This weekend on June 26, the BFI in London will be showing Mamá Chocó, a Colombian documentary that centers on Paulina, a mother of 26, who flees the war-torn, historically-black region of Chocó in search of a new home in Cali. The film screened in New York in May and is headed to festivals in… Read more »
New films
Coming Soon to a Theater Near You: PARIAH
Dee Rees’s new film Pariah will be coming to theaters soon. No date has been set yet, but stay posted. Here’s a synopsis from Focus Features, the film’s distributor: A world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the contemporary drama is the feature debut of writer/director Dee Rees. Adepero Oduye portrays Alike (pronounced “ah-lee-kay”),… Read more »
Kenyan Filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu – An Interview
Wanuri Kahiu’s sci-fi short, Pumzi, made a big splash at the 2010 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. Check out this interview conducted by Samantha Burton. Pumzi is available on DVD and digital download as part of Focus Features’ Africa First, Volume One compilation.
Tonight: Afro-Brazilian film BRODER in New York
Afro-Brazilian filmmaker Jeferson De’s latest film, Bróder, will screen tonight in New York during the 9th Cine Fest Petrobras Brasil – NY. There will be a second screening on Thursday, June 19.
Congolese Film VIVA RIVA! Opens Today
Africa Movie Academy Awards winner Viva Riva! begins its U.S. theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York today. Here’s an IFC interview with the film’s director Djo Tunda Wa Munga.
Freedom Riders: May 16th on PBS
Freedom Riders (2011), directed by Stanley Nelson, will be screened on PBS tonight. Check your local listings for times. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8CAKAXR-AM]
The First Grader: A Simple Quest for Literacy Hits a Wall of Politics
By A. O. SCOTT Published: May 12, 2011 “The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick and written by Ann Peacock, tells the remarkable true story of Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge, an illiterate member of the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya who enrolled in a rural primary school in 2003, when he was 84. The Kenyan government had… Read more »
Tarantino's Next Film Named: 'Django Unchained'
Quentin Tarantino’s mysterious new project (which he was referring to as a “Southern,” describing the setting of his unique take on the genre) hit the web this weekend, and movie enthusiasts were happy to finally know the name of his new film: Django Unchained. After the leak, a source who claims to have read said… Read more »
Filmmaker Returns to IU to Screen 'The Other Side of Immigration'
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University alumnus Roy Germano will return to campus next week for a public screening of The Other Side of Immigration, his award-winning film that explores why Mexicans migrate to the U.S. and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind. The 55-minute documentary will be shown at 5 p.m…. Read more »
Euzhan Palcy to Direct, Fantasia Barrino to Star in Mahalia Jackson Film
“Singer Fantasia Barrino, the winner of the third season of ‘American Idol’ and star of her own VH1 reality-show star, has been tapped to play gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson in a biopic. “The feature film will be based on the 1993 book ‘Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel,’ which recounts the… Read more »