ARTMATTAN FILMS LATEST RELEASES

An original circa 72-minute documentary featuring a murder, Cold War conspiracies, Black Power, the end of the British Empire, and how that connects to the policing and surveillance practices of today. 
"...This spirited feature debut from Lillah Halla is a vivid, dynamic piece of filmmaking driven by the sparky connections between the teammates and a terrific, pulsing electronic score," ~ Screen Daily
"This film explores universal themes such as freedom of movement, family and friendship, in a way that is meant to make the audience reflect on them," ~ Yuhi Amuli

New Releases - Institutional DVD / DSL

Walter Rodney: What They Don't Want You To Know

Walter Rodney: What They Don't Want You To Know

Regular price $395.00
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Walter Rodney: What They Don't Want You To Know

An original circa 72-minute documentary featuring a murder, Cold War conspiracies, Black Power, the end of the British Empire, and how that connects to the policing and surveillance practices of today. It feeds a growing appetite for history from a different perspective, as we grapple with the legacy of colonialism, and its impact on the modern world.

"Walter Rodney" is a compelling documentary that delves into the life and legacy of Dr. Walter Rodney, a prominent historian, activist, and champion for civil rights. Through a series of enlightening interviews and footage captured across Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, Tanzania, the United States, and the United Kingdom, the film presents a comprehensive portrait of a man who dedicated his life to fostering unity in the face of adversity. Rodney's ideals and struggles continue to resonate with contemporary global movements for social justice and equality.

In 1980, Walter Rodney's life was tragically cut short in Guyana, South America, as a result of actions taken by the oppressive government of Forbes Burnham, which was supported by the CIA and MI5. Four decades after his untimely death, the Guyanese government has finally acknowledged the state's involvement in his assassination, shedding light on a dark chapter in the nation's history.

This is the first film where Walter’s widow reveals the personal impact on the family of Walter’s assassination. Contributors include Angela Davis, Gina Miller, former President of Guyana Donald Ramotar, Edward and Donald Rodney, and Walter’s wife Patricia Rodney, as well as prominent historians.

The film premiered at the British Film Institute's largest screen to a sell-out audience of 450, the BFI is Britain’s most prestigious film organization. 

Directed by Arlen Harris and Daniyal Harris-Vajda, UK, 2023, 72min, Documentary in English. Special thanks to The Walter Rodney Foundation and the Ameena Gafoor Institute.

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POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)
POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)

POWER ALLEY (LEVANTE)

Regular price $395.00
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POWER ALLEY / LEVANTE


The compelling Brazilian drama - 2023 Cannes Film Festival Semaine de la Critique selection - Power Alley (Levante) by Lillah Halla is a poignant exploration of the challenges faced by young women in contemporary Brazil, particularly around issues of reproductive rights and gender identity.  
It tells the story of Sofia (17), a promising volleyball player from a humble suburb of São Paulo in Brazil who, on the eve of a future-defining championship, is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. Seeking an illegal termination, she becomes the target of a fundamentalist group determined to stop her at any cost.

The film delves into the challenges Sofia faces in her community, dominated by conservative values. Her extraordinary talent offers her a glimpse of a different life, but she soon finds herself at a crossroads when unforeseen circumstances threaten her future.

The narrative explores themes of community, resilience, and self-expression, as Sofia and her diverse group of friends, who are rebellious and supportive, navigate these trials. Their solidarity and collective strength form the core of this vibrant and emotionally charged story, showcasing the power of unity and defiance in the face of adversity. This film is a testament to the fierce spirit of youth and the unyielding pursuit of freedom and agency.

"A punchy, confrontational energy infuses this celebration of queer sisterhood in the face of Brazilian conservatism,"  Screen Daily

"The context of the team environment being a highly queer space, complete with trans and non-binary players... gives the notion of overcoming an unwanted pregnancy a unique charge: with a far-right, Bolsonaroist group catching wind of her situation as neighborhood gossip circulates...," Cineuropa

"...This spirited feature debut from Lillah Halla is a vivid, dynamic piece of filmmaking driven by the sparky connections between the teammates and a terrific, pulsing electronic score," ~ Screen Daily

Brazil/France/Uruguay, 2023, 99 mins, drama in Portuguese (With English subtitles), Lillah Halla, dir. 

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Citizen Kwame

Citizen Kwame

Regular price $395.00
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CITIZEN KWAME

"Citizen Kwame" is a Kafkaesque film about travel visas. It tells the story of Kwame, an African man who wants to travel outside of his compound, but he must first get a visa from a white western gatekeeper who controls movements in-and-out of the house. It is only with the help of a newly acquired white western girlfriend that he succeeds.

“"This film explores universal themes such as freedom of movement, family and friendship, in a way that is meant to make the audience reflect on them,"  ~ Yuhi Amuli

 

Rwanda,2023,81 mins, drama in English, Yuhi Amuli, dir. 

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MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS & MARY LOU WILLIAMS, THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS & MARY LOU WILLIAMS, THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

Regular price $395.00
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Experience the essence of jazz and blues in two captivating documentaries! Music Pictures: New Orleans by Ben Chace features legends like Irma Thomas and Ellis Marsalis, while Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band by Carol Bash delves into the life of the groundbreaking Mary Lou Williams.

Music Pictures: New Orlean Trailer Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS

Music Pictures: New Orleans gives us legacy portraits and a rare backstage access into the lives and craft of four New Orleans music legends: Grammy-winning vocalist known as “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma ThomasLittle Freddie King, one of the last original bluesmen who at the age of 81 still performs live; the world renowned Tremé Brass Band, a fixture in the New Orleans jazz community; and Ellis Marsalis - father of internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis - the patriarch of the famed jazz family who helped found the modern jazz scene in the 1950s. 

Directed by Ben Chace, 2022, USA, 72 Min, Documentary, English

MARY LOU WILLIAMS TRAILER from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MARY LOU WILLIAMS: THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

She was ahead of her time, a genius. During an era when Jazz was the nation's popular music, Mary Lou Williams was one of its greatest innovators. As both a pianist and composer, she was a font of daring and creativity who helped shape the sound of 20th century America. And like the dynamic, turbulent nation in which she lived, Williams seemed to redefine herself with every passing decade.

Directed by Carol Bash, 2015, USA, 70 min, Documentary, English

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Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun

Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun

Regular price $395.00
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Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, directed by Sam Pollard, is an illuminating documentary that captures the life and legacy of one of the most significant African American writers of the 20th century, Zora Neale Hurston. The film takes its audience on a journey through Hurston's eventful life, from her early years in Eatonville, Florida, to her pivotal role in the Harlem Renaissance. It delves into her works, her unique storytelling style that blended folklore with rich depictions of African American life, and her contributions to African American literature. The documentary also addresses the challenges Hurston faced, including her struggle with financial instability and her controversial viewpoints that often placed her at odds with the mainstream civil rights movement. Through interviews with scholars, contemporaries, and excerpts from her own writings, Pollard's film pays homage to Hurston's indomitable spirit and enduring impact on literature and African American culture.

Directed by Sam Pollard, 2008, USA, 84 Min, Documentary, English

"Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun is a moving interpretation of Zora Neale Hurston's life and career. In fact, a viewer can easily sit halfway through the eighty-four-minute film and forget one is watching a documentary," ~Project Muse

"Kudos to Bay Bottom News and American Masters for their professional production, and for bringing to light an amazing and long overdue story of a legendary icon and storyteller of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond,"~ Pennsylvania State University

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Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls
Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls
Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls
Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls
Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls
Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls

Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls

Regular price $395.00
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Rolê - Stories of Brazilian Protests in Malls


Protests against the violence of security guards and shopping mall employees in Brazil have mobilized thousands of people in recent years. This form of protest showed the barriers imposed by racial discrimination and social exclusion. This documentary describes the lives and memories of three black activists that went through traumatic racism situations and took part in the protests which recently took place in shopping malls in Brazil. Discover the dreams, beauty, poetry, art and politics of a generation that has found new ways of dealing with violence by promoting an intense debate across the country.

Directed by Vladimir Seixas / 2021 / 82 minutes / Documentary / Brazil

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Vladimir Seixas
 

GENRES

  • Documentary
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 5

GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 5

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS - Vol 5 The fifth installment in this series of award-winning films from Africa includes award winning films A Son (Un Fils) by Mehdi Barsaoui and Wulu by Daouda Coulibaly.

