ADIFF New York Presents:
A thrilling journey in the 1920s, from Marseille to Harlem, via Jamaica, Russia, and Morocco, in the footsteps of the Jamaican American writer Claude McKay. Rebellious figure of the Harlem Renaissance, precursor of literature and of the black cause, the unclassifiable author wandered for more than 10 years in Europe, frequenting the artistic and political avant-gardes.
ADIFF New York Presents:
Frantz Fanon, His Life, His Struggles, His Work
Frantz Fanon, was a psychiatrist, originally from Martinique, who became a spokesman for the Algerian revolution against French colonialism. Embittered by his experience with racism in the French Army, he gravitated to radical politics, Sartrean existentialism and the philosophy of black consciousness known as negritude. The film traces the short and intense life of one of the great thinkers of the 20th century.
Watch this film and more films from the Caribbean at Teachers College, Columbia University this April
The 1960s were a time of change everywhere, and that includes Bamako, the capital city of Mali, a nation only recently independent from French colonial rule.
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO is a romance fraught with the drama of political change, infused with the musical energy of that decade. Samba, a young, idealistic socialist, works toward creating a more just nation by day and dances with girlfriend Lara to the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, and the Supremes by night.
The film’s sensibility is inspired by the vibrant images, patterns, and compositions of famed Malian photographer, Malick Sidibé. Lara’s orange silk dress and Samba’s dazzling white suit, shot against the striped backdrop of their dance club and the black and white checked dance floor they cut up — all suggest that change is coming rapidly, that life is for living. Directed by Robert Guédiguian, 129 min, 2021, Mali/France, French (with English Subtitles)
Malian-French director Daouda Coulibaly's auspicious debut is a pulse-pounding political thriller. Wùlu tells the unsettling tale of a man's rise from the bottom rung of the social ladder to the heights of criminal power.
Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, 95 minutes, 2016, France/Mali, Drama, Bambara, French (with English subtitles)
🏆 Winner of the prestigious "Best Film Directed by a Woman of Colour" award at ADIFF NYC 2023, this film is a cinematic marvel that seamlessly weaves romance, drama, and strength into an unforgettable narrative. 🌹
Shantaye's World is a film and novel of romance, drama, and strength. A story that highlights the beauty of Caribbean culture and tells the story of every Caribbean migrant.
Shantaye Anderson is bold, Black, beautiful, intelligent and passionate about love. She falls in love with Jean Claude Le Marche, the handsome son of the community's white doctor, a charismatic young man who promises to love her until death. Trouble comes when Shantaye's family and the community realize the pair are in love. To save Shantaye from making what he believes to be a grave mistake, her father sends her to World War II-ravaged England.
Christian, Ben and Jean-Marie are fighting for political change of power and free elections in their country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the incumbent President refuses to relinquish power. How can the course of events be changed? Must they join forces with the historical opposition leader and his powerful party? Is dialogue still possible or must they resign themselves to a popular uprising and the risk of a blood bath?
WHEN: Thu, Nov 30th, 1:00 PM
Watch this animated film at the Magic Johnson Theatre this November!
Minga is an orphaned girl living with her stepmother Mami Kaba and her stepsister Abena. One day, when she was washing dishes in the river, she accidentally broke a spoon. A furious Mami Kaba then chased her away from the house, asking her to find the only identical spoon hidden by her late mother. A adventurous journey then begins for Minga in the forest.
Directed by Claye Edou, 80 minutes, Cameroon, Animation, English
WHERE: Magic Johnson Harlem
WHEN: Wed, Nov 29th, 11:00 AM
A tender, revealing documentary about one of the most famous and popular performing artists of the 20th century. Her legendary banana belt dance created theatre history; her song “J’ai deux amours” became a classic, and her hymn.
The film focuses on her life and work from a perspective that analyses images of Black people in popular culture. It portrays the artist in the mirror of European colonial clichés and presents her as a resistance fighter, an ambulance driver during WWII, and an outspoken activist against racial discrimination involved in the worldwide Black Consciousness movement of the 20th century.
Directed by Annette Von Wagenheim/ 45 minutes/ Documentary/ French,German and English (with English subtitles)
WHERE:Teachers College, Columbia University
WHEN: Fri, Dec 8th, 8:00 PM
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Official Selection ACID Cannes Film Festival 2023!
Nome is a historical drama that takes place in Guinea-Bissau in 1969, during the war of independence between the Portuguese colonial army and the guerrillas of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea. The protagonist, Nome, leaves his village and joins the ranks of the guerrillas. After years of struggle, he returns to his village as a hero. However, the initial joy soon gives way to bitterness and cynicism.
