Afropop Worldwide Goes To The Movies

Films featured on the program:

Lumumba (Director: Raoul Peck, 2000)
Lumumba is a political thriller that tells the story of the legendary African leader, Patrice Emery Lumumba. His vision of a "united Africa" earned him powerful enemies, which included the Belgian authorities and the CIA, who supported Lumumba's former friend, Joseph Mobutu. The film, starring Eriq Ebouaney brilliantly documents Lumumba's rise and rapid fall from power, just 9 months after becoming Congo's first prime minister.

Official Website:
http://www.zeitgeistfilm.com/current/lumumba/lumumba.html

Interview with director, Raoul Peck:
http://www.africanfilmny.org/lumumba-frameset.html

Canta Angola (Director: Ariel de Bigault, 2000)
A documentary about Angolan music featuring music from Paulo Flores, Banda Maravilha, the Kafala Brothers, Carlos Burity and many more.

Webpage about Canta Angola (in Portuguese)
http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/encarte/cantangola.htm

Karmen (Senegal, 2001) (Director: Joseph Gai Ramaka)
A Senegalese adaptation of the classic tale of Carmen, set in Dakar and Goree Island, Senegal with a spectacular soundtrack featuring Dudu N'Daiye Rose, El Hadj N'Daye, Yande Codou Sene, and David Murray.

Website (in French)
http://www.stockintl.ca/fr/movies/karmen/

Toronto Film Festival Webpage about Karmen (in English)
http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2001/fschedules/description.asp?pageID=film&id=190

Jit (Zimbabwe, Directed by Michael Raeburn)
Jit is a story of a young Zimbabwean boy's pursuit of true love. The title of the film, "Jit" refers to a form of Zimbabwean music called "jit jive", which is derived from the Shona words "jiti" and "jikiti" which mean to dance in a circle. While the film itself isn't a 4-star classic, the music in it is, with great performances by Robson Banda, John Chibadura, Bhundu Boys… and Oliver Mtukudzi stars as himself in a movie that gives you the rare opportunity to see what it is like to experience an Oliver Mtukudzi show live in Harare.

Website about the film:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/movie-1051898/about.php

Sugar Cane Alley (Martinique 1983, Directed by Euzhan Palcy)
Palcy's debut film earned her over a dozen major awards at film festivals around the globe. It is story of a young boy growing up in 1930s colonial Martinique, his travails to earn a scholarship to study in Fort-de-France in order to escape the harsh reality of life on a sugar cane plantation.

The IMDB has a great webpage about the film (it even allows you to view the trailer):
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0086213

The Harder they Come(Jamaica 1973, Directed by Perry Henzell)
In the Jamaican gangster film, Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff portrays Ivan Martin, a poor up and coming musician who is taken advantage of by crooked record producers. He eventually ends up on the wrong side of the law as a ganja dealer. The film has a great reggae soundtrack.

International Movie Database Webpage about the film:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0070155

Black Orpheus (Brazil 1959, Directed by Marcel Camus)
A retelling of the Orphues myth set amidst the spectacular backdrop of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. The film includes a great soundtrack from Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bomfa.

The International Movie Database has a webpage about the film that allows you to see the film's trailer:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0053146

Orfeu(1999 Brazil, Directed by Carlos Diegues)
A remake of the 1959 classic, Black Orphues (Negro Orfeu) starring Toni Garrido and Patricia França, with a brand new score by Caetano Veloso, Nelson Sargento, Toni Garrido, and more.

Official Website (it also allows you to view the trailer)
http://www.orfeufilm.com/menu.html

Tiete de Agreste (Brazil 1996, Directed by Carlos Diegues)
Carlos Diegues' adaptation of the classic Jorge Amado novel starring Sonia Braga, and featuring a great soundtrack by Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, and Grupo Dida Banda Feminina.

Website about the film:
http://www.skylight.com.br/tieta/ti-500.htm

Saudade do Futuro (Brazil/France 2001, Directed by Cesar Paes and Marie Clemence)
A musical documentary presenting the daily life of Paulistas (people from Sao Paulo) with a score of predominantly forro and repente, music from Brazil's northeast.