A SON (Un Fils) / Bik Eneich 

An intense family drama starring French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila, winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor, Venice Film Festival 2019 and winner of the César Awards, France for Best Actor in 2021.  

11 year old Aziz needs a liver transplant after being seriously injured during a terrorist ambush while on holiday in 2011. At the hospital, a family secret will be revealed.

A drama that expertly captures complex human emotions within their socio-cultural, historical and political context. ~ Hollywood Reporter

Directed By Mehdi Barsaoui / Tunisia/ 2019/ Drama/ Arabic With English Subtitles/ 96 Min


WÙLU

Shot for a good deal of the time using hand-held cameras, WÙLU is an African thriller that has an urgency and a vibrancy most Western made films lack.

Ladji, (a beautifully understated Ibrahim Koma), is the young man who, after losing his job on the cross-border taxis, takes up smuggling cocaine with lucrative if highly dangerous results.

A social commentary about the impact of corruption on intelligent, hard working African youths looking to improve their standard of living at home.

Official Selection TIFF 2016.  Winner Ousmane-Sembene Prize and Best Actor Award for Ibrhim Koma at FESPACO 2017.

Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, 2016, France/Mali, 95min, crime drama, French w/ English subtitles

 

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Nome
Nome
Nome
Nome
Nome
Nome

Nome

Regular price $395.00
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Official Selection ACID Cannes Film Festival 2023!

Nome is a historical drama directed by Sana Na N'Hada and written by Virgílio Almeida and Olivier Marboeuf. The story takes place in Guinea-Bissau in 1969, during the war of independence between the Portuguese colonial army and the guerrillas of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea.

The protagonist, Nome, leaves his village and joins the ranks of the guerrillas. After years of struggle, he returns to his village as a hero. However, the initial joy soon gives way to bitterness and cynicism.

By Sana Na N'Hada,  Guinea-Bissau/France/Portugal/Angola, 2023, 117min, Drama, Portuguese w/ English subtitles

 

"Nome  is a film over 50 years in the making. In the late 60s, revolutionary Bissau-Guinean Marxist leader Amílcar Cabral sent filmmakers Sana na N’Hada, Flora Gomes, Josefina Lopes Crato and José Bolama to Cuba. To help change international public opinion against the Portuguese colonial regime, they returned to the country to document the struggle. This archive footage forms the basis for the fiction Nome, N’hada following its eponymous character as he joins the resistance movement. 

Perhaps Cabral, had he lived to see this movie (assassinated in 1973), would be disappointed, as Na N’hada, returning to one of his first filmmaking projects, complicates a simple resister narrative into a more complex tale of post-colonial legacy and the true cost of war. Things get particularly messy when the occupation is over, colonial occupation giving way to corruption and petty gangsterism on the streets of Bissau, issues that have plagued the country until this day. 

Independence, it seems, is just the start. " ~ ACID Cannes 2023

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The Survival of Kindness

The Survival of Kindness

Regular price $395.00
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Survival of Kindness Trailer Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

THE SURVIVAL OF KINDNESS 

DIRECTED BY ROLF DE HEER
AUSTRALIA / 2023 / ENGLISH / 96 MIN

Written, directed and produced by award-winning auteur filmmaker Rolf de Heer (Dingo, Bad Boy Bubby, The Tracker)

The Survival of Kindness

uses allegory to analyze race and privilege, as it follows protagonist BlackWoman (South Australian Mwajemi Hussein), abandoned in a cage in the middle of the desert. Following her escape, she walks through pestilence and persecution, from desert to mountain to city, only to find more captivity.

Filmed across various stunning Australian landscapes in South Australia and Tasmania, Survival of Kindness is led by Australian producer Julie Byrne (AACTA Award winning The Babadook) alongside de Heer, and is co-produced by Ari Harrison (The Furnace).

 

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Rolf de Heer
Starring: Mwajemi Hussein
Starring: Gary Waddell
Starring: Natasha Wanganeen
 

GENRES

  • Drama, Mystery

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Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans
Music Pictures: New Orleans

Music Pictures: New Orleans

Regular price $395.00
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Music Pictures: New Orlean Trailer Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

Music Pictures: New Orleans gives us legacy portraits and a rare backstage access into the lives and craft of four New Orleans music legends: Grammy-winning vocalist known as “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma ThomasLittle Freddie King, one of the last original bluesmen who at the age of 81 still performs live; the world renowned Tremé Brass Band, a fixture in the New Orleans jazz community; and Ellis Marsalis - father of internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis - the patriarch of the famed jazz family who helped found the modern jazz scene in the 1950s. 

Music Pictures: New Orleans is a vibrant documentary exploring the rich musical heritage of New Orleans. It showcases the city’s diverse musical landscape, from legendary jazz clubs to lively street performances, highlighting the influences of Creole, African American, and French cultures. The film delves into how historical events, including Mardi Gras and Hurricane Katrina, have shaped the city’s music scene. Through interviews with local musicians and historians, it reveals music's role in the city’s cultural and social fabric, celebrating genres like jazz, blues. This documentary offers an insightful glimpse into the resilience and cultural dynamism of New Orleans, making it a valuable resource for those interested in music history and cultural studies.

Directed by Ben Chace, 2022, USA, 72 Min, Documentary, English

"Music Pictures: New Orleans is a pleasantly entertaining, early 2020s snapshot of four influential artists in blues and jazz." - Culture Mix

"Sometimes if you’re tired of documentaries that try to push a one-sided political message, a musical documentary can fix that. The documentary Music Pictures: New Orleans is an insightful documentary of a town with a century of a music legacy." ~ Jon The Blogcentric.org

" Music Pictures: New Orleans is a great documentary showcasing musicians, both individuals and groups, and how their sound has an impact not only on the sounds of New Orleans but on musical genres as a whole. It’s as much about its past legacy as it is about its present and future." ~ Jon The Blogcentric.org

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YAFA Forgiveness

YAFA Forgiveness

Regular price $395.00
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Demba is an African who has fled an oppressive regime in his own country and is seeking asylum in Paris. One night he encounters Lucien, a policeman from the Caribbean, who speaks to him in the voice of the dominant class. But in his country Demba is a professor of History and Geography while Lucien left school early to help his mother, a cleaning lady.

“YAFA Le Pardon” explores the social and economic dynamics at work in their relationship as they seek to understand each other, aided by Welcome, a Baule Komian who does not hesitate to officiate as the parties meet on the Quai de l’Oise, in the centre of Paris.

Directed by Christian Lara, France, 2019, 85 Minutes, drama, French with English subtitles

 


"In my young adult years in France, I could see that there was tension between the Caribbean community and the African community, but I didn’t know why. The hidden historical facts, the great Black characters erased or transformed, the identity and culture construction... This is the thread of the ongoing dialogue between Demba (Sidiki Bakaba) and Lucien (Luc Saint-Eloy). The migrant and the policeman. Africa and the West Indies."  ~ Karukerament
Read full review HERE

ABOUT DIRECTOR CHRISTIAN LARA
Christian Lara is a Guadeloupean/French film director, writer, cinematographer and producer. Having shot more than twenty feature films in the Caribbean, France, Canada and Africa, he is regarded by many as "the Father of French Antilles cinema".

Official Selection
Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival 2022
African Diaspora International Film Festival, NYC 2022
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Ludi

Ludi

Regular price $395.00
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Trailer LUDI Art.mp4 from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

"Ludi," directed by Edson Jean, is a compelling exploration of the Haitian immigrant experience set in the vibrant community of Little Haiti in Miami. The film follows the resilient protagonist, Ludi, portrayed by the talented Shein Mompremier, as she grapples with the challenges of forging a new life in America. In the pursuit of the elusive American dream, Ludi confronts the harsh realities of the immigrant experience.

Edson Jean's directorial finesse captures the nuances of cultural identity, economic struggle, and the indomitable spirit that propels individuals to persevere against adversity.  The film not only sheds light on the immigrant narrative but also serves as a poignant reflection on the strength and resilience of those who dare to seek a better life in a new land. "Ludi" stands as a significant contribution to the cinematic exploration of diasporic experiences within the Afro-Caribbean context.