In this debut feature, Director Sergio Guataquira Sarmiento, himself a descendant of an almost extinct indigenous Colombian community, went to meet the Cácuas, to talk about their feelings, their loves, their loneliness. In doing so, he reconnects with his own Indigenousness. With humor and tenderness, the Cácuas try to teach him what it is to be a native.
This is a VIRTUAL EVENT
November 24 - December 10
The 1960s were a time of change everywhere, and that includes Bamako, the capital city of Mali, a nation only recently independent from French colonial rule.
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO is a romance fraught with the drama of political change, infused with the musical energy of that decade. Samba, a young, idealistic socialist, works toward creating a more just nation by day and dances with girlfriend Lara to the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, and the Supremes by night.
The film’s sensibility is inspired by the vibrant images, patterns, and compositions of famed Malian photographer, Malick Sidibé. Lara’s orange silk dress and Samba’s dazzling white suit, shot against the striped backdrop of their dance club and the black and white checked dance floor they cut up — all suggest that change is coming rapidly, that life is for living.
WHEN & WHERE: Teachers College - November 25 @ 4:40PM + Decemebr 7 @ 7:30pm
A thrilling journey in the 1920s, from Marseille to Harlem, via Jamaica, Russia, and Morocco, in the footsteps of the Jamaican-American writer Claude McKay. Rebellious figure of the Harlem Renaissance, precursor of literature and of the black cause, this unclassifiable author wandered for more than 10 years in Europe, frequenting the artistic and political avant-gardes.
Tickets cost $13
WHEN & WHEN: Sat, Dec. 2 @ 12pm, Cinema Village
After years of serving in the army and drifting across the Amazon, Loeti yearns to go back to his land, to find his roots, and be amongst his people, the Aluku, the first Maroons of French Guiana and Suriname. One night, due to a crackdown on illegal gold mining, Loeti is forced to flee the site where he is working. Lost in the Amazon forest, he must use what is left of his childhood knowledge of the forest, to find his way back and combat the many deadly perils that lurk with every step. He is guided by the spirits, the animals, a compass, and his prayers. An intense reunion confronts Loeti with a changing world where old traditions and values are both challenged and influenced by the invading modern world. Loeti must deal with his past and grapple with what remains of the Aluku's ancient African customs by immersing himself in their magical world.
WHEN: November 24 - December 10, 2023
This is a VIRTUAL EVENT
Malian-French director Daouda Coulibaly's auspicious debut is a pulse-pounding political thriller. Wùlu tells the unsettling tale of a man's rise from the bottom rung of the social ladder to the heights of criminal power.
WHERE & WHEN: Teachers College, December 6 @ 6pm
WHERE & WHEN: Cinema Village, December 7 @ 3pm
À la suite d’attentats terroristes dans la région du Sahel, Naïma perd ses parents et finit échouée dans un camp de déplacés. Les années passent et malgré les séquelles qu’elle a subi lors de l’attentat, dont la perte de l’ouïe , elle n’abandonne pas l’espoir de retrouver son frère Saïd. Ses efforts finissent par payer lorsqu’elle le trouve enfin, hélas il semble être passé du mauvais côté.
Réalisé par Boubakar Diallo / 2023 / 90 minutes / Long-métrage – Drame / Burkina Faso /VOF
In the war-torn Sahel region, Naïma arrives at a displaced persons camp, unaware that her quest to find her long-lost brother Saïd will finally be fulfilled. Their separation occurred after their parents died in a terrorist attack, leaving Naïma with hearing loss and a lifelong obsession to reunite with her brother. However, their joyous reunion is short-lived when Naïma learns that Saïd has joined the wrong side, forcing her to choose between protecting their only surviving parent or delivering him to justice to dismantle the terrorist group he is part of.
Watch two documentaries focusing on Haiti at George Washington Univeristy (2121 I St NW, Washington, DC 20052, United States) on
Friday, August 5 @ 4:30pm
Kafe Negro tells the story of migrations around a small grain that became the second most important raw material on the global market. This film tells the story of the waves of migration of Haitian workers who, over time, profoundly transformed the culture and demography of Cuba and developed coffee growing on the island.
Directed by Mario Delatour, 2022, 52 minutes, Cuba/Haiti, Documentary in French and Spanish (with English subtitles)
Screening followed by
Kenbe Fem, roughly translated as “to hold firm”, is a common phrase in Haitian culture. This documentary was entitled Kenbe Fem to represent the resilience of the Haitian community. Despite all that Haiti has been through over the past two centuries, to “hold firm” was most relevant as many people watched their homes and over 250,000 people perished during the earthquake on January 12, 2010.
Follow David Pierre-Louis, a Haitian-American and Seattle art-venue owner, on a son’s journey to find his mother after the devastating earthquake. Immersed in the ruins, he is challenged to fill the gaps left by the Haitian government & various NGOs.
