by anonymity and apathy and buried amongst the thousands of other tragedies broadcast everyday across the television spectrum. Then, one day I see my own family on television. Their grief shouts out to the viewers to wake up and see what's happening in their city. But in three minutes, it's over. There was little follow-up to my family's story. Soon other tragedies would displace ours.

As an independent filmmaker, I took on the job of pushing beyond what was covered by the local news. Like my father, I also wanted to tell a story of cities and the people who live in them. Behind my uncle's death, there was another story not told on television news. Behind the much televised conflict between Korean Americans and African Americans, there was another story. In Another America, I related how the deterioration of the inner city affects both groups. I looked at some of their history in this country. I explored the common economic and social issues that concern both communities. I examined how crime does not occur in a vacuum. TV news presents fear in the guise of delivering information. I wanted to promote understanding by telling the stories behind the story. I wanted the viewer to get to know a part of their city that they may never visit and to understand its peoples."

The Underground Railroad, a project of the annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, is a fall - through -winter film and discussion series. Using the metaphor of a series of strategically located “Safe Houses” in Seattle neighborhoods, the Underground Railroad is a series of intimate screenings designed to build community across the aisle and across neighborhoods. Each Safe House along the trail brings forth a different provocative work about African American life, leading to ‘freedom at the annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival in April. Join us at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 – 17^th Avenue South, April 12-20, 2008 for the annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival!

---

[1] Wide Angle - Volume 20, Number 3, July 1998, pp. 145-149.

BLACK ISRAEL documentary, January 17 2008

a film by Maurice Dores

Location:Cal Anderson House at Cal Anderson Park, 1635 - 11th Avenue, Capitol Hill, Seattle (Broadway Playfield area), near Richard Hugo House

Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. – Suggested donation: $5.00. This film is 88 minutes long.

This engaging film is a vibrant portrait of pluralistic 21st-century Jewish identities across the globe. It documents Africans and African-Americans who live in Israel and practice Judaism there. Africans from Nigeria, Togo, the Congo, Zaire, Lagos and Ethiopia have emigrated to Israel to work or to study Judaism. They were unable to study their religion at home since there was no one to teach them.

In the Negev desert, several thousand Black Americans who fled the urban slums in the 1960's have formed an independent community where they practice their own version of the Hebraic religion under the law of their leader Carter Ben Ami. Although they have been denied citizenship in Israel, they enjoy friendly relations with Israelis and believe Israel is "the kingdom of Paradise on Earth."

Many Black Jews born in the Caribbean have moved to the U.S. to practice Judaism. One congregant of the Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Harlem, born in Trinidad, recalls that his father's family which had Sephardic roots, kept kosher and celebrated the Sabbath. We meet a diverse group of people from a Harlem rabbi who reveals his thoughts on the spread of Judaism in sub-Saharan Africa, to Rebecca Walker, the biracial daughter of civil rights activist Alice Walker and to an African learning Yiddish in Paris. As one Jew from Nigeria concludes "Judaism has no color."

"Black Israel is highly recommended for jr. high, sr. high, college, and general adult audiences interested in Judaic studies, Religion in general, and area studies focusing on Israel as well as for general audiences interested in Jews, Israel, and/or people of color." Sheila Intner, Simmons College GSLIS at Mt. Holyoke for EMRO

New York Jewish Film Festival, 2004
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, 2003
San Francisco Black Film Festival, 2003

"A fascinating documentary that explores the incredible diversity of Judaism and its influence on a population of Africans and Afro-Americans." --Bernard Loupias, Nouvel Observateur

"...shows Black Jewishness finding its place in the diversity of Judaism." --Serge Blumenfeld, Le Monde

2 films on contemporary Islamic life in the U.S.A.,December 13

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Underground Railroad Film Series presents two films about aspects of contemporary Muslim-American life: COVERED GIRLS and ISLAM BEHIND BARS

7:00 P.M. Thursday, December 13 at Central Cinema - $5.00

1411 21st Avenue, Seattle 98122 / (206) 328-3230 / www.central-cinema.com. For show information & updates, call the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival phone info line: (206)326-1088

Covered Girls

A film by Janet McIntyre and Amy Wendel. 22 min.