Directed by Edson Jean, USA, 2021, 81 Minutes, drama, English and Haitian Creole with English subtitles

"Jean's "Ludi" is the type of low-stakes drama that's easy to root for, and even more wonderful to see" - Robert Daniels, The Playlist

"This is one of the best films of the year so far, and that comes as a result of the hard work and dedication from everyone involved." - Kyle Bain, Film Threat

"An examination of the difficulties inherent in that so-called American Dream, with a magnetic lead performance from Shein Mompremier. Ludi is a charming, tragic, painful, and beautiful film to behold." -Aaron PetersonHollywood Outsider 



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Executive Order (Medida Provisora)
Executive Order (Medida Provisora)
Executive Order (Medida Provisora)
Executive Order (Medida Provisora)
Executive Order (Medida Provisora)
Executive Order (Medida Provisora)

Executive Order (Medida Provisora)

Regular price $395.00
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EXECUTIVE ORDER
(Medida Provisória)

Set in a dystopian near future in Rio de Janeiro, a lawyer (Alfred Enoch) sues the Brazilian government for reparation of all descendants of African slaves in the country. The authoritarian government responds by signing an executive order sending all black citizens to Africa as an excuse to repay the debts of slavery. 

Directed by Lázaro Ramos, 2020, Brazil, 101min, Drama, Portuguese w/ English subtitles.

"A chilling believability creeps into this dystopian debut from actor-turned-director Lázaro Ramos that’s hard to shake off." ~ Cath Clarke, Guardian

"[Executive Order] is Bacurau on a global scale, Get Out without the humor. It's Armee Guineenne unleashed in movie form, a melancholic prophecy of a coming war and a sendoff to those brave African soldiers who dared to fight for their heartland." ~ Asher Luberto, L.A. Weekly

"The directing is excellent, the cast is giving it their all, and the themes are relevant and need to be discussed." ~ Bobby LePire, Film Threat

"Politically and culturally driven it may be, Executive Order still ultimately aims for entertainment and education in equal measure." ~ Peter Gray, The AU Review

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WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU
WÙLU

WÙLU

Regular price $395.00
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WULU Trailer from ArtMattan Films on Vimeo.

WÙLU

Shot for a good deal of the time using hand-held cameras, WÙLU is an African thriller that has an urgency and a vibrancy most Western made films lack.

Ladji, (a beautifully understated Ibrahim Koma), is the young man who, after losing his job on the cross-border taxis, takes up smuggling cocaine with lucrative if highly dangerous results.

A social commentary about the impact of corruption on intelligent, hard working African youths looking to improve their standard of living at home.

Official Selection TIFF 2016.

Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, 2016, France/Mali, 95min, crime drama, French w/ English subtitles


"In Wùlu, Malian cinema has found a promising and intriguing new voice." ~ Pamela Pianezza, Variety

"The film's foretold but very understated ending, which keeps a key moment offscreen to devastating effect, again confirms that Coulibaly is a talent to watch." ~ Boyd van Hoeij, Hollywood Reporter

"Coulibaly's Wùlu is a well-acted, fast moving, episodic depiction of some of the issues in contemporary Africa." ~ Alexa Dalby, Dog and Wolf

"A rags-to-riches crime saga like you won't see anywhere else." ~ Brent McKnight, The Last Thing I See

 

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ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET
ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET

ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET

Regular price $395.00
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Angels On Diamond Street Trailer - Art HD from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

ANGELS ON DIAMOND STREET

DIRECTED BY Petr Lom
U.S.A. / Netherlands / 2019 / ENGLISH / SPANISH w/English Subtitles / 88 MIN


SYNOPSIS

Angels on Diamond Street spotlights three women fighting for social justice in an African-American church in Philadelphia. We follow head cook Mamie Mather, former Black Panther Barbara Easley-Cox and Pastor Renee Mackenzie at the soup kitchen of the Church of the Advocate: a national monument with a rich history in the civil rights movement.

When an undocumented Mexican immigrant family - Carmela Apolonio Hernandez and her children - asks the church for sanctuary, they are welcome with open arms. Pastor Mackenzie courageously defies the ICE immigration authorities in an act of civil disobedience.

A documentary about compassion that invites us to forget about all borders, be they of race, nationality or religion.

 

"Angels on Diamond Street, by the Netherlands-based director Petr Lom, is rich with quotable quotes. It is a tender look at an American church with an old, persevering, social justice soul, and the people who make their soup kitchen a communal magnet.

The film was recorded during a two-year focus on North Philadelphia's activist congregation of the Church of the Advocate in the heart of a poor, African American neighborhood. The church building is a huge, stone beauty finished in 1887, named the George W. South Memorial Church, but is best known by its current moniker. Informative and strung together chronologically, it grows into an occasional conversation between the man behind the camera and the people he follows. You can read a lot in its details." ~ JoAnne Velin, moderntimes.review.com

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DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO
DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO

DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO

Regular price $395.00
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Dancing The Twist in Bamako - Trailer - ArtMattan Films 

DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO

The 1960s were a time of change everywhere, and that includes Bamako, the capital city of Mali, a nation only recently independent from French colonial rule.

DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO is a romance fraught with the drama of political change, infused with the musical energy of that decade. Samba, a young, idealistic socialist, works toward creating a more just nation by day and dances with girlfriend Lara to the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, and the Supremes by night.

The film’s sensibility is inspired by the vibrant images, patterns, and compositions of famed Malian photographer, Malick Sidibé. Lara’s orange silk dress and Samba’s dazzling white suit, shot against the striped backdrop of their dance club and the black and white checked dance floor they cut up — all suggest that change is coming rapidly, that life is for living.

by Robert Guédiguian, France / Canada / Senegal, 2021, 129min, Romantic Drama, French with English subtitles.

 

"Inspired by the photographs of Malick SidibéDancing the Twist in Bamako (the screenplay of which was written by Robert Guédiguian and Gilles Taurand) does not claim to moralise or substitute for an African perspective. The film relies on the universality of love stories that defy (at the risk of their lives) traditions and ideologies, to weave a story nourished by simplicity, enthusiasm, and even the touching naivety of youth, against the backdrop of a utopia of class struggle confronted by "realpolitik." A dive into the past, punctuated by a multitude of hits from the early 60s whose fragrance of effervescent happiness is tinged with nostalgia and tragedy, like a challenge to time and the dictates of the mind." ~ Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa

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AS FAR AS I CAN WALK
AS FAR AS I CAN WALK
AS FAR AS I CAN WALK
AS FAR AS I CAN WALK
AS FAR AS I CAN WALK
AS FAR AS I CAN WALK

AS FAR AS I CAN WALK

Regular price $445.00
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As Far as I Can Walk Trailer - Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

As Far as I Can Walk is a 2021 internationally co-produced drama directed by Serbian Oscar-nominated director (for his 2003 short film '(A)Torsion') Stefan Arsenijevic that follows a couple who left Ghana with a dream of a better life in Europe and now live as refugees in Belgrade.

22-year-old Siisi, nicknamed Strahinja, is doing everything to integrate in Serbia. He volunteers for the Red Cross in the camp where he lives, looks for work, plays on the local football team... His biggest challenge, however, is to win back the woman he loves. When she disappears one day, Strahinja sets out to find her.

As Far as I Can Walk is a re-imagining of a traditional medieval epic in which contemporary African migrants take the place of Serbian national heroes. Urgent and timeless at the same time, the adaptation raises questions about identity, tradition, race and love.

It premiered at the 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2021 where it won five prizes including the main Grand Prix – Crystal Globe and the Best Actor honor awarded to Ibrahim Koma for his starring performance in the film.

By Strahinja Banović / Serbia / France / Luxembourg / Bulgaria / Lithuania / 2021 / 92 min / English and Serbian with English Sub.

