From February 17-22, BAMcinématek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, in collaboration with The African Diaspora Film Festival, presents The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival. This one-week series showcases 12 feature films, and
A highlight of The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival is Tsotsi (2005), a deeply affecting South African film about a young gang leader who winds up caring for a young child in the sprawling ghettoes of Johannesburg. The film will screen on February 19 and 22. Another South African film features in the series, Boy Called Twist, is a retelling of Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist. This screens on February 17 and 18.
The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival also features a strong line-up of documentaries, including Faces of Change (2005), which plays February 18 and 21. In the film an international group of grassroots activists go behind the camera in order to tell their stories-an opportunity denied to them due to their gender, race, ethnicity or social status. After each screening there will be a Q&A with the film's director.
Other notable documentaries include The Importance of Being Elegant (2004) (February 19 and 20), a documentary that follows Papa Wemba, the legendary Congolese singer living in exile in Paris; and Nina Simone, Love Sorceress (2000) (February 18 and 21), which captures a 1976 Paris concert by the singer.
On February 17 is an African American Shorts Program that includes three films: Squirrel Man, Rubber Soles, and All Falls Down. Also on February 17 is an Afro-Latino Program that consists of the short Mexican documentary African Blood (2004) as well as the classic Cuban feature Maluala (1979).
On February 18 and 20 there is a showing of two Brazilian films, feature-length Radio Favela (2002), and the short silent Soul in the Eye (1974). Three more films in the series will feature Q&As. First, director John Eisler will be present to discuss his informative documentary Slave Reparations: The Final Passage on February 17.
Then following screenings of Arthur! A Celebration of Life (2005), a drama about the life of tennis great, activist, humanitarian, and author Arthur Ashe, director Joe James's partners Sonny Howard and Terry Cyrus will be on hand (February 19 and 21).
Actress Mireille Métellus, featured in the film On the Verge of Fear, will be at BAM for a Q&A after the film's screening on February 19. The film tells the story of a 15-year-old boy's coming of age in 1971 Haiti. The film will also screen on the last day of the series, February 22.
Tickets are $10; $7 for students 25 and under, seniors, and children under 12; call 718-636-4100 or visit www.bam.org.
