From: owner-h-afrlitcine
To: Multiple recipients of list H-AFRLITCINE
Subject: AFRICAN FILMS INQUIRY (fwd)
Date: Sunday, 16 February, 1997 6:27PM
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 18:30:02 -0500 (EST)
From: LemsDworkn@aol.com
Dear Ima Ukoh:
I read earlier today of your interest in African films, and
also of your concern with the costs of obtaining such films.
I have also read the response of California Newsreel, which
is certainly one of the top - if not THE top - distributor
in the USA.
I would also like to refer you to my recently published,
333-page reference book, VIDEOS OF AFRICAN AND
AFRICAN-RELATED PERFORMANCE: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY.
It includes many videos distributed by such major companies
in the USA as CALIFORNIA NEWSREEL, DER, FILMAKERS LIBRARY,
FIRST RUN/ICARUS FILMS, for example, but also sources in
France, Germany and other countries of the world. Also
included are smaller, perhaps less well-known but
meritorious distributors.
Although my book might be a bit too expensive for some
students to purchase (i.e., $57 total) unless they are
working in a field directly covered by the book, they might
recommend the bibliography to the reference librarian or
media center director at their universities.
The book contains some 1,390 annotated entries. There is a
37-page detailed Subject Index, a comprehensive Names Index,
and a Distributors Index. The word "Performance," which is
interpreted very broadly, incorporates videos with
significant sections on African music, dance, drama,
religion, carnivals, pageants, oral tradition, daily life,
children's videos, women's studies, athletic practices, ad
infinitum. To put it more simply, the book has turned out
to be a visual anthropology directory to videos showing
African cultures "in action." It is not concerned with
masks in MUSEUMS, for example, but more with masks being
MADE or being USED - i,e, dancing, associated ceremonies,
etc. Over 68 countries are represented. (Costs of videos,
however, are not listed because these are apt to fluctuate
in time, but you can always contact distributors directly
for this information.)
With regard to the African Diaspora, videos that reveal a
direct, or implied, performance tie-in to Africa are
abundant - comprising many black music and dance forms -
jazz and jazz artists, blues, rap, calypso, gospel, samba,
steel pan, storytelling, religious practices, and far more.
You or a librarian might wish to examine the WEB site for
the book, cited below. It contains sample entries, the
Introduction to the book, and examples from the three
indexes.
Best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Carol Lems-Dworkin
Carol Lems-Dworkin Publishers
Box 1646
Evanston, Illinois 60204-1646
lemsworkn@aol.com
http://users.aol.com/lemsdworkn
FAX: 847-869-4239
PHONE: 847-869-4235 or 847-328-1029
In-Reply-To: 199702180524.AAA10260@dag.XC.Org