 

It’s a surprising and exhilarating blend of contemporary refugee story, love triangle and medieval Serbian poem.” ~ Alisa Simon, Variety

In his masterfully directed picture Stefan Arsenijević delivers a crystal clear, humanistic account of the need to find one’s place in the world; this is also a tale of love, the most profound testimony of which might also be the most painful.” ~ Lenka Tyrpáková, Karlovy Vary FF

“Arsenijević's film is vividly crafted and performed. The predominantly English-language film should gather interest [ ] on the strength of its topicality and emotional accessibility.” ~ Guy Lodge, Variety

The refugees are presented as broken and poor, but dignified, and as opposed to many other similarly themed films, we get real, flesh-and-blood characters in Strahinja and Ababuo, with well-defined personalities, pasts and hopes for the future. And therein lies the film's greatest strength: both actors are positively magnetic on the screen, but especially Koma, whose drive and extraordinary charisma often collide with Mensah-Offei's pride and headstrong ambition.” ~ Vladan Petkovic, Cineuropa

One of Arsenijevic’s avowed goals with As Far as I Can Walk was to portray refugees as distinct individuals with inner lives, dreams and aspirations, not just blank statistics. In this he is admirably successful.” ~ Stephen Dalton, Verdict

 

ABOUT THE MAKING OF THE FILM

“Arsenijević’s hometown Belgrade marks an important point on the Balkan migrant route. A few years ago, he could see thousands of new refugees arriving every day. He says, “Having my own experience of war and poverty in the 90s, I could easily identify. I started talking with migrants, hearing their experiences. There was this moving story of epic proportions happening right in front of me. It was just important to find the right angle to tell it.” As the migrant crisis grew, many locals promulgated paranoid fears that migrants would take over European culture by imposing their own. “National identity and national heritage are touchy subjects in my country,” says Arsenijević. “So, it occurred to me: what if I replace Serbian national heroes with contemporary African migrants? I thought this could provide some interesting perspectives.”  ~ Alisa Simon, Variety

 

WATCH AS FAR AS I CAN WALK IN THEATRES

 

THEATRE  CITY/STATE OPENS
IFC Center New York, NY June 30, 2023

 


 




 




 


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MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS
MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS
MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS
MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS

MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS

Regular price $395.00
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MOTO TAXI / BENDSKINS

MOTO TAXI, Narcisse Wandji's first feature film, explores questions and concerns related to the daily life of three Cameroonians, two men and a woman, who manage to make a living working as motorcycle taxis.

Sani, Marie and Franck are three young moto-taxi drivers with unique destinies and stories. Sani has to face Charles, his employer and also father of Samedi, his girlfriend, who is pregnant with his child. Marie, raped five years ago, tries to find Tom, her rapist. And Franck, on his side, must do everything to get rid of the lifeless body of an 8 month old child.

In Moto Taxi, Narcisse Wandji refers both visually and through the dialogues in his film to some important auteurs in African Cinema. Quartier Mozart by Jean-Pierre Bekolo is mentioned casually in a conversation while a Moto Taxi driver explains that the corn on his motorcycle was inspired by Djibril Diop Mambety’s Touki Bouki.

These references reassure the cinephiles looking for cinematic innovation. The question of cultural identity remains at the heart of the auteur’s work while he/she strives to give a universal feel to his/her creation. “ Pierre Patrick Touko.

Directed by Narcisse Wandji, Cameroon, 2021, 90 mins, drama, French (with English subtitles)

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Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA
Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA

Sugar Cane Malice / MAL DE CAÑA

Regular price $395.00
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SUGAR CANE MALICE / MAL DE CAÑA
 
A documentary about the working conditions of Haitian workers in one of the largest sugar cane plantations in the world, located in the Dominican Republic and belonging to the Fanjul Family, one of the most powerful families in America.
 

When Maria’s husband died, she was told to either leave the sugarcane plantation or to work in the only existent job: cutting and planting cane.

She decided to work in exchange for a miserable wage and a rudimentary barrack she and her five children call home. With that, she was accepting a precarious life without electricity, drinkable water and sanitary services. This is how people are stuck in a house provided by the Company, ensuring that no other basic service neither civil rights are provided, maintaining people in a life of misery. The vast extension of a sugarcane plantation in Dominican Republic offers this deal to thousands of Haitian workers. Some struggle to leave – like Maria’s daughter, with few chances of working in a hotel by the coast. Some others are forced to leave – like Leidy and her baby, when her father-in-law retires after 50 years of work. Yet, some others – like Yudelka and Telemin – organize and try to change the miserable situation everyone is living in the cane fields. They are an obstacle that hinders the functioning of the great machine that is the Plantation.

Directed by Juan A. Zapata, Dominican Republic/Spain, 2021, 76min, Documentary, Spanish w/English subtitles

 Sugar Cane Malice is the third film from director [Juan A.] Zapata, a native of the Dominican Republic, who is also an architect and visual artist. Both sensibilities are on display in Sugar Cane Malice, which pays particular attention to the built environment of the workers, and contrasts it through a series of helicopter (or drone) shots with modern construction in the island’s cities and the luxurious beach resorts that are beloved of tourists. He also finds beauty even in the sugar cane fields where these workers labor for the benefits of others. Above all, he respects the dignity of his subjects, who haven’t let their difficult lives become their only story." ~ Sarah Boslaugh

AWARDS

FULL FRAME Documentary Film Festival 2021
Official Competition 

Festival des Libertés 2021
Official Competition 

EATSA Art & Tourism is an International Film Festival 2021
Official Competition 

SOMCINEMA Festival (Spain) 2021
Official Competition 

Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2021
Official Competition

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LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS
LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS
LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS
LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS

LOIMATA, THE SWEETEST TEARS

Regular price $395.00
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With Ema diagnosed with terminal cancer, the Siope family searches for healing by confronting  intergenerational trauma head on and returning to their homeland of Sāmoa.

The redemptive tale of waka builder and captain Lilo Ema Siope’s final years, the stunning LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears is a chronicle of journeys. Confronting intergenerational trauma head on, the Siope family returns to their homeland of Sāmoa. For Ema’s father, this is his first time back to his birthplace since leaving in 1959. The result is a poignant yet tender story of a family’s unconditional love for each other, and a commitment to becoming whole again.

By Anna Marbrook, New Zealand / Sāmoa. 2021, 94 minutes, Documentary, English & Samoan with English subtitles

"I walked into this film expecting to see a portrait of a world-renowned ship builder, navigator and sailor, undertaking one of the final voyages of her life. And, in a way, that is what Loimata is. But not in the way I was assuming it would be." ~ stuff.co.nz

Themes: First Nation / Women / Sexual Abuse / LGBTQ+ / Family / Healing 

AWARDS:

FIFO (Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien), 2021 
Grand Prix du Jury 

NZTV Awards, 2021
Best Documentary, Winner
Best Director, Nominee

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Double dvds

AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS IN EUROPE:  OTOMO & WAALO FENDO

AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS IN EUROPE: OTOMO & WAALO FENDO

Regular price $395.00
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OTOMO

A powerful film portraying institutionalized racism and police brutality, Otomo provides a convincing look at the everyday world of refugees, who are continuously surrounded by tension and insecurity.

In the summer of 1989, a Stuttgart newspaper reported the true story of a West African asylum seeker who physically assaulted an intolerant subway ticket-taker; fled, and became the target of a city-wide manhunt. Otomo is a sober, fictionalized reconstruction of a tale that shocked Stuttgart, and a gripping portrait of how institutionalized racism drives a disempowered individual to violence and inhumanity.

West African immigrant Frederic Otomo (Isaach de Bankole) lacks the proper papers to be hired for the most menial of jobs; he has survived for eight years with the help of a Catholic charity. Otomo is the target of verbal abuse, is thrown out of his boarding house, and even scorned by neighborhood dogs. He feels and looks out of place. A stoic bubbling pot of wrath on the run, de Bankole's performance establishes Otomo's essence without words-language cannot express the gravity of his situation. As a ticking soundtrack counts down his fated minutes, Otomo is helped by a kind, aging hippie and her granddaughter, establishing the potential for an inclusive German society….if it is not too late...

|Germany|1999|84 mins|drama|German with English subtitles|Frieder Schlaich, dir.|

"I was impressed by the decision to make Otomo a bit of an anti-hero, seeming aware that in desperate times, good people may say or do things outside the norm." -- Greg Dean Schmitz, Greg's previews at Yahoo!Movies

"Documents the institutionalized racism and xenophobia that painted one man into a corner, while never excusing the terrible means by which he took his final escape." -- Jessica Winter, Village Voice

"Much of the sense of size in this account of an immigrant worker, who is only one among many thousands in Germany, comes from the performance by Isaach de Bankole." -- Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic

 


WAALO FENDO: WHERE THE EARTH FREEZES

Senegal / Switzerland, 1998, 65 mins, drama in Wolof and Italian with English subtitles, Mohammed Soudani, dir.