Official Website:
http://www2.laterit-productions.com/Saudade.engtest.htm

Calle 54
One of the hottest films dealing with Cuban and Puerto Rican music, Calle 54 is a film that captures the heart and soul of an entire culture, full of extraordinary performances by Paquito D'Rivera, Cachao, Michel Camilo, Jerry Gonzalez, and the late Tito Puente and Chico O'Farril.

Official Website:
www.calle54.com

Buena Vista Social Club (Wim Wenders)
Documentary about the famed Cuban musicians Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzalez, Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and their American buddy, guitarist Ry Cooder.

Official Website:
http://www.buenavista-socialclub.com/index2.html

A Great Day in Havana (Directed by Casey Stoll and Laurie Ann Schag)
A documentary portrait of Havana, Cuba through interviews of 19 of its artists, including Ele Valdes (Irakere) and Carlos Alfonso (Sintesis).

Official website:
http://www.cinembargo.com/great%20day%20in%20havana.htm

Miel Para Oshún (Cuba 2001, Directed by Humberto Solas)
A middle aged man returns to Cuba to look for his family.

Toronto Film Festival Webpage about Miel Para Oshún:
http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2001/fschedules/description.asp?pageID=film&id=36

Umm Kalthoum: A Voice Like Egypt (Directed by Michael Goldman, 1996)
This is a documentary (narrarated by Omar Sharif) about the legendary Egyptian vocalist that aired recently on many PBS television stations.

See a 3 minute preview of the film in Real Video:
http://www.aramusic.com/raclips/umkalth.rm

webpage about the film:
http://almashriq.hiof.no/egypt/700/780/umKoulthoum/goldman/

RECOMMENDED FILMS

AFRICA

ALGERIA
Living in Paradise [Al Aish Fil Jannah] (1998, Directed by Bourlem Guerdjou)
Named "Best film at the 1998 Venice Film Festival", Living in Paradise is set during the Algerian war of 1961-2, and looks at how an Algerian family adapts to living as immigrants in Nanterre, France.

http://www.arabfilm.com/item.html?itemID=169

The Desert Ark, Directed by Mohamed Chouikh
An adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set in the Sahara desert.

http://www.africanfilm.com/desert_ark.htm

BURKINA FASO
Ashakara (Directed by Gerard Louvin, 1991)
Ashakara is the story of how an African doctor discovers a cure to a deadly disease, only to find that multinational drug companies want to buy the rights to the drug, only to bury it.

Haramuya (Directed by Drissa Touré)
Haramuya paints a picture of Ouagadougou, a both modern and ancient city through the eyes of the Fousseini family.

http://www.africanfilm.com/haramuya.htm

Yaaba (Directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1989)
A 10 year old boy befriends an old woman. Everyone else calls her a "witch", but to the boy, she is a "yaaba" (grandmother).

Tilaï (Directed by Idrissa Oudraogo, 1990)
Followup to the critically acclaimed Yaaba, Oudraogo's Tilaï won the 'Special Jury Prize' at Cannes in 1990. The story, set in pre-colonial Africa revolves a man who, after two years of working away from his village, comes home to find his fiancée married to his father.

CAMEROON
Clando (Directed by Jean Marie Teno, 1996)
Clando depicts the struggles facing educated Africans face when deciding whether to pursue greater economic fortune in the west, or forgoe these luxuries by staying at home and working for change.

http://www.newsreel.org/films/clando.htm

Afrique, je te plumerai/Africa, I will fleece you (Directed by Jean Marie Teno, 1993)
Documentary looking at Cameroon's colonial past.

