INTERNATIONAL BLACK DOCUFEST
2009 Festival Schedule
Opening Night Reception & Documentary Shorts Series
(Thursday 6pm-10pm, 9/17/09)
Hammonds House Museum (directions)
Opening night festivities include documentary screenings, photography exhibitions, artist spotlights, award recognitions, and refreshments at the celebrated Hammonds House Museum.
Documentary Screenings include:
"Seen but Not Heard" (Dir. Cyrille Phipps)
"OSA: Oakland's Gem" (Dir. Jenny Chu)
"Behind the Scenes with Dead Prez" (Dir. Shannon McCollum)
"Tapologo" (Dir. Gabriela Gutierrez Dewar, Sally Gutierrez Dewar)
“Milking the Rhino”
(Friday at 6pm, 9/18/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: David E. Simpson
Country Focus: Kenya, Namibia
This documentary examines the deepening conflict between humans and animals in an ever-shrinking world. It is the first major documentary to explore wildlife conservation from the perspective of people who live with wild animals. Shot in some of the world’s most magnificent locales, Rhino offers complex, intimate portraits of rural Africans at the forefront of community-based conservation: a revolution that is turning poachers into preservationists and local people into the stewards of their land.
“Black Womyn: Conversations with Lesbians of African Descent”
(Friday at 7:30pm, 9/18/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Tiona McClodden
Country Focus: United States
This documentary captures the oral testimonies of nearly fifty lesbians of African descent who share their experiences and views. The result is an extensive and enjoyable discussion of issues such as coming out, religion, marriage, activism, disability, age, discrimination, the media, gender identity and sexuality. The film explores issues of homophobia and violence; a difficult and often ignored look at what it is to be queer and disabled; and a light-hearted and seemingly exhaustive exploration of the spectrum of identities that exist within the black lesbian community.**Filmmaker in attendance
“Harlem’s Mart 125: The American Dream”
(Friday at 9:15pm, 9/18/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Rachelle Gardner
Country Focus: United States
Mart 125, formerly located in the heart of Harlem was an indoor marketplace that housed vendors from all over the African Diaspora. It was developed by government agencies to remove street vendors in the mid 1980s. Due to a host of politics, poor management and the redevelopment of Harlem, the Mart was forced to close down in 2002. Harlem’s Mart 125 is an in-depth analysis of the history of Mart 125 and how it correlates with the “revitalization” of 125th street, Harlem’s main commercial hub. **Filmmaker in attendance
“Maria Y El Nuevo Mundo (Maria and the New World)”
(Saturday at 12pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: George Walker Torres
Country Focus: Venezuela
In the mountains of Venezuela, stands Colonia Tovar, a Bavarian town in the heart of the tropics. Built in the XIX century by German peasants, today it has become a prosperous German theme park for tourists. Maria, an Afro-Venezuelan woman in her late thirties, lives in Colonia's Tovar garbage dump. Separated from her daughter, Joana, Maria survives collecting cans and bottles surrounded by hordes of abandoned dogs. This film is her story, her struggle for survival and to get back Joana. A story of neglect and innocence: Maria's, Joana's, but also that of the first German settlers who dreamt of a paradise in this New World.
“Inside Buffalo”
(Saturday at 1pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Fred Kudjo Kuwornu
Country Focus: Italy, United States
An award winning documentary solely about the 92nd infantry division, an African- American segregated unit, which consisted of 15,000 soldiers, who served in Italy during WW II. They were called "Buffalo Soldiers," and those who survived found that their contributions went unnoticed upon their return to America. African-Italian filmmaker Fred Kudjo Kuwornu explores his own heritage and the history of Afro-American forces in Italy during the Second World War in this documentary about an untold story of ordinary people, Italians and African Americans, who came together during a terrible time to act in a morally righteous manner. Inside Buffalo is a patchwork of stories that history almost forgot to tell. Until now. **Special guests: National Association of Black Veterans
“Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun”
(Saturday at 2:25pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Sam Pollard
Country Focus: United States
A pioneering anthropologist. A celebrated novelist. A noted intellectual. Zora Neale Hurston traveled coast to coast on a tireless journey, never forgetting her mother’s admonition to always “jump at the sun”. Forever ahead of her time, controversial to the end, she would die proud but penniless, only to be embraced by a new generation as the authentic voice of her era. This is her story told in her own words. **Special guests: Hurston family and estate members
“Yeabu’s Homecoming: A Story from Sierra Leone”
(Saturday at 4:10pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Jenny Chu
Country Focus: Sierra Leone
Yeabu Thronka is a farmer, widow and mother of three,
who was suffering, along with 3 million other women, from obstetric fistula. For four years, she endured constant shame, humiliation and ostracism from her community because she dripped urine all day long and smelled. Dr. Alyona Lewis is the only Sierra Leonean physician performing complicated surgeries to cure women like Yeabu. She chooses not to abandon their country for a better standard of living abroad, working instead to serve her people and bring pride to this devastated country.**Filmmaker in attendance
“The AIDS Chronicles: Here to Represent”
(Saturday at 4:40pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Bailey Barash
Country Focus: United States
This documentary focuses on the social and cultural impact of HIV/AIDS on the African-American community of Atlanta. Collected over four years, these stories give insight into the reasons why HIV/AIDS is still a major threat to the black population of urban centers nationwide. This documentary opens a window on the lives of Atlanta's African-American population and reveals the thoughts and actions of African-Americans of every walk of life, every economic and educational level, and every gender identification. Through frank interviews with activists, health educators, and persons with HIV/AIDS, and recorded glimpses into their personal and professional lives, the viewer sees the struggle of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
PANEL DISCUSSION (Saturday at 6:20pm, 9/19/09)
Moderator: Vince Bailey (Vince Bailey Productions)
Panelists: Ramel Moore, LaMont "Montee" Evans, Dr. Hassan Danesi, and Cheryle Reynolds
“The Bagyeli Pygmies at the Fringes of the World”
(Saturday at 7:30pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Francois-Philippe Gallois
Country Focus: Cameroon
“Before, we were poor but we didn’t know it, because we lived contentedly in the forest.” The Bagyeli Pygmies' hunting culture allowed them to live in the jungle of South Cameroon for thousands of years, preserving their cultural values and traditions. But to the outside world, they were considered animals or slaves by a society dominated by farmers. When the Exxon pipeline arrived in the Pygmie’s forest, aided by the World Bank, the bureaucracy begins to get worse as they struggle to protect their rights and livelihood. This documentary follows the personal lives and dreams of Angeline, Marcelline, and Pascal, as they encounter the complexities of change that the real world imposes on hunters-gatherers. And from their point of view, the film tells us about a universal story. One of a small population of people that does not want to disappear.**Special guest: Luz Elena Guevara Reyes
“Yande Codou: The Griot of Senghor”
(Saturday at 9:10pm, 9/19/09)
High Museum of Art, Walter C. Hill Auditorium (directions)
Director: Angele Diabang Brener
Country Focus: Senegal
Eighty-year-old Yandé Codou Sène is one of the last remaining singers of polyphonic Sérère poetry. Yandé Codou, The Griot Of Senghor is an intimate look at a true diva who has travelled through Senegalese history at the side of its mythical president-poet Léopold Sédar Senghor. A bittersweet story about greatness, glory and the passage of time, this film is a must for music lovers.
For all other inquiries regarding festival screenings and/or schedule, call (678)687-9149.