Milan, like Paris or Stuttgart, and like many other European cities, is the theater of the drama of immigration. Demba reconstructs his story and that of his brother Yaro, both Senegalese immigrants in Italy, in a long and fragmentary flashback that begins with Yaro’s murder and recounts their departure from the village, arrival in Europe, the work they find selling lighters and picking tomatoes in the south of Italy: the stages every “non-EEC citizen” goes through in Italy. It is a story of immigration like so many others but that most people are unaware of. Waalo Fendo illustrates the dehumanization faced by so many immigrants all over the world.

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African Mothers with Seasons of a Life & Joy

African Mothers with Seasons of a Life & Joy

Regular price $295.00
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AFRICAN MOTHERS

Two films that explore the commitment of motherhood by looking at the life of two African women, in "Seasons of Life," a housemaid, who is sexually abused is forced to give up her child but comes back for him years later, in "Joy" A Nigerian mother living in the USA struggles to convince her traditionalist husband not to circumcise their ten-year-old daughter.

 

SEASONS OF A LIFE

A housemaid, who is sexually abused by her boss and made pregnant, is forced to give up her son in order to go on with her education. Six years later she comes back to claim her son. From Malawi comes this moving story about sexual abuse, women rights and the legal justice system in Malawi. This film tackles universal themes in an African setting giving an understanding of some of the modernization and democratization processes in Africa.

Directed by C. Shemu Joyah, Malawi, 2008, 102 min, Fiction in English.

 

 

JOY

A Nigerian mother living in the USA struggles to convince her traditionalist husband not to circumcise their ten-year-old daughter. This short film explores the clash of cultures in a modern society.

Directed by Solomon Onita Jr., USA, 2017, 15 min, Short Fiction in English.

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AFRICAN STORYTELLERS

AFRICAN STORYTELLERS

Regular price $395.00
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Two African Griots connect Africa and the World: Youssou N’Dour in Return to Gorée by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, Sotigui Kouyaté in Names Live Nowhere by Dominique Loreau. DVD also includes Youssou N’Dour’s live concert performance on Gorée Island. 

 

RETURN TO GOREE Film and Concert

RETURN TO GOREE follows Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour's historical journey tracing the trail left by enslaved Africans and the jazz music they invented. Youssou N'Dour's challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire of his own songs to perform a concert in Goree, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to honor its victims. With Youssou N'Dour, Moncef Genoud, Joseph Ndiaye, Idris Muhammad, and Amiri Baraka among others.

DVD includes filmed final concert on the Goree Island.

RETURN TO GOREE / CONCERT, Pierre Yves Borgeaud, Senegal/Switzerland/
Luxembourg, 2006, 108 min. / 52min. In English and French with English subtitles.

 

NAMES LIVE NOWHERE 

NAMES LIVE NOWHERE (Les Noms N'Habitent Nulle Part) - whose title is a Senegalese proverb - a griot (story teller) traveling from Dakar to Brussels weaves a tale about African expatriates and offers a candid look at the life of African immigrants in Belgium. With Sotigui Kouyate - a real life griot - as the story teller.

NAMES LIVE NOWHERE, Dominique Loreau, Belgium, 1994 , 76min. In French with English subtitles.

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African Tales: Tazzeka & Bilatena: The Golden Child

African Tales: Tazzeka & Bilatena: The Golden Child

Regular price $295.00
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Double DVD with Two African Stories: TAZZEKA (Morocco) & BILATENA: THE GOLDEN CHILD (Ethiopia)

TAZZEKA 

Growing up in the Moroccan village of Tazzeka, Elias learned the secrets of traditional Moroccan cuisine from his grandmother who raised him. Years later, meeting a top Paris chef and a young woman named Salma inspires him to leave home.

Directed By Jean-Philippe Gaud / France and Morocco / 2018 / French, Arabic wEnglish Subtitles / 95 min

 

BILATENA, THE GOLDEN CHILD


Abi, a dynamic and resourceful twelve year old boy, lives with his mother Degua and his 26 year old university graduate unemployed brother Zelalem (Zele). Abi, who is a a hyper-industrious hard working 12-year-old boy with two jobs, supports his poor mother and his older unemployed brother through their day to day lives.

But when their mother dies of Hepatitis B and Abi is also infected with the virus, Zele must face the big challenge of supporting his own life and keeping his younger brother alive by earning the 20,000 Ethiopian birr per month needed for his brother's medication.

Directed by Kinfe Banbu, 2014 | Ethiopia | Drama | 105 min | Amharic w/ English subtitles

 

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AFRICAN WOMEN
AFRICAN WOMEN
AFRICAN WOMEN
AFRICAN WOMEN

AFRICAN WOMEN

Regular price $295.00
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Two fiction films that explore the life of women in Africa. Set in Burkina Fasso AN UNCOMMON WOMAN is a comedy about a cuckold woman who decides to take a second husband. CAPE VERDE MY LOVE is drama that takes a critical look at the lives of women in contemporary Cape Verde.

 

AN UNCOMMON WOMAN

Mina is tired of her husband's infidelity and decides to take a drastic decision: She takes a second husband. Based on his conversations with women involved in polygamist relationships, he illustrates - to very funny effects - the daily life of two persons - in this case two men - who share a spouse. On a comedic tone, Abdoulaye Dao tells us a story of jealousy, infidelity, romance and revenge. Directed by Dao Abdoulaye, 2009, 101 min, Burkina Faso, Comedy, French with English subtitles.

An Uncommon Woman-Une Femme Pas Comme Les Autres- was a success in its native Burkina Faso and is cast with some the best actors of Burkinabe cinema.

Official selection, African Diaspora International Film Festival 2010.

 

CAPE VERDE MY LOVE

Praia, Cape Verde. Laura, Flavia and Bela are childhood friends. Each leads her own life and they sometimes meet to dance, dine and have fun. But one day the calm rivers of their lives break their banks and become wild torrents: Ricardo, Flavia's husband, rapes his pupil Indira, Laura's 13-year old eldest daughter. A film that takes a critical look at the lives of women in Cape Verde .

By Ana Lucia Ramos Lisboa, 2007, Cape Verde, Drama, 77min, Cape Verdean Portuguese w/ English subtitles.

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African Women Behind The Camera

African Women Behind The Camera

Regular price $295.00
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The African Women Behind The Camera double DVD highlights the work of two very different contemporary African women filmmakers:

2 Weeks in Lagos by Nigerian director Kathryn Fasegha is a socially conscious Christian based romantic comedy drama set in upper class Lagos, Nigeria.

Childhood Destroyed by Chadian director and journalist ZARA M. YACOUB is a short fiction film that denounces the living conditions of young girls in Chad in a delicate yet powerful way.

 

2 WEEKS IN LAGOS

 2 Weeks in Lagos is a turbulent and thrilling journey into the lives of Ejikeme and Lola. Their lives collide when investment banker Ejikeme comes home to Nigeria from the US with Lola’s brother Charlie and falls in love with her. He must then defy his parents’ plan to marry him to the daughter of a wealthy politician.

2 Weeks in Lagos captures the excitement, vibrancy, and complexity of everyday life in Lagos, a dynamic city where anything is possible in 2 Weeks.

Directed by Kathryn Fasegha | CANADA, NIGERIA | COMEDY, ROMANCE | ENGLISH | 2019 | 115 MINS

 

CHILDHOOD DESTROYED

Eleven year old Mariam works as a domestic to provide for her guardian, her unemployed Uncle Djimet, and his family. Mariam wakes up early each day to go to work as an all-purpose maid, housekeeper, cook and baby sitter for the Nadji family. With her many tasks, she is constantly under pressure from Nadji and his son Moussa, and must answer to the whims of his wife, and young children. One day, Mariam is arrested for having unwittingly thrown rubbish in a prohibited place. She is detained for five days in prison without her uncle or employer even inquiring of her whereabouts.
Zara M. Yacoub / Chad / 1999 / 26 Min / Arabic Dialect w/ English Subtitles

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AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS

AFRO-BRAZILIAN LEADERS

Regular price $395.00
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Revealing films about two very important Afro-Brazilian figures:

* Abdias do Nascimento (March 14, 1914 - May 23, 2011) was an outspoken and vibrant defender of Afro-Brazilian civil rights.
* Natalino Jose do Nacimento, better known as Natal Da Portela (July 31, 1905- April 5, 1975) was one of the founders and major sponsor of the Portela Samba School in Rio de Janeiro, champion of the 2017 Carnival parade.