CAPE VERDE
Dribbling Fate (Fintar o Destino) (1998, directed by Fernando Vendrell)
A middle-aged man relives his dreams of being a Portuguese star soccer player.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0119122

CONGO/ZAIRE
La Vie Este Belle (Ngangura Mweze and Bernard Lamy, 1987)
Soukous legend Papa Wemba stars as Korou in a portrait of the dynamic musical scene in Kinshasa. http://us.imdb.com/Title?0094265

Lumumba (Director: Raoul Peck)
Lumumba is a political thriller that tells the story of the legendary African leader, Patrice Emery Lumumba. His vision of a "united Africa" earned him powerful enemies, which included the Belgian authorities and the CIA, who supported Lumumba's former friend, Joseph Mobutu. The film, starring Eriq Ebouaney brilliantly documents Lumumba's rise and rapid fall from power, just 9 months after becoming Congo's first prime minister.

http://www.zeitgeistfilm.com/current/lumumba/lumumba.html

EGYPT
Alexandria… Why? (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1978)
Winner of the "Special Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival", Alexandria… Why? is the first part of Egypt master filmmaker (he was awarded the "Cannes film festival lifetime achievement award"), Chahine's semi-autobiographical Alexandria trilogy. It tells the story of a young filmmaker who dreams of "making it big" in Hollywood.

An Egyptian Story (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1982)
A sequel to 1978's Alexandria… Why? An Egyptian Story continues the tale of Yehia, who re-examines his life after having open-heart surgery.

Alexandria, Again and Forever (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1990)
Final installment in Chahine's Alexandria trilogy.

Bab Al-Hadid (Cairo: Central Station) (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1958)

The Earth (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1968)

Inta Habibi/It's You My Love (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1957)

Sky of Hell (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1954)
Omar Sharif's first film with Chahine, in it he plays a son who must defend his father against accusations of murder.

The Choice/El Ikhtiyar (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1970)
A murder investigation involving two brothers.

Once upon a time in the Nile (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1970)
A look at the construction of the Aswan dam by those who built it.

Destiny (Directed by Youssef Chahine, 1997)
Epic set in 12th century, Arab ruled Andalucia http://us.imdb.com/Title?0119629

Youssef Chahine retrospective website:
http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/chahine.htm

Fallen Angels Paradise, Directed by Ossama Fawzi
Based on a Jorge Amado short story, "Fallen Angels Paradise" revolves around the madness that follows the death of a homeless man.

http://www.africanfilm.com/fallen_angels.htm

http://almashriq.hiof.no/egypt/700/780/umKoulthoum/goldman/

Nasser 56 (1996, Directed by Mohamed Fadel)
Docu-drama about Egyptian leader, Jamal Abd El-Nasser, during the hectic year of 1956, that included the Suez Canal crisis and the problems in constructing the Aswan dam.

The Puppeteer (1989, Directed by Hani Lachine)
http://www.arabfilm.com/item/117/

Beggars and Noblemen (1991, Directed by Asma El Bakri)
http://www.arabfilm.com/item/19/

The Closed Doors - Al Abwab Al Moghlaka (Atef Hetata)
http://www.aboutfilm.com/movies/c/closeddoors.htm

GHANA

Kukurantumi: The Road to Accra (Directed by King Ampaw)
Film portrays a family's struggles between urban and village life.

GUINEA BISSEAU

Po di Sangui (Flora Gomes, 1996)

Udju Azul di Yonta (Flora Gomes, 1992)

IVORY COAST

Adanggaman (Directed by Roger Gnoan M'Bala)
The film deals with African involvement in the slave trade.

http://www.marekinc.com/CultureartsREG051301.html

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0262210

Faces of Women (Directed by Désiré Ecaré, 1985)
Women balance demands of traditional and modern life in Ivory Coast.

