I went to the WWW site suggested by Karen Fung <fung@hoover.stanford.edu>
listing the African films showing at the San Francisco, Nov. '96 ASA
conference at the URL below. Please note, you need to type the URL exactly
as given. AFR must be upper case; the rest of the URL is in lower case.
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/dept/AFR/asafilm.html
The following is what I got.
[I send this out as it is a great sampling of African cinemas, and I figure
many subscribers of the African Cinema Conference, can't access the Web. If
this is too many bytes for those that pay per byte, please let me know and
I'll avoid doing this in the future. Any comments are welcome. -- Steve
Smith, moderator]
===============================================================
[Image] African Video Marketplace
[Program organized by Cornelius Moore, California Newsreel]
Scheduled evening screenings at the African Studies Association meeting
Location - Bayview A
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, November 23, 7:30 PM
[**]Ordinary People
(Introduction by producer Jonathan Miller) - The latest chapter in a series
which began in 1993 that looks into the personal lives of "ordinary people"
in the new South Africa. It revisits some of the participants in the
inaugural series. (27 minutes).
[**]Keeping a Live Voice: 15 Years of Democracy in Zimbabwe
A collection of views, opinions and reminiscences of a wide cross section
of Zimbabwean people on the first fifteen years of their nation's
independence, focusing on the issue of democracy and corruption. (54
minutes)
Sunday, November 24, 7:30 PM
[**]Rouch in Reverse
(Introduced by director Manthia Diawara) - The first film to look at
European anthropology from an African perspective. Malian filmmaker and New
York University professor, Manthia Diawara's provocative new film examines
the anthropological enterprise through the work of Jean Rouch, perhaps the
most distinguished ethnographic filmmaker living today and one who made
several early influential documentaries about West Africa (52 minutes).
[**]Le Grand Blanc de Lambarene
Cameroonian filmmaker Bassek ba Kobhio provides a fascinating revisionist
perspective on Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner and secular
saint of the colonial era. This film, which begins to rewrite the history
of colonialism from the view of the colonized, is a deeply-felt lament for
a cross-cultural encounter between Africa and Europte which never happened
(94 minutes).
Monday, November 25, 8 PM
[**]Guimba: the Tyrant - SPECIAL PREMIERE SCREENING!
An epic allegory set in medieval Mali which focuses on how a ruthless
leader abuses his power and his subjects until they revolt. This grand
prize winner of the 1995 Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, which
clearly refers to today's authoritarian leaders, has been hailed as the
most sumptuous and lavish African films ever made. (93 minutes)
[Divider]
The African Video Marketplace offers the following videocassettes for
individual on-demand screenings on three video players and monitors during
the conference.
Dates: Saturday, November 23 through Monday, November 25
Time: 9 AM to 6 PM
Location: Boardroom B
[**]Aime Cesaire: Une voix pour l'histoire (A Voice for History)
(Euzhan Palcy, Martinique, 150 minutes) - This monumental, three-part film
on one of the founders of negritude is by internationally acclaimed
Martinican director, Euzhan Palcy. It weaves Cesaire's life and poetry into
a vast tapestry featuring some of the most important artistic and
intellectual figures from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe of the past six
decades. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]The Blue Eyes of Yonta (Udju Azul di Yonta)
(Flora Gomes, Guinea-Bissau, 90 minutes) - The director offers a
bittersweet portrait of the disillusionment of the revolutionary generation
in Guinea-Bissau and the vibrant, if unintended, society which developed
after independence in 1973. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Ca Twist a Poponguine
(Moussa Sene Absa, Senegal, 90 minutes) - A charming, fast-paced and
nostalgic coming of age comedy set in 1964 in which two teenage "gangs"
compete for popularity. It provides a look at the era's colorful fashions,
popular music, particularly "soul" music, and the influence of American and
French pop culture on the young people. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Femmes aux yeux ouverts (Women with Open Eyes)
(Anne-Laure Folly, Togo, 52 minutes) - This documentary introduces us to a
cross-section of the women (in this case from Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal,
and Benin) who are transforming contemporary Africa - politicians,
activists, health workers and market women. Considered an empowering
documentary by many African women. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask
(Isaac Julien, UK, 52 minutes) - Fanon's two major works Black Skin, White
Masks and The Wretched of the Earth were pioneering studies of the
psychological impact of racism on both colonized and colonizer. This
innovative film biography restores Fanon to his rightful place at the
center of contemporary discussions around post-colonial identity.
(Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Gnaouas
(Izza Genini, Morocco, 26 minutes) This documentary presents the music of
the Moroccan descendants of former slaves from sub-Saharan Africa. This
hypnotic music, a product of pre-Islamic culture, is played at religious
and therapeutic ceremonies.(Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films).