ABDIAS DO NASCIMENTO

Loving and revealing documentary about Afro-Brazilian scholar/writer/activist /politician Abdias do Nascimento (1914-2011), a significant figure in and leader of Brazil’s Black movement who founded the Black Experimental Theater in 1944 and was very active in the international Pan-African Movement.
Directed by Aida Marques, 2011, 95 min, Brazil, Documentary, Portuguese with English subtitles.

NATAL DA PORTELA

The name ‘Natal da Portela’ is historically attached to the cultural identity of Brazil. Natal da Portela created the first escola de samba in Rio de Janeiro. The schools of samba are the soul of carnival in Brazil and major reservoirs of Afro-Brazilian culture. The film depicts the life of Natal da Portela as a young man from the favelas--the slums of the northern part of Rio de Janeiro--up to the creation of “la Portela”, the school of samba he created.

Directed by Paulo Cezar Saraceni, 1988, 100min, Brazil, Drama, Portuguese with English subtitles.

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AFRO-CUBA: YESTERDAY & TODAY

AFRO-CUBA: YESTERDAY & TODAY

Regular price $295.00
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Two exciting, colorful films spotlight the African roots of Cuba's culture by focusing on two legendary artists -- Rumbero Papa Montero and Filmmaker Sara Gomez -- in this unique box set.

THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO / LA ULTIMA RUMBA DE PAPA MONTERO

Get ready to rumba! The life of Cuba s last great rumbero is detailed in THE LAST RUMBA OF PAPA MONTERO, a bold story that captures Cuban traditions and culture through beautiful imagery, sensual music, and the most scorching Latin dance ever invented. Afro-Cuban mythology serves as the force behind the narrative as mythic figures guide the characters through the events of the story.

| Cuba/Martinique | 1992 | 52 mins | docu-drama in Spanish with English subtitles | Octavio Cortazar, Dir. |

“Montero is a celebration of rumba as heart and soul for a colorful Cuban landscape." - SLANT

 

SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER

Acclaimed filmmaker Sara Gomez comes to life in the rich, multilayered documentary SARA GOMEZ: AN AFRO-CUBAN FILMMAKER. Though trained in ethnography, Gomez became the first female Cuban filmmaker. Her background shaped her films, which reflect her interests in Afro-Cuban cultural traditions and women s issues. Friends and family members recall her talent, intelligence, and generosity. Ultimately SARA GOMEZ is a love story between Sara and her husband (filmmaker Germinal Hernandez), Sara and her family, and Sara and her culture.

| Cuba/Switzerland | 2005 | 76 min | documentary in Spanish with English subtitles | Alessandra Muller, Dir. |

"[SARA GOMEZ] is an extremely important documentary.... " - Kwame Dixon, SCOPE

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AFRO-LATINO EXPERIENCE: ECUADOR & PERU

AFRO-LATINO EXPERIENCE: ECUADOR & PERU

Regular price $395.00
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THE ESMERALDAS BEACH 

In today’s Ecuador, the black population, the descendants of enslaved Africans, continue to experience strong racial and social discrimination. Yet people in the community still strive to value their specific culture and transmit the rebellious memory of their ancestors who fought for freedom. The Es­meraldas Beach sets out to expose the invisibility of Afro-Ecuadorians and rectify the narrative of the country’s history with the film’s central protagonist, Juan García, who has worked on that project for years. He developed a school book that presents black Ecuadorians prominently since the only Afro-descendants shown in local school books are portrayed next to a marimba and football.  The documentary also addresses the 1999 assassination of Prime Minister Jaime Hurtado, the first Black to hold this office.

Directed by Patrice Raynal, 2020, France/Ecuador, 58 minutes, documentary, French and Spanish with English subtitles.

 

SUSANA BACA: MEMORIA VIVA

Susana Baca is not only a champion in the performance and preservation of Afro-Peruvian heritage, but also an elegant singer whose shimmering voice sings of love, loss and life. Susana and her husband Ricardo Pereira have founded the Instituto Negrocontinuo “Black Continuum” in Lima, a spirited facility for the exploration, expression, and creation of Black Peruvian culture. While Baca has dedicated herself to researching and performing virtually all forms of Afro-Peruvian folklore, it is the Lando that has become her trademark. This slow to mid-tempo, highly evocative mix of Spanish, Indigenous and African rhythms has become what the son is to Cuba, or the samba to Brazil--the Lando is the sound of Black Peru.

Directed by Marc Dixon, 2003, Peru/Belgium, 54 minutes, documentary, English & Spanish with English subtitles.

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BLACK & LATINO

BLACK & LATINO

Regular price $345.00
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Two films that  explore the Black & Latino experience.

Set in the USA, INVISIBLE COLOR: AFRO-CUBANS IN MIAMI is a documentary about the history and  living experience of Afro-Cubans in Miami.



MESTIZO is a drama set in 1940 Venezuela about the conflicted identity of José Vargas, the  illegitimate son of a white colonial administrator and a poor black  fisher-woman.

INVISIBLE COLOR:  AFRO-CUBANS IN MIAMI

This latest documentary by the Dean of Afro-Cuban Cinema, Sergio Giral, investigates the black Cuban exile community in South Florida, since the first wave of political refugees in the 1959 revolutionary aftermath, to today. It tracks its presence throughout the region, and highlights its contribution to Miami’s civic culture through testimonies and visual documentation.

Directed by Sergio Giral / 2017 / USA / Cuba / English and Spanish with English subtitles / 47 min.

MESTIZO

The action takes place in a village on the Venezuelan coast, a place of fishermen and big haciendas. Jose Ramon, son of a white aristocrat and a humble black fisher-women, is trying to  define his own identity while dealing with social and sexual conflicts, power, culture, the law, and the impossible relationship he has with both his parents.

Directed by Mario Handler / 1989 / Venezuela / Spanish with English  subtitles / 82 Min.

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BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS
BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS

BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA & THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS

Regular price $395.00
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Two films that explore the life of black people in Latin America.  BLACK MEXICAN / LA NEGRADA is the first Mexican feature film about the Afro-Mexican community, THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS is a documentary about Afro-Chilean struggle to organize the first African census in the history of Chile.

 

BLACK MEXICANS / LA NEGRADA

Black Mexicans Trailer Eng Sub - ArtMattan Films from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

DIRECTED BY JORGE PEREZ SOLANO
MEXICO/ 2018/ 104 MIN / DRAMA  IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH


SYNOPSIS

 

Black Mexicans (La Negrada) is the first Mexican feature film about the Afro-Mexican community, filmed entirely with people from different towns around the Costa Chica in Oaxaca.

Neri, a fisherman, splits his time between two women: his wife Juanita with whom he has a daughter and his lover Magdalena, mother of three additional children. Things are about to change for Neri as Juanita falls gravely ill and Magdalena prepares to take her place.

Shot entirely in the beautiful beaches of Corralera in Oaxaca and featuring a cast of non-professional actors from the nearby communities, Black Mexicans explores the social mores of and the discrimination faced by Mexico’s little known black community.


THE VALLEY OF THE BLACK DESCENDANTS / EL VALLE DE LOS NEGROS

 

In the Azapa Valley (Chile), an oasis in the driest desert in the world, a group of descendants of enslaved men and women brought from Africa are organizing the first African census in the history of Chile. Their aim is to get official recognition from the State that has concealed their culture and African identity for more than 200 years.

Directed by  Ric.hard Salgado, Chile, 2017, 52 min, documentary, Spanish with English subtitle.

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BLACK WOMEN SPEAK OUT!

BLACK WOMEN SPEAK OUT!

Regular price $295.00
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Revealing films that give a voice to black women in the developing world:
Sexy Money is a wrenching testimony of the challenges faced by two women in Nigeria struggling to navigate a corrupt and ruthless capitalist and sexist environment.
* Looking for Life follows two Haitian women's daily work and the constant battle for survival that they lead together with other women in Haiti.

SEXY MONEY

SEXY MONEY presents a subtle indictment of the social reality of poor women in contemporary Nigeria.