MALI

Battu (2000, Directed by Cheikh Oumar Sissoko)
Danny Glover and Isaach de Bankole star in a political drama about how a candidate promises to make his country a 'tourist friendly' place by ridding the cities of the homeless and beggars.

http://www.3continents.com/cinema/films/africa/mali/eng_battu.html

Guimba the Tyrant (Directed by Cheikh Oumar Sissoko)
Portrait of a fictional dictator reminiscent of Mali's Moussa Traore.

http://www.1worldfilms.com/Africa/guimba.htm

Faraw! Mother of the Dunes (Directed by Abdoulaye Ascofare)
This film details a mother's struggles to raise her children after her husband is arrested for his political activities. http://www.africanfilm.com/faraw.htm

MOROCCO

A Door to the Sky (1989, Directed by Farida Ben Lyzaid)
After returning from Paris to Fez to take care of her dying father, a Moroccan woman, Nadia, decides to turn his home into a women's shelter.

SENEGAL

Camp de Thiaroye (1987, Directed by Ousmane Sembene)
The film won the "Jury Special Award" at the 1989 Venice Film Festival. Its subject is the conflicts faced by African soldiers who are forced to fight for France during world war 2, only to be incarcerated by the French in the years that follow.

Faat-Kine (2000, Directed by Ousmane Sembene)
Considered one of Africa's greatest filmmakers, Sembene presents a film that deals with the life of a single woman in modern Dakar.

http://www.filmforum.com/faatkine.html

Guelwaar (1992, Directed by Ousmane Sembene)
Guelwaar is perhaps Sembene's greatest film. It deals with the conflicts between politics and religion in post-colonial Senegal after the death of a philandering, yet prominent Christian, leading political activist. The soundtrack features music by Baaba Maal.

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~aamkpa/guelwaar.html

Xala (1973, Directed by Ousmane Sembene)
'Xala' is the curse of impotence that inflicts a corrupt government official in the wake of post-independence Senegal.

Jom: The story of a People (1982, Directed by Ababacar Samb)
The film uses a griot as the center of a myriad of interwoven stories in Senegal.

Karmen (2001, Directed by Joseph Gai Ramaka)
Modern adaptation of the classic tale of Carmen, set in Goree Island and Dakar, Senegal, to the musical score of Dudu N'Daiye Rose.

http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2001/fschedules/description.asp?pageID=film&id=190

Hyenas (1992, Directed by Djibril Diop Mambety)
Includes score by Wassis Diop.

Touki Bouki (1973, Directed by Djibril Diop Mambety)

Kirikou (Directed by Michel Ocelot, 1999)
Animated Senegalese feature with music by Youssou N'Dour.

SOUTH AFRICA

Boesman and Lena (Directed by John Berry)
Angela Bassett and Danny Glover star in this film about what happens when the South African authorities decide to bulldoze a mixed-race shantytown.

http://www.robeytheatrecompany.com/content/boesmanlena.htm

Voices from Robben Island (Directed by Adam Low)
This documentary looks at the 400 year history of South Africa's infamous prison, from its early days as an insane asylum to its more recent years as home to jailed political dissidents. The film includes interviews with Nelson Mandela and others.

http://www.africanfilm.com/voices.htm

Mapantsula (1988, Directed by Thomas Mohotlane)
First black South African anti-apartheid feature film.

Rhythms of Resistance (Directed by Jeremy Marre)
Documentary about South African township music.

TOGO

Women with Open Eyes (1984, Directed by Anne-Laure Folly)
The film profiles the lives of women in four contries: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Mali, deals with their new roles in society, and confronts age-old taboos such as marital and reproductive roles, genital mutilation, and their role in the workplace.

TUNISIA

The Silences of the Palace (1994, directed by Moufida Tlatli)
Winnner of the "Camera d'or" prize at Cannes, Moufida Tlatli's film portrays the lives of women who are essentially prisoners in their palace in the final day of French colonial rule in Tunisia.

http://www.1worldfilms.com/Tunisia/silencesofthepalace.htm

Honey and Ashes (1996, Directed by Nadia Fares)
Women struggle to gain control of their relationships with men.

ZIMBABWE

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/movie-1051898/about.php

Neria (1992, Directed by Goodwin Nawuru)
Semi autobiographical tale of a woman's fight with her husbands family after she is widowed, and his family tries to take all of her possessions.

