African Cinema Conference presents…
African and African Diaspora titles:
Friday, November 12 - 6:30 p.m. Program F2 Co-presented with The French Cultural Embassy
A Tribute to Jean Rouch
In memory of renowned French ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch (1917-2004) who died this past year in a car accident in Niger, the festival celebrates his life and work. Rouch helped forge cinéma vérité, a more flexible and less formal handheld camera style. Working primarily in Africa, Rouch's anthropological work was characterized by his concern to work not only "with" his subjects, but alongside them. Through "shared anthropology" and "ethno-fiction," Rouch captured his friends' and subjects' daily lives as well as their imaginations. In 1977, the Mead Festival's inaugural year, Rouch was the first filmmaker to be honored with a retrospective. He continued to participate in many festivals up until 1994.
The evening includes the screening of three works that highlight his time in the U.S. and his interaction with American scholars and friends: "Conversations with Rouch "by Ann McIntosh; a segment from the Boston television show "Screening Room with Robert Gardner: Jean Rouch"; and "Margaret Mead: A Portrait by a Friend", a film Rouch made with John Marshall about Margaret Mead. The new Tribute to Jean Rouch website by Documentary Educational Resources will also be launched.
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Friday, November 12 8:45 p.m. Program F5 Co-presented with the African Film Festival
Karoo Kitaar Blues Liza Keys. 2003. 90 min. Video. (South Africa) U.S. Premiere. Inspired by the 'old music' played on homemade instruments, South African songwriter David Kramer and slide guitarist Hannes Coetzee journey into the 'backveld' of South Africa in search of local musicians to perform with them. Many of these self-taught musicians, descendents of the Khoisan, are getting on in years, so there is a sense of urgency in finding the Karoo Kitaar music before it is forgotten. From rural towns to a concert hall in Capetown, we encounter amazing talents and stories, for whom music is a central part of daily life.
********************************************* Sunday, November 21 - 3:15 p.m. Program F28 Co-presented with the African Diaspora Film Festival
a/k/a Mrs. George Gilbert Coco Fusco. 2004. 31 min. DVD. (U.S.) World (film festival) Premiere.
This hybrid video blends fictional and documentary source material in an imaginative re-creation of a crucial political moment in U.S. history. Co-scripted by Rick Moody (The Ice Storm), it tells the story of an FBI agent who confesses to his involvement in the nationwide search for Angela Davis, the famous radical philosopher and black activist who was on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list in 1970 and an underground fugitive for two months. Discussion with director. with A Panther in Africa Aaron Matthews. 2004. 71 min. Video. (Tanzania) N.Y. Premiere
In 1969, Black Panther Pete O'Neal was arrested on a gun charge in Kansas City, Missouri. To avoid conviction, he fled to Africa, where he has spent the last 34 years living in exile in Tanzania. During the past three decades, he and his wife have devoted themselves to intense community work dealing with health, literacy, and anti-racism. Now, faced with the possibility of returning to America, O'Neal reflects on his life and confronts his radical past. Discussion with director.