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January 29, 2020
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The acclaimed film ‘The Burial of Kojo’ screens on the opening night of the Cascade Festival of African Films, Friday, Jan. 31 at the historic Hollywood Theatre in northeast
Portland. The night will include live music and attendance by the film’s director Blitz Bazawule who is also a popular Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Ghanaian hip-hop artist.
From the African Perspective
30th Cascade Festival brings 30 feature films
The Cascade Festival of African Films
is celebrating its 30th anniversary as the
longest-running African film festival in
the United States.
From Friday, Jan. 31 through Feb. 29,
free screenings will showcase 30 fea-
ture films, documentaries and short films
from more than 20 nations. The films are
shown Wednesdays through Saturdays
each week at either the Moriarty Audito-
rium on the Portland Community College
Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth
St., or the Hollywood Theatre, 4122 S.E.
Sandy Blvd.
The festival arose from humble begin-
nings when four PCC faculty members
came together over a shared love of Afri-
ca and African cinema. In 1991, the event
drew approximately 400 film lovers.
Today, sustained by a small staff and an
army of dedicated volunteers, the festival
attracts more than 5,000 attendees every
year.
“We are a city hungry for perspectives
and experiences that broaden our under-
standing of the wider world and bring into
focus our place in it,” said PCC President
Mark Mitsui in a news release to kick off
the event. “That the festival has endured
for three decades is a testament to the di-
versity and vitality of African cinema, and
to the hearts and minds of a city commit-
ted to honoring the ties that bind all of us
together.”
Opening night is Friday, Jan. 31 at the
historic Hollywood Theatre with live mu-
sic and back-to-back screenings of the
acclaimed film “Burial of Kojo” (Gha-
na). The film’s director Blitz Bazawule,
who also is popular Brooklyn, N.Y.-based
Ghanaian hip-hop artist, will be in atten-
dance to discuss his work. The screenings
are 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Since its inception, the Cascade Fes-
tival of African Films has evolved to en-
compass more than just films from Africa.
Attendees can enjoy “Saturday Socials,”
which are held between the afternoon and
evening screenings on Saturdays, and fea-
tures food, local vendors, live music, and
more.
This year, the festival is partnering
with Boom Arts to bring a live theatri-
cal production of “How to Have Fun in
C ontinued on P age 12