African Film Festival 2005

2/3/05 to 2/13/05

Moolaadé|February 11-13|

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Past Films

Story of a Beautiful Country (Free Screening!)
Thursday, February 3 5:30pm
A young South African documentary filmmaker sets out in search of his country.
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Kounandi
Thursday, February 3 7:30pm
Introduced by Cornelius Moore. This magical short feature from Burkina Faso about an orphaned dwarf is an "absorbing account of the transformative power of love....One of the finest African films in recent years."-Village Voice. With shorts About Braids and For the Night, all impressive new films by women.
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Soldiers of the Rock
Friday, February 4 7:00pm
A business student ventures into the subterranean world of gold miners in this South African action allegory from impressive new director Norman Maake, "seemingly inspired by both Ken Loach and Michael Bay."-Variety
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Daresalam
Friday, February 4 9:05pm
A perceptive study of civil war in Chad, and a poignant story of friendship tested. "Spectacularly photographed....Daresalam brilliantly weaves memory, hope, and despair."-SF Weekly
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Agogo Eewo
Saturday, February 5 5:00pm
Nigerian video auteur Tunde Kelani's comedy of corruption "interlaces snatches of popular and traditional culture...into a plea for political sanity."-Variety
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Campus Queen
Saturday, February 5 7:00pm
Kelani's latest opus is part political satire, part campus musical comedy-"a free-form African School Daze."-Variety
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Madame Brouette
Saturday, February 5 9:00pm
Introduced by Alassane Sow. From Moussa Sene Absa, a colorful, musical tale of independent women, chauvinist men, and what happens when they come together in a Senegalese shantytown.
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Cosmic Africa
Sunday, February 6 5:00pm
Introduced by Lisa Marie Rollins. South African astronomer Thebe Medupe charts the intersections of Western science and African myth in this exquisitely shot documentary.
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The Price of Forgiveness
Sunday, February 6 6:45pm
Introduced by Lisa Marie Rollins. This engaging fable of life in a Senegalese fishing village deftly shifts between the real and the supernatural. With music by Youssou n'Dour.
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Dirt for Dinner
Thursday, February 10 7:30pm
Introduced by LaToya Beck. This intriguing documentary follows the rise and fall of Sam Meffire, the son of a Cameroonian father and a German mother, whose trajectory from upstanding icon of East German integration to convicted criminal reveals the paradoxes and delusions of a multicultural Europe.
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Moolaadé
Friday, February 11 7:00pm
Universally acclaimed, Senegalese master Ousmane Sembene's latest portrays a mother's courage in protecting the next generation of women from the suffering she has endured. "This has to be the most richly entertaining movie anyone has ever made on the subject of female genital mutilation."-Village Voice. Repeated February 12 and 13.
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Waiting for Happiness
Friday, February 11 9:25pm
Introduced by Anna Livia. Abderrahmane Sissako's tale of life in a Mauritanian seaside village unfolds in a series of arresting images. "A poignant, poetic reflection on themes of exile, travel, home, and displacement."-Variety
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Moolaadé
Saturday, February 12 6:30pm
Introduced by Leigh Raiford. For film description, please see February 11, above.
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Faat-Kine
Saturday, February 12 9:15pm
Introduced by Leigh Raiford. The first in Sembene's series on "everyday heroes" (Moolaadé is the second) centers on the quick-witted proprietress of a Dakar gas station. "A rich comedy of manners that gives a feeling of hope about Africa's future."-Film Comment
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Moolaadé
Sunday, February 13 3:00pm
For description, please see February 11, above.
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African Film Festival 2005

2/3/05 to 2/13/05

Featuring films from the touring program of the annual New York African Film Festival and favorites from other recent festivals, this series offers Bay Area audiences a chance to experience the vibrant voices and visions of new African cinema and gain insight into a changing cultural and social landscape. Women are at the forefront of the series, both behind and in front of the camera. Works by Apolline Traoré, Jacqueline Kalimunda, and Isabelle Boni-Claverie testify to women's increasing creative contributions to African filmmaking, and recent features from veteran directors Ousmane Sembene and Moussa Sene Absa are outspoken about women's struggles and strength. From the established film traditions of Senegal and Burkina Faso to the newly vital cinema of South Africa and Nigeria's booming video industry, African films present diverse and compelling views of a continent facing the twenty-first century.

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The African Film Festival Traveling Series has been organized by the African Film Festival, Inc. This series has been made possible by the generous support of National Endowment for the Arts, UNDP, Prudential Financial, and the New York State Council on the Arts. We wish to thank Mahen Bonetti, Director, and Prerana Reddy, Program Administrator, AFF, Inc.
We are grateful to UC Berkeley's Department of African American Studies, Center for African Studies, and Townsend Center for the Humanities for their generous support in making this series possible.