Washington University Festival Spotlights African Films
For those of you out there in St Louis Missouri, better make plans to attend the African Film Festival going down from Friday 28th-30th of March! A great chance to watch a fresh new wave of African Films!
For nine years, the free African Film festival at Washington University has been on a mission. According to coordinator Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, “The goal of the festival is to increase the awareness and understanding of Africa while evaluating the cultural tradition of African filmmaking and eliminating stereotypes held about the continent.”
That’s a big goal for a big place.
Africa is bigger than the United States, China, India and Western Europe combined. It comprises 47 countries, where more than 1,000 languages are spoken. So no single “Africa” can be captured on film.
The few mainstream movies set in Africa that arrive in American theaters are usually dramas about hunger and injustice, such as “Hotel Rwanda” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” But the festival this weekend at Washington University includes love stories, comedies, coming-of-age tales and animation.
The four programs, including two on Saturday, comprise four features and five shorts. The feature at 7 p.m. Friday is the animated musical “Aya of Yop City” from the Ivory Coast. The highlight of the Saturday youth matinee at 1 p.m is “Felix,” a charmer about a South African boy who adds his penny whistle to a private-school jazz band. “Tey,” screening at 7 p.m. Saturday, is a fantasy from Senegal about a man who faces the last day of his life with reflection and joy. “Alaskaland,” at 7 p.m. Sunday, is a family drama about a Nigerian boy whose identity is shaped in the snowy American north.
What African Film Festival • When Friday through Sunday • Where Room 100, Brown Hall, Washington University • How much Free • More info:http://wupa.wustl.edu/africanfilm/
Source: STLtoday
