image and text via Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) [IMDB links added]:
May 23—30
To help celebrate the 30th DanceAfrica presentation, we’ve got a full line-up of the best films from the African Film Festival, along with special screenings of the acclaimed Mali town meeting drama Bamako.
Bamako (2006) 115min
Wed, May 23 & Thu, May 24 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm
Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako
Sissako, whose last film Waiting for Happiness played at DanceAfrica in 2003, returns with Bamako. The film audaciously stages a trial against the IMF and World Bank in a small African village, contrasting the political arguments against economic imperialism with the goings-on around the small town, including a film crew making a Western starring Danny Glover, who was an executive producer on the film. “A strong candidate for African film of the year.”—Variety.
Watch the trailer for Bamako here.
Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2006) 75min
Fri, May 25 & Mon, May 28 at 2, 4:30pm
Sat, May 26 & Sun, May 27 at 2pm
Wed, May 30 at 4:30, 6:50pm
Directed by Michel Ocelot, Benedicte Galup
The sequel to the animated family favorite finds the old narrator exclaiming that there is still more of Kirikou’s story to tell! This new film looks at four separate magical encounters between the quick-witted child and an evil witch who threatens his small village. Bursting with color and life, the film also paints a positive portrait of communal life in Africa, and extols the values of working together.
Don’t F*** With Me I Have 51 Brothers And Sisters (2004) 86min
Fri, May 25 at 6:50, 9:15pm
Directed by Dumisani Phakathi
This film is the story of Dumisani’s epic journey to find his 51 siblings and come to terms with the loss of his father as a child. Critics have compared this film to jazz music—with bursts of joy and pain that allow the viewer to feel the family’s triumph over loss and longing. This film is as much the story of South Africa in search of its origins as it is Dumisani’s.
The 11th Hour (2006) 90min
Sat, May 26 at 4:30pm
Directed by Zelalem W/Mariam
A determined father is on a quest to save his eight-year-old daughter who’s suffering from a serious heart condition. This moving and dramatic film is a mirror image of the extreme sacrifices that are paid to save a helpless young child. Through a long and perilous journey for the girl’s father, is willpower alone enough to secure her life?
The Night of Truth (2004) 100min
Sat, May 26 at 6:50, 9:15pm
Directed by Fanta Régina Nacro
Mirroring the political strife and genocide in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa, this film opens as preparations are being made to end a decade of civil war in a fictitious country. Both rebels and government forces gather, bringing with them years of rage, grief, hope, suspicion, and bitterness.
A Child’s Love Story (96) 2004min
Sun, May 27 at 4:30pm
Directed by Ben Diogaye Beye
This is a touching investigation of innocent love between children in Senegal set against the background of a traditional class system. Despite the difference in their background and family lives, five young children become friends but find that economic upheaval in the country threatens to tear them apart.
Daughter Of Keltoum (2001) 106min
Sun, May 27 at 6:50, 9:15pm
Directed by Mehdi Charef
A young woman travels to an isolated Berber settlement in the mountains of Algeria. Rallia’s journey to locate her biological mother immerses the viewer in a world virtually untouched by contemporary society, one that still clings to tribal mores and strict religious codes of conduct. Charef skillfully captures the windswept vistas and the daily search for water, the responsibility of the resilient women of the Berber tribe.
African Shorts Program 78min
Sun, May 27 at 6:50, 9:15pm
Features the films:
Ousmane (2005), 15min Senegal/France
Directed by Dyana Gaye
Dakar, Senegal. A seven year old, who begs in the streets, decides to write a letter to Santa Claus….
Toi, Waguih (2005), 28min Egypt/France
Directed by Namir Abdel Messeeh
This is the story of a relationship between a Egyptian screenwriter and his father, who was jailed for being a Communist in 1959.
My Lost Home (2005), 19min Morocco/France
Directed by Kamal El-Mahouti
A look at the life of Kamal El-Mahouti, who arrived in France in 1970, when he was six years old, and lived in a housing project for the next twenty years.
Whole: A Trinity Of Being (2004), 16min South Africa
Directed by Shelley Barry
Three experimental shorts which deal with sexuality, visibility, and voice from the perspective of a wheelchair user.
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