A reflection of the difficult social conditions of women in many societies in different parts of the world, SEXY MONEY explores frontally with much sensitivity and compassion the broken hopes and hard choices of poor Nigerian women as they struggle to reintegrate Nigerian society with dignity after being expelled from Europe where they were looking for a better life.
Directed by Karin Junger, 2014, 85 min, Nigeria/ Netherlands, documentary, English.

LOOKING FOR LIFE

LOOKING FOR LIFE introduces the viewer to two women, Anne-Rose and Rosemene, who each one has their own particular way of battling through life. The former makes lunches in a  factory yard in Port-au-Prince and sells her meals to the factory workers on credit; the latter is employed in the same factory as a production worker making pullovers and T-shirts.
By Claudette Coulanges, 1999, Haiti/Germany, Documentary, 60min, Haitian Creole w/ English subtitles.

 

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BLACKS IN EUROPE

BLACKS IN EUROPE

Regular price $445.00
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Two documentaries that explore the life of black people in Europe. GURUMBÉ: AFRO-ANDALUSIAN MEMORIES is a documentary that explores the contribution of Africans to Spain from the 15th to the 18th  centuries.THE BLACK MOZART IN CUBA celebrates the The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a remarkable man who lived in France in the 18th century.

GURUMBE

Flamenco is synonymous with Spanish culture. Yet, since its inception, theorists have sidelined the fundamental contribution of Afro-Andalusians to this art form. As the black population began to diminish in Spain in the late 19th century, so too did their contribution to this extraordinary art form. In Gurumbé: Afro-Andalusian Memories, their story is finally told.
Directed by M. Angel Rosales, 2016, Spain/Mexico/Portugal/Senegal, documentary, 72min, Spanish and Portuguese w/ English subtitles.

 

 

BLACKS MOZART IN CUBA

Joseph Boulogne, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799), became one of the most remarkable figures of the 18th century. He influenced the music and political life of his time. He was a genius composer and conductor, a virtuoso violinist, the best fencer in Europe, as well as the first black general in the French army.

Directed by Steve James, Stephanie James, 2008, 52 min, Guadeloupe, Documentary, English, French, Spanish with English subtitles.

 

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COLORS OF CURACAO

COLORS OF CURACAO

Regular price $295.00
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This two-DVD set featuring classic film "Ava & Gabriel: A Love Story" and contemporary drama "Papa's Song" serves as a window into the charming world of Curacao, part of the Dutch-owned Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.

 

AVA & GABRIEL

Writer Norman DePalm offers two romantic dramas that bring to light the culture and character of the island. Set in Curacao in the 1940s, "Ava & Gabriel: A Love Story" (Felix de Rooy, 1990, 100 mins.) tells of the painter Gabriel Goedbloed, who arrives from Holland to paint a mural of the Virgin Mary in St. Anna's Church. Although Gabriel is there at the request of St. Anna's parish priest, the clergy and local citizens are surprised to find that he is black--originally from Surinam. The colonial Antillian society proves less than tolerant towards the visitor, especially after he chooses as his model a young teacher, Ava, who is engaged to a white police official. When the Dutch Governor's wife also becomes interested in Gabriel, tensions and hypocrisies rise within the community.

Directed by Felix de Rooy, Netherelands/France, 1990, Drama, Dutch and Papiamento with English subtitles

 

PAPA'S SONG

Addressing the complex and difficult state of race relations in the Netherlands, "Papa's Song" (Sander Francken, 1999, 95 mins.) is "an interesting drama of domestic tension and cross-cultural misunderstanding" (The New York Times).

The peaceful life of a Dutch magistrate, his wife from Curacao, and her two young nephews, turns suddenly volatile when the wife's sister arrives on the scene. The sisters' stormy relationship is complicated when the wife, unable to have children, tries to convince her husband to impregnate her sister.

In Dutch and Papiamento with English subtitles. Directed by Felix de Rooy/Sander Francken---Netherlands/Curacao---1990/1999---195 mins.

 

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CONGO: WHITE KING, RED RUBBER, BLACK DEATH + BOMA TERVUREN, THE JOURNEY

CONGO: WHITE KING, RED RUBBER, BLACK DEATH + BOMA TERVUREN, THE JOURNEY

Regular price $245.00
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CONGO: WHITE KING, RED RUBBER, BLACK DEATH

DIRECTED BY PETER BATE 
CONGO AND BELGIUM / 2003 / ENGLISH / 90 MIN
SYNOPSIS

This true, astonishing story of what King Leopold II did in the Congo was forgotten for over 50 years. “ Congo:White King, Red Rubber, Black Death” describes how King Leopold II of Belgium turned Congo into its private colony between 1885 and 1908. Under his control, Congo became a gulag labor camp of shocking brutality. Leopold posed as the protector of Africans fleeing Arab slave-traders but, in reality, he carved out an empire based on terror to harvest rubber. Families were held as hostages, starving to death if the men failed to produce enough wild rubber. Children's hands were chopped off as punishment for late deliveries. The Belgian government has denounced this documentary as a "tendentious diatribe" for depicting King Leopold II as the moral forebear of Adolf Hitler, responsible for the death of 10 million people in his rapacious exploitation of the Congo. Yet, it is agreed today that the first Human Rights movement was spurred by what happened in the Congo.

"(a) stunning indictment of Belgium's brutal colonization of the Congo in the late 19th century. "~VARIETY

"Evokes the ignorance of a country that would rather look up to its ugly past than down." ~ SLANT MAGAZINE

"A journey into the original “Heart of Darkness”."~ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Peter Bate
Starring: Roger May
Starring: Nicholas Fraser 
Starring: Steve Driesen 
 

GENRES

  • Documentary
  • Bonus Documentary with DVD: BOMA TERVUREN, THE JOURNEY 

BOMA TERVUREN, THE JOURNEY

DIRECTED BY FRANCIS DUJARDIN
BELGIUM / 1999 / FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES / 54 MIN

SYNOPSIS

The extraordinary and tragic saga of 267 Congolese, brought to Brussels for the 1897 World's Fair. After some four months of travel towards Belgium, they are exhibited before a million visitors. Subjected to the crushing gaze of the "Whites" and the cold climate, many fell prey to disease and even some lost their lives. The dead were hastily dispatched in a common grave, sparking a fierce debate in Belgian society. The project was overblown, but necessary in the eyes of the first colonizers, who presumed to have tamed the far-flung savages. One hundred years later, Congolese compatriots return to the scene of these events and question the "Whites" of today on the incredible story of that "human zoo". They carry out the ritual of "a return to the earth" by way of reparation for too great a hurt… A film that revisits a century of stereotyped conceptions about the Africans. And running through it, the almost aching question: "How is today different?"

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Frances Dujardin
 

GENRES

  • Documentary

 
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Great African Films Volume 5

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS - Vol 5 The fifth installment in this series of award-winning films from Africa includes award winning films A Son (Un Fils) by Mehdi Barsaoui andWulu by Daouda Coulibaly.

A SON (Un Fils) / Bik Eneich 

An intense family drama starring French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila, winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor, Venice Film Festival 2019 and winner of the César Awards, France for Best Actor in 2021.  

11 year old Aziz needs a liver transplant after being seriously injured during a terrorist ambush while on holiday in 2011. At the hospital, a family secret will be revealed.

A drama that expertly captures complex human emotions within their socio-cultural, historical and political context. ~ Hollywood Reporter

Directed By Mehdi Barsaoui / Tunisia/ 2019/ Drama/ Arabic With English Subtitles/ 96 Min

 

WÙLU

Shot for a good deal of the time using hand-held cameras, WÙLU is an African thriller that has an urgency and a vibrancy most Western made films lack.

Ladji, (a beautifully understated Ibrahim Koma), is the young man who, after losing his job on the cross-border taxis, takes up smuggling cocaine with lucrative if highly dangerous results.

A social commentary about the impact of corruption on intelligent, hard working African youths looking to improve their standard of living at home.

Official Selection TIFF 2016.  Winner Ousmane-Sembene Prize and Best Actor Award for Ibrhim Koma at FESPACO 2017.

Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, 2016, France/Mali, 95min, crime drama, French w/ English subtitles

 

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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 1

GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 1

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS:  VOLUME 1 : Haramuya & Faraw! Mother of the Dunes - Two films are included in the package, making for an entertaining and edifying double feature experience: Drissa Toure’s Haramuya (1995) is a dramatic comedy about several generations of a traditional Muslim family scraping up against various temptations (crime, movies, drugs, music) of modernity in the city of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and Abbdoulaye Ascofare’s Faraw: Mother of the Dunes (1997), from Mali is about a mother of three who struggles to support her family while saving her daughter from becoming the concubine-maid of a French colonialist. 