Yellow Card (2000, directed by John Riber)
A young Zimbabwean soccer star faces the harsh results of the results of having unprotected sex.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0275802

BRAZIL

Black Orpheus (Brazil 1959, Directed by Marcel Camus)
A retelling of the Orpheus myth set amidst the spectacular backdrop of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. The film includes a great soundtrack from Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bomfa. http://us.imdb.com/Title?0053146

Orfeu (1999 Brazil, Directed by Carlos Diegues)
A remake of the 1959 classic, Black Orphues (Negro Orfeu) starring Toni Garrido and Patricia França, with a brand new score by Caetano Veloso, Nelson Sargento, Toni Garrido, and more. http://www.orfeufilm.com/menu.html

http://www.skylight.com.br/tieta/ti-500.htm

Bye Bye Brazil (Directed by Carlos Diegues, 1979)
A Brazilian Gypsy-style road trip portrays the conflicts within a bunch of traveling cabaret performers who trek across Brazil, entertaining small town audiences.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0080482

Quilombo (Directed by Carlos Diegues, 1984)
Gilberto Gil's score brilliantly accentuates tale of a maroon (escaped slave) community in 17th century Brazil.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0091816

Xica (Directed by Carlos Diegues, 1976)
The story of how an 18th century slave, Xica da Silva, uses her sexual charm to rise to power.

Terra em Transe (Directed by Glauber Rocha, 1967)
A young journalist is persuaded by his lover to become a political activist.

Central Station (Walter Salles, 1998)
Award winning film about how a middle aged woman helps take a young boy across Brazil in search of his father.

http://www.spe.sony.com/classics/archive/98/centralstation.html

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0140888

Amor Bandido (1979, Directed by Bruno Barreto)
A young promiscuous girl is thrown out of her home in Rio, only to be begged to return by her father, a police officer.

Bossa Nova (2000, Directed by Bruno Barreto)
Romantic comedy-homage set in 1960s Rio, an homage to Francois Truffault and Tom Jobim.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/bossanova/barreto.html

Four Days in September (1996, Directed by Bruno Barreto)
A journalist and friends become terrorists to fight the Brazilian dictatorship of the late 1960s.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0119815

Dona Flor and her Two Husbands (1977, Directed by Bruno Barreto)
Sonia Braga stars in as Bruno Barreto brings the Jorge Amado classic to the screen.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0077452

http://www2.laterit-productions.com/Saudade.engtest.htm

COLOMBIA

The Day You Love Me (1986, Directed by Sergio Dow)
Set in 1935, the film depicts tango legend, Carlos Gardel's visit to Venezuela during the Juan Vicente Gomez dictatorship.

VENEZUELA

Oriane (Directed by Fina Torres, 1985)
A young woman inherits a crumbling hacienda in rural Venezuela after the death of her aunt. Winner of the "Camera d'or" prize at the Cannes film festival.

CARIBBEAN

BARBADOS

Guttaperc (Directed by Andew Millington, 1999)
This is a film about a young boy's visit to Barbados while his parents are on vacation in America. During the stay, his family and the villagers are forced to confront the government who wish to build a tourist resort on their property.

CUBA

Strawberries and Chocolate (Tomas Guitierrez Alea, 1993)
An openly gay man falls in love with a heterosexual man full of traditional gay stereotypes.

Guantanamera (Tomas Guitierrez Alea, 1994)
A comedy about the fights with the Cuban bureaucracy when a family tries bring back a corpse across Cuba, from Santiago to Havana, to have a proper funeral.

Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomas Guitierrez Alea, 1968)
A film about an aspiring writer who decides to stay in Cuba, even though his wife and children leave for Miami.

