Staff WriterFriday, Aug. 24 – Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012
Goethe Institute, 812 Seventh Street, NW,
Washington, DC
Since 1993, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) has been an event acclaimed in many cities of the world. New York, Jersey City, Chicago, Willemstad, Curacao, Washington D.C., Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland have enjoyed the exciting brand that is The African Diaspora International Film Festival.
For the 6th time, ADIFF will be held in Washington DC from August 24 to August 26, 2012, this time at the Goethe Institute located at 812 Seventh Street, NW, a location with excellent state of the art facilities giving a perfect setting to showcasing the rich selection of films from the UK, Egypt, the USA, Jamaica, and Suriname that will be, for the most part, having their DC area premiere in the context of the festival.
US films Filling The Gap and Survivor, Living Above the Noise; the musical documentaries The Story of Lovers Rock and The First Rasta, and the two fictions Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story and One People all put forward a great range and depth of images and ideas that explore the human experience of people of color.
SCHEDULE
Friday, August 24
Opening Night Film: THE STORY OF LOVERS ROCK
Reception at 6pm & Film at 7pm
Director: Menelik Shabbaz; 2011, 80min, UK
Lovers Rock, often dubbed ‘romantic reggae’ is a uniquely black British sound that developed in the late 70s and 80s against a backdrop of riots, racial tension and sound systems.
SCHEHERAZADE, TELL ME A STORY
Saturday, August 25 at 1pm
Director: Yousry Nasrallah; 2009; 135 min, EGYPT
A female talk show host in Cairo stirs up political controversy when she focuses her on-air discussions on the topic of women’s issues. “Lively, swift, vibrantly colorful and for the most part wonderfully acted, the film is slyly aware of the daytime talk show as a vehicle for women’s concerns.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times.
THE STORY OF LOVERS ROCK
Saturday, August 25 @ 3:30pm
THE FIRST RASTA
Saturday, August 25 at 5:45pm
Director: Helene Lee, 2011, 90 min, JAMAICA / FRANCE
For many, initial exposure to the self-reliant tenets of Rastafarianism came through the life and music of Bob Marley. Fewer know that Marley, whose nickname was “Tuff Gong,” the name of his record label to this day, assumed that moniker in tribute to the pioneer and thinker behind the movement itself, Leonard Percival “The Gong” Howell (1893-1981), the First Rasta!
SURVIVOR
Saturday, August 25 at 8pm
Director: Brook Bello, 2011, 81 min, USA
A visual testimony about life after sex-slavery and abuse. One woman’s secret and fear to share what happened to her and almost ruined her life. Actress Brook Bello shares her story of survival from rape and sex-slavery in the US and goes on an emotional, spiritual and physical journey that will take her from suicidal thoughts, pain and addiction to a life of healing.
Q&A with Brook Bello and International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute co-founder Ka Flewellen after the screening.
THE FIRST RASTA
Sunday, August 26 at 1pm
Director: Helene Lee, 2011, 90 min, JAMAICA / FRANCE
FILLING THE GAP
Sunday, August 26 at 3pm
Director: TyroneYoung, 2010, 83 min, USA
A spectacular docu-drama in its portrayal of historical characters like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and other lesser known African-Americans who made inventive and inspired contributions in the 1840s, the period leading to the Civil War in American History. Excellent for K-12 education.
ONE PEOPLE (WAM PIPEL)
Sunday, August 26 at 5pm
Director: Pim de la Parra, 1976, 111 min, SURINAM / THE NETHERLANDS
Roy is a young black Surinamese studying in Amsterdam. When he learns that his mother is dying, he borrows money from his Dutch girlfriend to return home. There, he scandalizes everyone when he begins a relationship with Rubia, a Hindu. Will Roy stay with Rubia and remain in his newly independent homeland, or will he follow his family’s wishes and return to Holland?
jamarch