Muslim-American girls are lively and full of fun -- despite wearing the traditional 'hijab'. How do they fare after 9/11?

Have you ever seen Muslim-American high school girls in full-length dresses and traditional hijabs (head scarves) playing full-court basketball? Prior to 9/11, the average Westerner had little more than one-dimensional views of Islam and Muslim women. Covered Girls opens a window into the lives of a colorful and startling group of Muslim-American teenage girls in New York and challenges the stereotypes many Americans may have about this culture.

The film documents the daily experience of Kiren who coaches her high school basketball team, Amnah who has a black belt in Karate, and Tavasha who is cutting a CD of original rap songs. Their traditional clothing allows them to understand prejudices and to speak out about their faith, especially after 9/11, when people spat upon, pushed and threatened them. They are quite happy that their dress allows men to look at them as people instead of as sex objects. The film follows the girls from a Harlem recording studio to a Brooklyn mosque, revealing typical teenagers suddenly caught in a tug-of-war between religious extremism and the American dream.

"Excellent Outreach tool" - Middle East Studies Association

"By depicting the girls in their full-length dresses and hijabs behaving just like teens in western clothing, the film gently reminds us to observe the adage about not judging a book by its cover. The voices we hear are casual, straightforward and heartfelt The background rap music fits well into the black and white urban scene. This short film is an excellent choice for a discussion about bigotry amongst teenagers. Recommended'

Homa Naficy, Hartford Public Library, Hartford, CT for EMRO

National Women's Studies Association, 2004
Best Short Documentary, Nashville Independent Film Festival, 2003
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, 2003
Official Selection, Walker Art Center's Women with Vision Film Festival, 2003
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, 2003

Islam Behind Bars

Written and Directed by John Curtin & Paul Carvalho
Produced by Kaos Productions Inc. 58 min.

No religion is growing faster in Western prisons than Islam. In the United States alone, there are more than 200,000 Muslim inmates. They are mainly Black converts searching for an alternative to Christianity, which many reject as the slave-master's faith. Islam Behind Bars takes an unflinching look at the disruptive power of poisonous religious demagoguery, but also leaves the viewer with a better understanding of an intriguing new fact of the Black experience in the West.

The prisoners follow a path first made famous by Malcolm X, who went to jail for pimping and petty theft and came out a fiery Muslim preacher. He had discovered a strict religion which could bring discipline and dignity to men whose lives had been devastated by violence and drugs.

In the aftermath of September 11th, authorities fear that terrorist organizations may recruit Muslim prison converts to attack the West. Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber” was probably recruited while in a British prison. The film shows that there are some imprisoned Muslims who find peace and a respect for all of God’s creations in their new faith, and others who direct their anger at the West.

For show information & updates, call the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival phone info line: (206)326-1088

DATE CHANGE & LOCATION ANNOUNCEMENT! "This is Nollywood"

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Underground Railroad Film Series presents

THIS IS NOLLYWOOD
56 minutes, 2007, Nigeria. Producer: Franco Sacchi and Robert Caputo
Friday, November 16, 2007 at the Harry Thomas Community Center at Lee House in the New Holly neighborhood, South Seattle, 7315 – 39th Avenue South . $5.00 suggested donation . Street parking is available. There may also be free after-hours parking in the health center parking lot.

First came Hollywood, then Bollywood and now Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry, which released 2000 feature features in 2006 alone. Where else can you shoot a full-length dramatic film for $10,000 in 7 days? Until recently little known outside its own country, THIS IS NOLLYWOOD explains why Nigerian video production is becoming recognized as a phenomenon with broad implications for the cultural and economic development of Africa.

The industry is wholly self-sustaining, receiving no foreign or government assistance. Directors of these films are proud to admit that their intended audience is the average Nigerian not international film festivals. There are an amazing 55,000,000 video players in Nigeria reaching 90% of the population.