Directed by Mark Goodnow and David Pierre-Louis, 2019, 51 minutes, Haiti/USA/Dominican Republic, Documentary in English
August 5 – 7, 2022
The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will host its annual film festival in Washington DC from Friday, August 5 – Sunday, August 7. This year’s festival will take place entirely in person at George Washington University with a selection of 19 films. Ticket prices will range from $10 for one student/senior ticket – $120 for an all-access festival pass.
Mask required
Now in person for the first time in two years, ADIFF DC 2022 will include Q&A discussions after the Opening Night Film Fighting For Respect: African American Soldiers in WWI - a documetary that captures the plight of African American soldiers who fought in WWI, receiving the Croix de Guerre military decoration from France, while still fighting discrimination and hatred at home in America; and the Closing Night Film The Mali-Cuba Connection where ten promising musicians from Mali are sent to Cuba to study music and strengthen cultural links between the two socialist countries. Years later, Richard Minier, a French music producer meets a former member in Bamako and decides to bring the band back together.
Some of the Highlights in the festival include: The Haitian Program which includes two documentaries from Haiti – Kafe Negro: Cuba & The Haitian Revolution which tells the story of the waves of migration of Haitian workers who, over time, profoundly transformed the culture and demography of Cuba and developed coffee growing on the island; and Kenbe Fem: A Haitian Story of Survival, Unity and Strength which follows David Pierre-Louis, a Haitian-American and Seattle art-venue owner, on a son’s journey to find his mother after the country’s devastating earthquake.
FESTIVAL A GLANCE:
A Son (Un Fils) by Medhi Barsoui (Tunisia)
Kafe Negro: Cuba & the Haitian Revolution by Mario Delatour (Haiti, Cuba)
Kenbe Fem: A Haitian Story of Survival, Unity and Strength by Mark Goodnow and David Pierre-Louis (Haiti, USA, Dominican Republic)
The Sleeping Negro by Skinner Myers (USA)
OPENING NIGHT FILM: Fighting For Respect: African American Soldiers in WWI by Joanne Burke
Marighella by Wagner Moura (Brazil)
Bedroom Chains by Hassan Mageye (Uganda)
The Women in Block J by Mohamed Nadif (Morocco)
Loimata, the Sweetest Tears by Anna Marbrook
Me Little Me by Elizabeth Ayiku (USA)
Get Out Alive by Roger Ellis (USA)
Haingosoa by Edouard Joubeaud (Madagascar)
Angels on Diamond Street by Petr Lom (USA)
Dancing the Twist in Bamako (Senegal, Canada)
As Far As I Can Walk by Stefan Arsenijević (Serbia, France, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Bulgaria)
CLOSING NIGHT FILM: The Mali-Cuba Connection by Edouard Salier and Richard Minier
ART, RESISTANCE & ACTIVISM PROGRAM + CLOSING NIGHT FILM
LIL' BUCK: REAL SWAN
Bringing his experience in the ballet world with him, Lil Buck heads back to South Memphis to teach dance to the youth, offering them the chance of a better future. Returning home to the town where he first learned to dance, Lil Buck leads us through the streets as he recounts his personal story and the history of Jookin...
Directed by Louis Wallecan, 2019, France/United States, 85 minutes, documentary, English
Festival Website: nyadiff.org/2020
FIRST NATION PROGRAM
KUESSIPAN (NEW YORK PREMIERE)
Adapted from Naomi Fontaine’s acclaimed novel, Kuessipan is Myriam Verreault’s first narrative feature. In a Quebec Innu community, Mikuan and Shaniss struggle to maintain their close friendship when they clash over their diverging ambitions. When Mikuan falls in love with a white boy and starts to consider a life beyond their tiny reserve, her bond with Shaniss and her family is put to the test.
Directed by Myriam Verreault, 2019, Canada, 117 minutes, drama, English.
Festival Website: nyadiff.org/2020
THUS SPOKE THE SEA/MEN SA LANMÈ DI (NEW YORK PREMIERE)
The Haitian Sea, as you’ve never seen or heard it before: the sea tells the story of its relationship with the Haitian people, showcases its riches, reveals its mysteries and raises the alarm. From the excessive use of its resources to the consequences of climate change and pollution, all is revealed in different shades of blue. Haiti’s fate will be linked to the coasts and the children of Haiti – voodoo priestesses, fishermen, merchants, entrepreneurs, urban planners, historians, biologists and climate experts – help to tell the tale. A candid depiction of the challenges and the opportunities that must be seized before it’s too late.
Directed by Arnold Antonin, 2020, Haiti, 49 minutes, documentary, French with English subtitles
Festival Website: nyadiff.org/2020
