WOCAF 2010

 
Opening Night Film

Friday, March 26th 2010
From A Whisper by Wanuri Kahiu
Kenya, 2008

Synopsis

Abu (Ken Ambani) is a quiet and hardworking intelligence officer who keeps to himself. When he meets Tamani (Corrine Onyango), a young, rebellious artist in search of her mother, he decides to help her. Unknowingly, Tamani churns up memories of Fareed (Abubakar Mwenda), Abu’s best friend who also lost his life in the US Embassy bomb blast 10 years ago. The discovery about the death of Tamani’s mother’s death, forces everyone involved to learn how to forgive, deal with their own faith and confront what they fear the most – The truth.
From A Whisper, features a soundtrack by Eric Wainaina. The film is based on the real events surrounding the August 7 bombings of the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in 1998.

Professor of History and Africana Studies and Director of the Women’s Global Leadership Center at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia, leads a Q& A session after the film

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Mother Daughter by Michael Cain
USA, 2009
Mother Daughter centers around laudine and Raven Payton who are a mother and daughter that are having relationship problems due to the daughter (Raven) dating outside of her race. They don’t communicate for about a year and when Claudine (the mother) learns that she has breast cancer, Raven attempts to offer her unconditional support. Mother Daughter examines themes such as race relations, forgiveness, family and love.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Nappy Heads by Sabrina Moella
Canada, 2007
A short tribute to the glorious afro

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Goge Africa: Aso ebi by Nneka and Isaac Moses
Nigeria, 2009
A TV magazine program that documents the culture of African life. This episode explores the concept of the Aso ebi (communal cloth) – a style of dressing – in Nigeria

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Carry Me Home by Channing Godfrey Peoples
USA, 2008
Death is not as bad as its cracked up to be… Ruth “Cookie” Baker – Fourth Generation Funeral Director

For over two centuries, African-American funeral homes have passed down an untold, elaborate tradition of burying the dead in grand flair. Carry Me Home, a short documentary, witnesses this tradition touch one widow’s life and transforms her grief into celebration. After the loss of her husband, Lessie Thompson surrounds herself with her family and prepares for the funeral, opening a window into the rich, vivid history of African-American funeral traditions that span from segregation and slavery all the way back to West Africa.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
BFF by Rosalyn Coleman Williams
USA, 2009
Two best friend run into each other on the street on the day one is about to get married.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Veiled Voices by Brigid Maher
Egypt/Lebanon/Syria, 2009

Women across the Arab world are redefining their role as leaders in Islam. Veiled Voices shows the world of Muslim women religious leaders through the eyes of three women in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
Filmed over the course of two years in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, Veiled Voices reveals a world rarely documented, exploring both the public and private lives of these luminary women. Each triumphs over difficult challenges as they carve out a space to lead – both in Islam and in their communities.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Too Young! Too Far! Too Late!
Nigeria, 2009

Too Young!, Too Far! Too Late! is a collection of three short films that tackle many of the issues responsible for the deaths of 144 Nigerian women who die every day from pregnancy related problems including lack of adequate healthcare services, misinformation, malnutrition, poverty, cultural barriers, unskilled birth attendants, uneducated mothers, lack of female empowerment, inaccessible healthcare facilities as well as poor sanitation.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Premature by Rashaad Ernesto Green
USA, 2008
(viewer discretion advised)
Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx discovers she is pregnant and receives no support from her community. She has nowhere to turn and is faced with the most difficult decision she will ever make.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Making History by Karen D. McKinnon and Caecilia Tripp
UK, 2008

Édouard Glissant is widely acknowledged as one of the most important Caribbean writers of the past half-century.
In 2002 Linton Kwesi Johnson became the only second living poet and first black poet to have his work published in Penguin`s Modern Classic series.
Both poets are major key-figures of this and the last century, Linton Kwesi Johnson, is the father of Dub poetry and Edouard Glissant, has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature for his writings on creolization processes and aesthetics of worldliness.

These two friends meet on a summerday…

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Inside the Digital Image Moving Salon by HaJ
USA, 2010

Inside the Digital Moving Image Salon takes us on the journey of one of the first African American women filmmakers and animators of our time, Ayoka Chenzira, as she creates an outlet for a new generation of young women to recognize the importance of documenting their story using new media technologies. The DMIS program is the first of its kind and is located at the prestigious Spelman College, a historically Black College for women. Pioneer Ayoka Chenzira continues to push the envelope with her current work now being one of the first to combine the touch screen technology with storytelling. Throughout the film testimonials are shared from students, industry professionals and profound actor/activist Ruby Dee.

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Saturday, March 27th 2010
Siri Oko Fo (Mending Fences) by Heather Murphy
USA, 2008
When Essien Henshaw’s sister Eme makes a surprise visit from Nigeria to his home in Harlem, he soon learns that she has brought strong beliefs and customs with her.
(Best Short Screenplay and Audience choice awards – Nigerian Ent, International Film Festival)

 
Saturday, March 27th 2010
It’s Never Too Late by Dee Robinson
USA, 2010

When a grandmother discovers treachery in the family, she is forced to make the decision of her life. Should she seek help from the authorities or should she seek other avenues for justice? The choice is hers…but she has only moments to decide.

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Closing Night Film
Saturday, March 27th 2010
Adera by Nega Tariku
South Africa, 2008

Adera is a heart wrenching story about an Ethiopian refugee’s struggle to survive in the city of Johannesburg. Life in South Africa is dangerous and earning money is difficult. She quickly discovers that Johannesburg is not the promised city of gold.
Marlam struggles to provide for her two children back home and through a series of twisted circumstances ends up as a surrogate mother for a wealthy Ethiopian couple, Tiru and Fre. Their fate is tied to that of Biru’s, the shady middle man who is only interested in money.
As this unique African story unfolds, the true cost of dreams is revealed and each life is changed forever. Adera is a story of love, hope, deception and the human will to survive.

Adera raises questions about old traditions and how they affect the lives of modern Ethiopians. One of the critical issues Adera confronts is adoption in Ethiopia. The culture in Ethiopia, as in most of Africa, is not to adopt children. With so many orphans left behind and the numbers always growing, it is high time to take fresh look at these conventions.

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