Before the rise of Nollywood, Nigerians saw mostly American Westerns, Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and Bollywood musicals. In contrast, Nollywood appeals to a hunger for indigenous stories with characters and situations audiences can easily relate to. The popularity of these films has spread across English-speaking Africa and their stars have become celebrities from Zambia to Ghana. Nollywood also provides a vital, constantly up-dated link between the vast Nigerian diaspora and their home culture. Thousands of Nigerian films are already available to immigrants to the United States both on DVD and over the internet.

The Nollywood phenomenon is doubtless an expression of the resourcefulness and vigor of Nigerian society. But it also raises questions about the potential social impact of commercial cinema, especially in the developing world. Does Nollywood in fact depict daily Nigerian life any more accurately or incisively than Hollywood portrays American society? Does it dare expose the kleptocracy which for forty years has kept its citizens impoverished by pocketing the nation’s immense oil wealth? As for cultural preservation, Nollywood narratives seem more influenced by international genres like the action thriller and the soap opera than Yoruba drama or Ibo folk tales. Can we reasonably hope that a cinematic Chinua Achebe or Wole Soyinka will emerge out of the frenetic deal-making of Lagos? Superstar Saint Obi optimistically predicts that “I believe very soon we are not only going to have better movies, we’ll have that original Nigerian movie.” For the time being, hard-pressed Nigerians are at least getting their own version of the vicarious excitement and undemanding escapism, which have become the prime commodities of the Information Age. For us, these films may give clearer insights into the apprehensions and aspirations of the average Nigerian than any documentary or political drama.

This documentary film is a partial but intensely focused image from a dense picture—the current cinematic phenomenon in Nigeria which its title proclaims. With an admirable sense of humor, it captures the gritty and confounding optimism that keeps Nigeria going, against all rational expectations. In its innovative approach to narrative and the contingencies of production characteristic of the industry, This is Nollywood becomes the drama it seeks to document, without losing direction.

Akin Adesokan, Indiana University


This is Nollywood captures the problems and dynamism of making movies in Nigeria while giving a vibrant introduction to this fast growing movie industry. Dealing with rainstorms, missing stars, and power cuts, we see the pressure on Nigerian moviemakers and the guerilla filmmaking they have invented to cope. As the director Bond Emeruwa says, “In Nollywood we don’t count the walls, we have learned ways to climb them”.

Brian Larkin, Barnard College; Columbia University

American Ethnic Cleansing Explored in “Banished”, November 2nd

Groups Work Together to Host Seattle Premiere of Critically Acclaimed Film

Seattle, WA – Filmmaker Marco Williams will be on hand to discuss his widely acclaimed documentary, “Banished” as part of the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Underground Railroad Film Series in partnership with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights and the Seattle Art Museum. The film will screen for the community Friday, November 2^nd at 1PM at the Seattle Art Museum and 7pm at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. Williams will also participate as guest speaker in the Seattle Race Conference held on Saturday, November 3 at the Seattle Center. Both events are open to the public.

BANISHED chronicles both the history and legacy of three southern Counties who practiced violent eviction of Black communities, burning their homes, lynching the men and appropriating their land.

New York Times writer Manhola Dargis describes this infamous period in history as a time when “Reconstruction died, and Jim Crow moved right in.” Director Marco Williams’ film patiently addresses this American tragedy with an unflinching and thoughtful investigation of racism, responsibility and land ownership.

The film not only reflects on the past, but also explores the impact on the descendants of these communities whose combination of silence and shame beg the questions of history, memory and contemporary justice। Throughout the film, Williams searches the recollections of current and past residents whose stories reveal the resident’s myopic sensibility, which keeps these towns mostly white today. Williams’ film delves into the impact of these violent expulsions and reframes the notion of reparations, providing thoughtful context to this complex subject.