[**]Le Grand Blanc de Lambarene
(Bassek ba Kobhio, Cameroon/Gabon/France, 94 minutes) - Cameroonian
filmmaker Bassek ba Kobhio provides a fascinating revisionist perspective
on Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner and secular saint of the
colonial era. This film, which begins to rewrite the history of colonialism
from the view of the colonized, is a deeply-felt lament for a
cross-cultural encounter between Africa and Europe which never happened.
(Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Guimba: the Tyrant
(Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Mali, 93 minutes) - This epic allegory contrasts
Africa's tremendous wealth and potential with its present poverty and
plunder. Director Cheick Oumar Sissoko comments, "Guimba is a political
film, a fable about power, its atrocities and its absurdities."
(Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]A Healthy Start
A group of women in Johannesburg formed the Women's Health Project to
ensure that their needs and experiences were included in South Africa's new
health care policy. (Distributor: Bullfrog Films)
[**]Hyenas
(Djibril Diop Mambety, Senegal, 113 minutes) - This satiric tale of greed
and consumerism, an adaptation of Durrenmatt's play The Visit, is the
latest feature by acclaimed master of international cinema Djibril Diop
Mambety and an international film festival favorite. (Distributor:
California Newsreel).
[**]I Have a Problem, Madam.
(Maarten Schmidt & Thomas Doebele, Uganda, 59 minutes) - Women across
Uganda are visiting legal aid clinics run by female lawyers. These offices
were set up by an NGO so that women can defend themselves in a male
dominated society. (Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films).
[**]Imperfect Journey
(Haile Gerima, Ethiopia, 88 minutes) - Acclaimed filmmaker Gerima returns
to his home country and guides viewers through contemporary Ethiopian
society. How have people fared since the end of the junta's rule?
(Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films).
[**]In a Time of Violence
(Brian Tilley, South Africa, 3-50 minute parts, 150 min. running time) -
The most controversial program broadcast on South African television, this
film, provides fascinating insights into the lingering divisions
confronting the country as it attempts to forge a new post-apartheid
national identity.(Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Keeping a Live Voice: 15 Years of Democracy in Zimbabwe
(Edwina Spicer, Zimbabwe, 54 minutes) - A collection of views, opinions,
and reminiscences of a wide cross section of Zimbabwean people on the first
fifteen years of their nation's independence, focusing on the issue of
democracy and corruption. (Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films).
[**]Keita: The Heritage of the Griot
(Dani Kouyate, Burkina Faso, 94 minutes) - A charming film that offers a
loose adaptation of the 13th Century Sundjata epic along with the story of
a contempory boy seeking the history of his ancestors and their connection
with the epic. Winner of the best first feature category at the 1995 Pan
African Film Festival. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]The Last Colonials
(Theirry Michel, Zaire, 61 minutes) - A few thousand white colonials -
managers, missionaries, businessmen and land owners - choose to remain in
Zaire after independence. They reminisce about the colonial era and reveal
thoughts about the current situation. (Distributor: First Run/Icarus
Films).
[**]Living in Africa
(South Africa Broadcasting. 3 programs - 30 minutes each) - These programs
look at the challenges facing three different countries in contemporary
Africa. MASAI IN THE MODERN WORLD, set in Kenya, presents the Masai's
attempts to maintain their culture. THE SURVIVAL AGE illustrates some of
the problems of development and environmental crisis in Tanzania. A LAND OF
IMMENSE RICHES examines Mozambique's efforts in bio-diversity, community
conservation and eco-tourism. (Distributor: Filmmakers Library)
[**]Le Grand Blanc de Lambarene
(Bassek ba Kobhio, Cameroon/Gabon/France, 94 minutes) - Cameroonian
filmmaker Bassek ba Kobhio provides a fascinating revisionist perspective
on Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner and secular saint of the
colonial era. This film, which begins to rewrite the history of colonialism
from the view of the colonized, is a deeply-felt lament for a
cross-cultural encounter between Africa and Europe which never happened.
(Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Monday's Girls
(Ngozi Onwarah, 50 minutes) - Acclaimed Anglo-Nigerian director, Ngozi
Onwurah examines a traditional initiation ritual through the contrasting
viewpoints of two young women - one from the country, the other from the
city. The village woman views the ceremony as an honor while the city woman
comes to see it as an indignity. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Ordinary People: Following On
(Harriet Gavshon, South Africa, 27 minutes) - The latest chapter in a
series which began in 1993 that looks into the personal lives of "ordinary"
people in the new South Africa. It revisits some of the participants in the
inaugural series. (Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films).
[**]A Republic Gone Mad, Rwanda 1894-1994
(Luc de Heusch & Kathleen de Bethune, Rwanda, 60 minutes) - In 1954, Luc de
Heush filmed the harmonious relationship between Tutsi herdsmen and Hutu
farmers of Rwanda. Now, forty years later this film looks at why a million
Tutsi have been killed by Hutu forces. (Distributor: First Run/Icarus
Films).
