The New York African Film Festival was just voted the fourth best festival in the city–no mean feat.
The 17th edition of the festival kicks of later this week at Lincoln Center and a few other venues around New York City. Highlights include Oliver Hermanus’ claustrophobic “Shirley Adams,” about a mother in a coloured township in Cape Town caring for her ungrateful son who is paralyzed. (I had to review the film for the festival. Hermanus is definitely going places.) There’s also “Streetball,” about the homeless World Cup, the comedy “White Wedding” (picture above), “Bronx Princess,” about Ghanaian immigrants in New York City, and a film about Che Guevara’s Congolese translator.
I’ll be there a few times–among others, I will interview the filmmakers, Monique Mbeka Phoba and Guy Kabeya Muya, after a screening of their film, “Between the Cup and the Elections,” (a beautiful film about Zaire’s 1974 World Cup football team).
For the schedule and information about the films, click here.
Sean,
I’m not sure it’s part of the festival but “Have You Heard From Johannesburg?” a seven part documentary about the international anti-apartheid movement is going to be at the Film Forum starting April 14. It’s an epic, obsessive and very compelling study of how the South African liberation movement very effectively enlisted the international community in its struggle against apartheid.
No mean feat at all.Tight, thx for posting! Didnt even know there was aone in NYC.
@ekapa: Yes, I have. They contacted me about it months ago, but I have children to raise so miss a few things. I’ll try and make it.
@Come bien Books: Nice website you have. And good design. Keep up the good work.
Sean, I don’t suppose you have any idea if “Between the Cup and the Elections” will be available for viewing elsewhere anytime soon? The story of that ’74 Zaire team is fascinating, and I’m really excited to hear someone has made a documentary about it (but I’m guessing it’s one of many I’ll never see due to living nowhere near NY). Thanks.
@Andrew: I would suggest contacting the NY African Film Festival’s director, Mahen Bonetti, re contact details for the directors/producers of the film. I just saw it last week. It is very well constructed. The filmmakers are students of a film school in Kinshasa, so they go and interview the members of that team; many of whom aren’t doing that well. But it is football that makes everyone’s eyes lit up. They also talk about why things went to so bad during the tournament. And it contains some great archival film as well as use of old photographs.
Separately, in the BBC series about African football from before the 2002 World Cup, a good section on that team, including an interview with one of the players who now lives hard in Cape Town.
Hey-hi-there Mahen. I’m the fella who spoke to you at Walter Reade re ‘african films ONLY ‘ film house in Manhattan. Was up there last night in the lobby in green jacket yellow collar, sitting on a bench near the table. Dressed up this time, not in shorts/bathing suit ! But you were so engaged in conversations of one kind or another and with one person or another . . . seemingly more social in content than anything else ( ‘specially, I surmised, with the cauc. woman with glasses and brown hair in a bun, dimples on each side of mouth, on the large side). Anyway, it was too tiring and too late for me to become ‘ agressive ‘ and knock into one of those conversations you were having. I was in a kind of mood-way that kind of ruled that out. Figured I’d wait a bit and nod in when it would be that you ‘ got free ‘ . But that never happened. And then at 9:45 ya had into the auditorium for, I suppose, to make some opening remarks before White Wedding was to unspool. At that point I sort of called it a night for myself and what was to be my ‘ business ‘ with you. So, when I get over there again this week and if you spot me and notice my proverbial ‘ wink and a nod ‘ we’ll trot over to one another and chat a wee bit eh. One other thing, though, . . . that I found a bit peculiar . The fellow who was handing out some material, film notices etc like . . . . . the fella with the skull-cap as it were . . . . . . . . he handed the stuff out to everyone except ME ! lil’ bit strange, lil’ bit strange. but ‘no matter’, ‘no matter’. GERALD 716-631-5326 cell
Many thanks for the awsome article. I’ll keep an observation on your own blog, i allready saved it to personal list
My friend was at the festival and he was delighted. It is good that in New York from time to time there are such events.