The three counties studied, Forsyth County (Georgia), Pierce City (Missouri) and Harrison (Arkansas) remain virtually all white and their victims’ descendants remain uncompensated.
Filmmaker Marco Williams interviews both groups. Described as handsome, soft-spoken, articulate and unfailingly polite, critics site Williams as the perfect foil for drawing out KKK members and guilty liberals alike. He takes an incendiary subject and through force of personality weaves a thoughtful investigation of racism, responsibility and real estate.

Williams will be on hand Friday evening to introduce the film. The screening will be followed with discussion hosted by the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival and partners at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. On Saturday, Williams will participate in the Seattle Race Conference, bringing excerpts of the film and inviting the conference's 300 participants to reflect on the work. Williams and co producers Working Films and the Center for Investigative Reporting have launched a national outreach program to discuss the issues raised in the film.

The Race Conference keynote will be presented by Dr. James Gregory, Director of the University of Washington Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project with presentation titled, "Remembering Segregated Seattle and the Civil Rights Movements that Changed Our City. This screening, community discussion and connection to the Seattle Race Conference will provide a powerful platform for Seattle and King County audiences to address our history and provide context for the issues of racism faced yet today across the country and in our own back yard.

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival and Underground Railroad Film Series are programs of Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. The Seattle Race Conference is presented by a coalition of community groups in partnership with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and the Seattle Center. The Seattle Art Museum is the Pacific Northwest’s premiere venue for art, with more than 23,000 objects from across cultures, exploring the connections between past and present, connecting people to art.

Screening Date/Time/Location

Date: Friday, November 2, 2007

Time: 1PM City of Seattle Staff & 7PM Public Screening Doors at 6:30 ($5 suggested donation)

Location: 1PM Seattle Art Museum ; 7PM Rainier Valley Cultural Center

For info on the Langston Hughes Underground Railroad Film Series- www.langstonblackfilmfest.org

To register for the Race Conference visit www.seattleraceconference.org

For info on SAM, visit www.seattleartmuseum.org

Film Facts:

(USA 2007) 87 Minutes Official Website www.banishedthefilm.com

Director/Producer : Marco Williams

Co-Producer: Maia Harris

Editors: Kathryn Barnier, Sandra Christie

Camera: Stephen McCarthy

Sound: J.T. Takagi

Music Composed by: David Murray

Awards:

BANISHED won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Miami International Film Festival, the Spectrum Award at the Full Frame Film Festival, and the Nashville Film Festival's Best Documentary Award.

Reviews-

“Williams plays on a distinctly American sense of decency by appealing to his audience's notion of property rather than justice: "We wanted to reintroduce the thought of reparation or reconciliation around an idea that's perhaps more tangible to people than solely reparation for slavery."” Charlie Olsky, Indie Wire

“Williams's very presence in the all-white communities he documents is a canny litmus test ... It doesn't matter that Williams is Harvard-educated, or that he's articulate and hip. As our director sits at a kitchen table in Harrison, Arkansas, listening to the local Klan leader matter-of-factly disclose his disdain for blacks, it's painfully clear that in many small (and large) towns throughout America, the legacy of banishment remains: Black people are not only unwelcome, but unsafe. Just ask the Jena 6.” Lisa Katzman, Village Voice

“It’s stunning how loudly the dead can speak, and with such eloquence.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Goes the extra mile by confronting the descendants of the perpetrators.”
– Time Out NY

“With a forceful and disturbing, and at the same time emotionally resonant sense of investigative inquiry, Williams fearlessly burrows into the depths of this hidden history with brave, unrelenting determination. A rare treasure in the annals of cinema.”
– Prairie Miller, WBAI Radio

“Investigates the distressing and awkward situation that arises when African-American families
return to land where their ancestors were forced to retreat in the face of domineering racism.
Rather than following an activist agenda, Williams’s intelligent personal narrative raises
monumental questions surrounding ownership and retribution.”
– Eric Kohn, New York Press

“A deft drilling down into a little-known or consciously forgotten-about piece of American history.
An important film that renegotiates the issue of reparations.”
– Williams Cole, The Brooklyn Rail

Underground Railroad Film Series: Stop #3

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival Underground Railroad Film Series presents

THIS IS NOLLYWOOD, Thursday, November 15, 2007 – location TBA. Please call (206)326-1088 or visit www.langstonblackfilmfest.org or http://lhaaffbside.blogspot.com/ for updated news about location. $5 suggested donation at the door.