[**]Rouch in Reverse
(Manthia Diawara, UK/USA, 52 minutes) - The first film to look at European
anthropology from an African perspective. Malian filmmaker and New York
University professor, Manthia Diawara's provocative new film examines the
anthropological enterprise through the work of Jean Rouch, perhaps the most
distinguished ethnographic filmmaker living today and one who made several
early influential documentaries about West Africa. (Distributor: California
Newsreel).
[**]Sangoma
(Peter Davis, Canada, 54 minutes) - In South Africa, one of the legacies of
apartheid is a two-tiered health system that heavily favors the white
population. Now efforts to integrate traditional healers into primary
health care, nutritional education, and AIDS work holds some promise for a
better public health system. (Distributor: Villon Films)
[**]Sudan: the Harsher Face of Islam
(Mark Stucke, 40 minutes) - This film traces the rise of militant Islamic
fundamentalism in Sudan in the wake of the military coup in 1989 and
examines the continuing war between the Muslim north and the Christian
south. (Distributor: Filmmakers Library)
[**]These Girls Are Missing - The Gender Gap in Africa's Schools
(Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini, 60 minutes) - Educate women and you
will change society. In many African countries, fewer than 20% of girls
ever enter a schoolroom, and across the continent, only one woman in three
learns to read. Through this film, we learn how deep cultural attitudes,
more than economics, undermine the future of Africa's women. (Distributor:
Filmmakers Library)
[**]These Hands
(Flora M'mbugu-Schilling, Tanzania, 45 minutes) - A day in the working life
of women refugees from Mozambique who labor for the next to nothing in a
rock quarry in Tanzania. A quiet tribute to women at the very bottom of the
international economic order and to their spirit. (Distributor: California
Newsreel).
[**]Three Tales from Senegal
(Senegal, three short films, total time 82 minutes) - Le Franc (45 minutes)
is the award-winning short by Djibril Diop Mambety, the celebrated director
of Hyenas and Touki Bouki. He uses the 50% devaluation of the West African
franc (CFA) and a poor musician's winning lottery ticket as the basis for a
whimsical parody of life in Senegal today. Mansour Sora Wase is the
director of the other two shorts. Picc Mi (20 minutes) is about street
children making their way through another day. Fary l'Anesse (17 minutes)
is a folktale about a beautiful, mysterious woman who is more than she
seems. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]The Tribal Mind
(Green Line Productions, 52 minutes) - Against a backdrop of ongoing
violence, today's South Africans are rising above old tribal reflexes as
they struggle towards real democracy. Initiatives in South Africa may well
provide models to the larger world where narrow self-interest continues to
wreck havoc. (Distributor: Bullfrog Films)
[**]Women of the Sahel
(Paolo Quaregna & Mahamane Souleymane, Niger, 52 minutes) - Set in Niger,
this documentary examines the country's informal economic sector and the
essential role which women entrepreneurs and craftswomen play in it.
(Distributor: First Run/Icarus Films).
[**]You Africa
(Ba Ndiouga Moctar, Senegal, 46 minutes) - A film of the West African tour
of world renowned Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour in which he performs
and discusses his music. (Distributor: California Newsreel).
[**]Welcome to the Human Race
(Wolpert Productions, 52 minutes) - Can the races in South Africa really be
reconciled? In her earlier film, MAMA I'M CRYING, director Betty Wolpert
documented grassroots suffering and anger during South Africa's apartheid
years. Now she follows up on some of the people from the earlier film,
several of whom are now in positions of power in the new South Africa.
(Distributor: Filmmakers Library)
[**]Zaire, the Cycle of the Serpent
(Thierry Michel, Zaire, 58 minutes) - This film spends five weeks in
Kinshasa, Zaire, chronicling life in the capital city and revealing the
disparities between different social strata. (Distributor: First Run/Icarus
Films).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISTRIBUTORS
BULLFROG FILMS CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL
P.O. BOX 149 149 9TH STREET
OLEY PA 19547 SAN FRANCISCO CA 94103
TEL: 610-779-8226 TEL: 415-621-6196
FAX: 610-370-1978 FAX: 415-621-6522
EMAIL: bullfrog@igc.apc.org EMAIL: newsreel@ix.netcom.com
FILMMAKERS LIBRARY FIRST RUN/ICARUS FILMS
124 EAST 40TH STREET 153 WAVERLY PLACE
NEW YORK NY 10016 NEW YORK NY 10014
TEL: 212-808-4980 TEL: 212-727-1711
FAX: 212-808-4983 FAX: 212-255-7923
E-MAIL: info@filmaker.com EMAIL: FRIF@ECHONYC.COM
VILLON FILMS
77 W. 28TH AVENUE
VANCOUVER V5Y 2K7
CANADA
TEL & FAX; 604-879-6042
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the:
[elephant button]ASA Local Arrangements Main Page
[elephant button]African Studies Association Main Page
For corrections/problems, please contact Karen Fung
fung@hoover.stanford.edu
In-Reply-To: 199610091443.KAA06322@dag.XC.Org