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Portland Observer Black History Month
_____________ Februaiy 1,2012
Experience the African Diaspora
against all odds. It will be show n at noon,
A scene from
T hursday, Feb. 16, C ascade C am pus and at 7
‘Scheherazade:
Tell Me a Story, ’ one p.m ., Friday, Feb. 17, H ollyw ood Theatre.
T he festiv al’s F am ily Film D ay w ill take
o f 2 0 films sched
place on Saturday, Feb. 25, focusing on film s
uled for the 22nd
that appeal to y o u n g er audiences (ages 5
annual Cascade
and up).
Festival o f African
T his year, the an im ated A frican folk tales
Films.
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
nually. Since its inception, the festival has
been organized and run entirely by a group
o f college and com m unity volunteers.
T he film festiv al’s opening night will fea
ture, “Scheherazade: T ell M e a Story,” (7
p.m ., Friday, Feb. 3) at the H ollyw ood T h e
atre.
T hough m ade tw o years before the A rab
S pring ev en ts in C a iro ’s T a h rir Square,
“ S cheherazade” captures the fusion o f o p
pressive politics, repression, and the desire
for freedom and creativity that have fueled
recent A rab uprisings. T he film w ill be p re
ced ed by a short celebratory perform ance by
the Jefferson D ancers II.
T he festiv al’s visiting directors include
tw o young film m akers.
A ndrew D osunm u, a film m aker, p hotog
rapher, and creative artist raised in N igeria,
will show his acclaim ed first feature film ,
“ R estless C ity .’’T his film is set in the volatile
w orld of W est A frican im m igrants in N ew
Y ork C ity and will be show n at noon, T h u rs
day, Feb. 9 and 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 10 at the
C ascade C am pus.
In her film , “ B roken D ream s,” (2:20 p.m .,
Saturday, Feb. 18, C ascade C am pus) Fathia
A bsie focuses her lens on young Som ali-
A m ericans in M innesota w ho have d isap
peared and presum ably have gone to S o m a
lia to fight for A l-Q aeda-related groups.
A bsie is a form er V oice o f A m erica jo u r
nalist from Som alia. Presented in partnership
<
FathiaAbsie
w ith the Som alia A m erican C ouncil o f O r
egon, the film w ill be follow ed by a d iscu s
sion w ith the d ire c to r and m em b ers o f
P o rtlan d ’s Som ali com m unity.
T he festiv al’s docum entary film s w ill be
show n T h ursday nights at 7:30 p.m ., and 2
p.m . and 3 p.m ., Saturday, Feb. 4, and 1 p.m .,
Saturday, Feb. 18 - all at the C ascade C am
pus venue.
T his y e a r’s docum entaries reveal a n u m
b er o f topics and issues, including the im pact
o f the grow ing num ber o f C hinese in A frica,
K inshasa’s K am anguiste Sym phony O rches
tra, the lost m anuscripts o f T im b u k tu , new
perspective on w ar trials and the hidden lives
o f Som alis living in M aine and M inneapolis.
T he centerpiece film for the festival is one
o f last y e a r’s m ost talked-about international
film s, an action thriller from the D em ocratic
R epublic o f the C ongo, “V iv a R iva.”
The film is a frank presentation o f violence,
drugs, corruption, and sex in present-day
Kinshasa. It has an underlying story o f an
outsider fighting for recognition and survival
to be presented include “T in g a T in ga T ales”
at 2 p.m . and “ W hy M osquitoes B uzz in
P eo p le’s E ars” at 3 p.m . S to ry teller B aba
W agué D iakité o f M ali w ill carry on the
tradition o f introducing the film s w ith tradi
tional stories from W est A frica.
W om en F ilm m akers W eek takes place the
final w eek o f the festival (M arch 1-3 at the
C a s c a d e C a m p u s ) a n d c o in c id e s w ith
W o m en ’s H istory M onth, featuring three
film s by fem ale directors.
“ I Sing W ell” is set in the tim e o f the
ancient M ali Em pire, blending historical epic
and rom antic m elodram a. “Perfect Picture” is
G h a n a ’s top-grossing film . It is a rom antic
co m ed y about three young w om en stru g
gling to g eth er through life, love, and m a r
riage. “ W ar D on D o n ” explores the Sierra
L eonean rebel lead er Issa Sesay and his role
in the c o u n try ’s civil w ar.
F o r a c o m p le te s c h e d u le , v is it
africanfilm festival.org.
T he C ascade Festival o f A frican Film s
w as fo u n d ed in 1991 by fo u r Portland C o m
m unity C o lleg e faculty m em bers and has
grow n to include m ore than tw o dozen d ed i
cated volunteers.
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