56 minutes, 2007, Nigeria. Producer: Franco Sacchi and Robert Caputo. Associate Producer: Aimee Corrigan; Director: Franco Sacchi

First came Hollywood, then Bollywood and now Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry, which released 2000 feature features in 2006 alone. Where else can you shoot a full-length dramatic film for $10,000 in 7 days? Until recently little known outside its own country, THIS IS NOLLYWOOD explains why Nigerian video production is becoming recognized as a phenomenon with broad implications for the cultural and economic development of Africa.

The industry is wholly self-sustaining, receiving no foreign or government assistance. Directors of these films are proud to admit that their intended audience is the average Nigerian not international film festivals. There are an amazing 55,000,000 video players in Nigeria reaching 90% of the population.

Before the rise of Nollywood, Nigerians saw mostly American Westerns, Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and Bollywood musicals. In contrast, Nollywood appeals to a hunger for indigenous stories with characters and situations audiences can easily relate to. The popularity of these films has spread across English-speaking Africa and their stars have become celebrities from Zambia to Ghana. Nollywood also provides a vital, constantly up-dated link between the vast Nigerian diaspora and their home culture. Thousands of Nigerian films are already available to immigrants to the United States both on DVD and over the internet.

The Nollywood phenomenon is doubtless an expression of the resourcefulness and vigor of Nigerian society. But it also raises questions about the potential social impact of commercial cinema, especially in the developing world. Does Nollywood in fact depict daily Nigerian life any more accurately or incisively than Hollywood portrays American society? Does it dare expose the kleptocracy which for forty years has kept its citizens impoverished by pocketing the nation’s immense oil wealth? As for cultural preservation, Nollywood narratives seem more influenced by international genres like the action thriller and the soap opera than Yoruba drama or Ibo folk tales. Can we reasonably hope that a cinematic Chinua Achebe or Wole Soyinka will emerge out of the frenetic deal-making of Lagos? Superstar Saint Obi optimistically predicts that “I believe very soon we are not only going to have better movies, we’ll have that original Nigerian movie.” For the time being, hard-pressed Nigerians are at least getting their own version of the vicarious excitement and undemanding escapism, which have become the prime commodities of the Information Age. For us, these films may give clearer insights into the apprehensions and aspirations of the average Nigerian than any documentary or political drama.

This documentary film is a partial but intensely focused image from a dense picture—the current cinematic phenomenon in Nigeria which its title proclaims. With an admirable sense of humor, it captures the gritty and confounding optimism that keeps Nigeria going, against all rational expectations. In its innovative approach to narrative and the contingencies of production characteristic of the industry, This is Nollywood becomes the drama it seeks to document, without losing direction.

Akin Adesokan, Indiana University


This is Nollywood captures the problems and dynamism of making movies in Nigeria while giving a vibrant introduction to this fast growing movie industry. Dealing with rainstorms, missing stars, and power cuts, we see the pressure on Nigerian moviemakers and the guerilla filmmaking they have invented to cope. As the director Bond Emeruwa says, “In Nollywood we don’t count the walls, we have learned ways to climb them”.

Brian Larkin, Barnard College; Columbia University

Explore Afro-Uruguyan culture at stop #2 of the Underground Railroad Film Series

Show date: Thursday , October 18, 7:00 p.m. Location: Rainier Community Center
4600 38th Ave. South . Suggested $5 donation at the door.