Death of a Bureaucrat (Tomas Guitierrez Alea, 1966)
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0060722

Bitter Sugar (Leon Ichaso)
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0115600

Portrait of Teresa (Pastor Vega, 1979)
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0076619

Miel Para Oshún (Cuba 2001, Directed by Humberto Solas)
A middle aged man returns to Cuba to look for his family.

http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2001/fschedules/description.asp?pageID=film&id=36

FILMS ABOUT CUBAN MUSIC

Calle 54 One of the hottest films dealing with Cuban and Puerto Rican music, Calle 54 is a film that captures the heart and soul of an entire culture, full of extraordinary performances by Paquito D'Rivera, Cachao, Michel Camilo, Jerry Gonzalez, and the late Tito Puente and Chico O'Farril.
www.calle54.com

http://www.buenavista-socialclub.com/index2.html

Lagrimas Negras (Directed by Sonia Herman Dolz, 1997)
Documentary about legendary band, Vieja Trova Santiaguera.

http://www.cinembargo.com/great%20day%20in%20havana.htm

HAITI

The Man by the Shore (Directed by Raoul Peck, 1993)
Peck's film looks at how an 8 year old girl struggles through the brutality of Haiti's Duvalier government and the terror inflicted by the Tontons Macoutes. http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/m/man_shore.html

JAMAICA

Dancehall Queen (1997, Directed by Don Letts and Rick Elgood)
A young woman fights to rise to the top of the male-dominated dancehall scene.

http://www.dancehallqueen.com/movie/

Third World Cop (1999, Directed by Don Chris Browne)
Music laden (Beenie Man, Sly & Robbie and more) Jamaican crime film

http://www.thirdworldcop.com/

The Harder they Come (Jamaica 1973, Directed by Perry Henzell)
In the Jamaican gangster film, Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff portrays Ivan Martin, a poor up and coming musician who is taken advantage of by crooked record producers. He eventually ends up on the wrong side of the law as a ganja dealer. The film has a great reggae soundtrack.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0070155

Countryman (Directed by Jackie Dobson, 1982)
A tale of politics, money, and corruption set to a dynamic soundtrack featuring Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytalls, Steel Pulse, Lee Perry, Aswad, and more.

MARTINIQUE

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0086213

Middle Passage (2000, Directed by Guy Deslauriers)
A powerfully moving film about the conditions aboard an African slave ship destined for the Americas.

FILM FESTIVALS

Pan African Film Festival-Los Angeles
www.paff.org

New York African Film Festival
www.africanfilmny.org

Arab Film Festival, San Francisco
www.aff.org

African Diaspora Film Festival - New York
http://www.africanfilm.com/festival/ http://www.nyadff.org/

Denver Pan African Film Festival
http://www.panafricanarts.org/home.html

Cascade Festival of African Films - Portland, Oregon
http://www.cfaf.net

Hawaiian African Film Festival
www.hawaiiafricanfilm.com/enter.cfm

Toronto International Film Festival - Focus: Planet Africa
http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/

http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2001/fschedules/filmlist.asp#Planet%20Africa

Montreal African and Creole Film Festival
http://www.vuesdafrique.org/

Pan-African film and television festival of Burkina Faso
http://www.fespaco.bf/index_anglais.html

Zanzibar International Film Festival
http://www.zanzibar.org/ziff/

Exploring Consciousness Film Festival - South Africa
http://exploring-consciousness.beliefnet.com/

Southern Africa's Film and Television Market (South Africa)
http://www.sithengi.co.za/

Africa at the Pictures (London's African Film Festival)
http://www.africaatthepictures.co.uk/

Africa in the Picture (Holland's African Film Festival)
http://www.africainthepicture.nl/

African Film Festival - Milan, Italy
http://www.peacelink.it/users/coe/voice2/cinema/festival/festival2000/festival_en.html

Montpellier's Festival of Mediterranean Cinema (France)
http://www.cinemed.tm.fr/23gb/new.html

Ecrans Nord-Sud (African Film Festival - France)
http://www.ecrans-nord-sud.com/ie/general/frame.htm

DATABASE of AFRICAN FILMS
Go to http://www.ecrans-nord-sud.com/ie/general/frame.htm
Then click on "Guide du cinema Africain"
Contributed by: Dan Rosenberg