Film fest from African diaspora
THE African Film Trinidad and Tobago (AFTT) festival opens this evening at the Central Bank Auditorium in Port of Spain with the screening of The African Storm (L’Orage Africain).
“It’s a really interesting film. It’s a story based on a fictitious African nation. When I saw Black Panther I thought of this film, because I’d seen this one just a little before,” AFTT founder and curator Asha Lovelace told Newsday.
She said the festival, which runs until July 29 is really a mosaic of all types of African contemporary films. "You have all different genres. Sci Fi, romantic comedies, dramas. Everything you can imagine. It’s varied. In curation we try to cover the span of the continent."
The festival is in its fourth year and is broken down into segments, with a new segment – The African Connection –added to this year's line-up.
“The African Connection is a segment that will include films from the diaspora. A lot of young, local filmmakers came to us and said, ‘we want to screen at this festival', so we decided to open that space up. We have sought out some filmmakers from Trinidad who have been quietly working on their own. They are doing good work and they need that space to exhibit their work and have some support from us,” Lovelace explained.
The Movie Maxi Series segment is a community-based screening that is free to the public. It was used to launch the festival on Friday at the Brian Lara Promenade. “What we noticed when we did this the first time was just how the place was transformed. People would just walk by to get a taxi on the way home, or get something to eat and they would stop and watch a movie in a communal space."
Every year the festival pays tribute to one of the pillars of African films via the African Classic segment. “This year we will celebrate Lat Dior, a Senegalese filmmaker who died when he was quite young but he left a mark on Africa. We will be screening his film Touki Bouki. Following that screening we will be screening a film done by his niece. The film, Mille Soleils, was released in 2013 and pays homage to Touki Bouki.”
The AFTT Junior, she said, is geared specifically towards children. “We invite some of the children’s homes to come and look at the films. It’s really a nice experience.” This segment will feature Lyiana on July 27 at the Little Carib Theatre at White and Roberts Streets in Woodbrook. Other screening venues are Akimbo at 27 Prince Street, Arima and The UWI Film Programme Studio, St Augustine.
On the closing night of the festival, Crown Heights will be screened at Imax. The film is based on the true story of Trinidad-born Colin Warner who served 21 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was convicted of the 1980 of murder a teenager on Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. "This will be a big night for us. Colin Warner, his wife and his daughter will be joining us for the screening."
Following is the festival schedule:
July 23
AFTT Opening gala
7 pm – Central Bank Auditorium, L’Orage Africain, (The African Storm) Benin
July 24
African Classics UWI Film Programme Studio
Hyenas, Senegal
Little Carib Theatre
6 pm – Watu Wote, Kenya/Germany; Agwaetiti Obiuto, Nigeria
8 pm – Restoring Focus, Zimbabwe
–The Prodigal Son, TT
–A Dark Horror, TT
–Sacred Water, Rwanda/Belgium
July 25
African Classics UWI Film Programme Studio
7 pm –Touki Bouki, Senegal; Mille Soleils, France
Little Carib Theatre
8 pm – You Have His Eyes, Jamaica/USA
July 26
Little Carib Theatre
4 pm – Where Water Meets The Sand, USA;
Kaussaw, Mali
6 pm – Cut My Hair Barber, USA;
Black Mother, USA
8 pm – 10 Days In Sun City, Nigeria
9:45 pm – Victim, TT
Akimbo
7 pm – Koussaw, Mali
July 27
Little Carib Theatre
11 am –Liyana, Swaziland/USA;
Samedi Cinema, Senegal
1 pm –LOL with President Mandela, South Africa'
–La Vache, Guinea
2 pm – Green White Green, Nigeria
4 pm –T-Junction, Tanzania
6pm – Whose Country, Egypt;
The Past is not our Future, USA/Jamaica
8 pm – On Monday Of Last Week, Ghana;
–Inexba, South Africa
Akimbo
7 pm –The Whale Caller, South Africa
July 28
Little Carib Theatre
12 pm – Supa Modo, Kenya/Germany;
–Wally's Problem, Senegal
2 pm – Becky, Cameroon'
Coming of Age, Lesotho
4 pm – Isoken, Nigeria
6 pm – Mandela’s Gun, South Africa/UK
8 pm – The Whale Caller, South. Africa
Akimbo
7 pm – A Dark Horror, TT
–Isoken, Nigeria
July 29
Little Carib Theatre
2 pm –Winnie, South Africa/Netherlands
4 pm – Naked Reality, Cameroon/South Africa
Digicel IMAX
6 pm –Crown Heights, USA
For more info: africafilmtt.com
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"Film fest from African diaspora"