CANDOMBE
Directed by Rafael Deugenio
16 minutes.Spanish with English subtitles.
More than two hundred years ago, there was an influx into Uruguay of slaves from AfricaPublish Post whom, after being freed, continued to make up the poorest and most marginalized strata in society. Fernado Nunez, a Black man, a musician, and a maker of drums, sees himself as the heir to "Candombe", an important social and cultural legacy from his slave forefathers. The official history and culture of Uruguay, on the other hand, which has never acknowledged this contribution to the degree which it deserves, continues to marginalize expressions of Black culture. Fernando Nunez and his friends from the Barrio Sur back street quarter of Montevideo have decided to fight to keep these important cultural roots alive in the consciousness of the Uruguayan people.

followed by

ADIOS MOMO (Goodbye Momo)
Directed by Leonardo Ricagni. Starring Jorge Esmoris, Mathias Acuna, and Washington Luna.
100 minutes.Spanish with English subtitles.

Obdulio is an 11-year-old Afro-Uruguayan street boy who lives with his grandmother and sells newspapers for a living while he cannot read or write. Obdulio is not interested in going to school until he finds out that the night watchman of the newspaper's office is a charismatic magical "Maestro" who not only introduces him to the world of literacy but also teaches him the real meaning of life through the lyrics of the "Murgas" (Carnival Pierrots) during the mythical nights of the irreverent and provocative Uruguayan carnival.

With a poetic nod to Fellini, Leonardo Ricagni uses the carnival atmosphere to transport the viewer to a magical place where realism and surrealism live side by side in Uruguay—and what a wonderful place to be. With sweeping directorial vision and gorgeously shot with rich, vibrant colors, A DIOS MOMO achieves a rich visual and spiritual sensibility unparalleled today. – Shaz Bennett AFI Fest 2005

The Fall 2007 Underground Railroad Film Series begins with XALA by Ousmane Sembene , September 19

The Underground Railroad Film Series
A Cultural Journey to Freedom through the Lens of Black Cinema

presented by the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center's African American Film Festival showcases films by filmmakers that explore the rich African American culture across the diaspora. “The Underground Railroad Film Series” uses the metaphor of the Underground Railroad to define the movable feast of provocative films shown in a "safe house" - an intimate place where dialogue can flourish and provide an opportunity for community engagement and self- reflection. Join us each month for an evening of thought-provoking film and discussion.

September Safe House Screening

XALA by Ousmane Sembene

Wednesday, September 19, 7:00 PM at Central Cinema (21st and Union Sts)

Suggested donation: $5.00 at the door

This bitingly funny 1974 satire portrays El Hadji, a prosperous, self-satisfied, politically crooked modern businessman who is struck down by the xala (pronounced 'ha-la') - a curse rendering its victim impotent. While he chases after traditional healers and soothsayers on a frantic, often hilarious search for a cure, his impotence becomes a mirror of the powerlessness of young African nations overdependent on technology. Unable to consummate his third (polygamous) marriage, and neglecting his business affairs and political activities as he seeks a cure, his social stature is stripped away, leaving him shamed and humiliated. And while humorous, there is a sympathy in his downfall at the hands of others who are even more corrupt than he is. Xala is a moving and comical look at a man caught up in the corruption of his country and the tribulations of a changing society. French and Wolof with English subtitles.

Join us for Xala and honor the memory of the great Senegalese filmmaker and author Ousmane Sembene, one of the leading figures in the history of post-colonial African literature and arts,who passed away in June 2007. Sembene is widely regarded as the primary force in the development of African cinema. Many of his novels are not available of English translations, but his films have been seen and acclaimed throughout the world. Sembene's novels and films, from his first, Borrom Sarret (1964) to his last, Moolade (2004), deal with the social and psychological effects of colonialism in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as class tension, the African bourgeoisie, and the lives of African women.

"Xala...is a brilliantly funny, ironic satire about post-colonial Senegal. It upset the government considerably -- 11 cuts were made before it was released in Dakar...No African director has criticised the pretensions and corruption of its rulers more severely than Sembene in Xala, or done it with such quiet hilarity...his most powerful critique of his own society."

~ Derek Malcolm, The Guardian
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