FARAW! MOTHER OF THE DUNES

Zamiatou is the mother of two quarrelsome boys and a depressed teenage girl. She is also the wife of a man arrested for political reasons who returns from prison mentally and physically destroyed. She struggles hard to survive in a poor and desolate area. She is ready to face anything to keep the family alive except prostituting her beautiful daughter. Her determination will take her far from her family… Detail by detail, this finely lensed first feature salutes the triumph of human ingenuity over terrible odds.


| Mali|1997| 90min | drama in Songhai with English subtitles | Abbdoulaye Ascofare, Dir. |
Best Actress, FESPACO 1997. Cannes 1997 Official Selection, International Critics Week.

“One of the strongest portraits of female determination to come out of Africa in recent years.” ~ VARIETY



HARAMUYA

Ouagadougou, its buildings and shantytowns... Wealth in a modern town and poverty in the suburbs. Through Fousseini — a Muslim firmly attached to his faith, traditions and family, Haramuya draws a picture of Ouagadougou trapped between modernism and traditionalism. Fousseini tries to take care of his family according to the old precepts and the code of honor inherited from his ancestors. One of his sons is a cinema projectionist and supports all the family against the will of his wife. The other son idles around all day long in Ouagadougou, looking for a girlfriend.

| Burkina Faso/France |1995 | 87min |comedy in French with English subtitles |Drissa Toure, Dir. |
Official selection, Cannes 1995 “Un Certain Regard.”

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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2

GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 2

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS, VOLUME 2: Tasuma / Sia, the Dream of the Python -
The second installment in this series of award-winning films from Africa includes Kollo Sanou's Tasuma, the Fighter (2003, 90 minutes, French and Jula with English subtitles), a look at the impact of French colonialism on Africa; Former Senegalese tirailleurs, Burkinabe soldier Sogo Sanou waits patiently for his pension, which he plans to use to build a grain mill for the women of his village; Inspired by the seventh-century myth of the Wagadu people of Western Africa is Dani Kouyate's Sia, the Dream of the Python (2001, 96 minutes, Bambara with English subtitles): To bring back prosperity to his village, a King decides to make a human sacrifice to the mystical snake god; Sia, the most beautiful woman in the village, is chosen for the ritual, but she runs away in revolt. - 186 minutes.

 

TASUMA, THE FIGHTER

Sogo Sanou, a.k.a. Tasuma, is a former French soldier, a part of the African troops better known as “tiralleurs senegalais” who fought in the French wars in Europe and its colonial territories. He was a soldier in the wars of Indochina and Algeria. Although an honored veteran, Tasuma spends decades painfully waiting for his small pension, an amount that in his native Burkina Faso represents a fortune, even though it will equal only a small fraction of the amount paid to his French counterparts.

In a scene that takes us back to another African classic, The Money Order by Ousmane Sembene, Tasuma impulsively buys a treadmill for the women in his village with the money represented by his future pension payment, although he doesn’t know exactly when it will come through.

The money does not arrive, and our hero is in trouble and out of patience. With his old rifle he walks into the pension plan administrator’s office and demands his money. He ends up in jail, and it is up to the women from the village to come down to the city to free Tasuma. Tasuma the Fighter, is a portrait of a bureaucratic adventure that, even 60 years after World War II and 44 years after the independence movement in Africa, is not yet resolved.

As Kollo Daniel Sanou, the director of Tasuma, points out: “The story of Tasuma is also the narration of a historic mismatch, that of the particular status of those former combatants of the African troupes in the French Army.”

|Burkina Faso|2003| 90min | comedy in French/Moore with English subtitles | Daniel Kollo Sanou, Dir. |
Winner Bronze Yennenga Stallion, FESPACO 2005

"Tasuma camouflages its razor-sharp indignation with warmth and disarming grace" ~ VILLAGE VOICE

"Director and writer Kollo Daniel Sanou is in a becalmed, idyllic state of mind, as he leans back and lets this mildly satiric parable unfold." ~ THE NEW YORK TIMES


SIA: THE DREAM OF THE PYTHON

Kombi is a poverty-stricken city dominated by a tyrant king. In order to bring back prosperity, the king is advised by his priests to make the traditional human sacrifice of a young virgin to a mystical snake god. Sia, the most beautiful young woman of the village, has been designated. Lieutenant Mamadi, her fiancé, rebels against the decision to perform this ritual, and the village becomes divided. Struggles and revelations follow as the characters confront issues of honor, corruption and power.

| Burkina Faso/France |2001 | 96min |Epic Drama in Bambara with English subtitles |Dani Kouyaté, Dir. |
Winner “Special Prize of the Jury” FESPACO 2001 - Official Selection Cannes 2001.


“A delightful, pointed fable of religious and political extremism that's extra-relevant at present” ~ Dennis Harvey - VARIETY

 

"Delivers a powerful commentary on how governments lie, no matter who runs them" NEW YORK POST

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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3

GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 3

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS, VOLUME 3: Daratt (Dry Season) & The Desert Ark - The third installment in this series of award-winning films from Africa includes Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Dry Season (2006, 95 minutes, French and Arabic with English subtitles), a subtle and often surprising film from Chad about the relationship between a young man and his father’s killer set at the end of the country’s civil war when the government has granted amnesty to war criminals - and Mohamed Chouikh's The Desert Ark (1997, 90 minutes, Arabic with English subtitles), Two teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love, their forbidden relationship pitting family against family - 185 minutes.

DARATT (DRY SEASON)

Chad, 2006. The government has granted amnesty to all war criminals. Atim, 16 years old, is given a revolver by his grandfather so that he may kill the man who killed his father. Atim leaves his village for N’djamena, seeking a man he does not know. He quickly locates him: former war criminal Nassara is now married and settled down as the owner of a small bakery. With the firm intention of killing him, Atim gets closer to Nassara under the guise of looking for work, and is hired as an apprentice baker. Intrigued by Atim's attitude toward him, Nassara takes him under his wing and teaches him the secrets of making bread. Over the weeks, a strange relationship evolves between the two. Despite his disgust, Atim seems to recognise in Nassara the father figure he has always needed, while Nassara sees the teenager as a potential son. One day, he suggests adoption.

| Chad | 2006 | 95min | drama in French and Arabic with English subtitles | Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Dir. |

Winner "Special Jury Prize" Venice Film Festival 2006
Winner Bronze Yennenga Stallion, FESPACO 2007

“Haroun is an uncommonly precise filmmaker who guides Daratt to an unusually satisfying ending.” - TIME OUT NEW YORK


THE DESERT ARK

Romeo and Juliet in the Algerian desert. Amin and Myriam are secretly in love. Their families are rivals and when their relationship is discovered, conflict is inevitable. From inside the cave where they have taken refuge, the two young people hear the cries of a senseless murderous raid. A universal metaphor to denounce the horror of all extremist violence, The Desert Ark is a splendid and terrifying visualization of contemporary reality..

| Algeria | 1997 | 90min |Epic Drama in Arabic with English subtitles | Mohamed Chouikh, Dir. |
Winner “Best Cinematography" Special Jury Prize FESPACO 1999.

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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4
GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4

GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 4 The fourth installment in this series of award-winning films from Africa includes Moussa Toure's impressive "The Pirogue" and Khady Sylla's incisive docs "Colobane Express" and "The Silent Monologue."

 

THE PIROGUE / LA PIROGUE



Director: Moussa Toure
From: Senegal / France / Germany
Year: 2012
Minutes: 87mins
Language : French and Wolof with English Subtitles
Genre: Drama

In Moussa Toure's powerful epic fiction film, a group of 30 men and a woman sail to Europe in a pirogue, facing the sea - and the possibility of never reaching their destination - in exchange for the myth of a better life in Europe.

"Senegal, a West African nation on the Atlantic Ocean, was home to Africa's greatest movie-maker, Ousmane Sembene. Today, Moussa Toure follows in the master's footsteps with this drama of 30 men (and one woman, a stowaway) who set out on an illegal 7-day voyage to Spain - making the perilous trip in a pirogue - a boat resembling a vastly oversized dinghy. While sharing a common desire to build a better future, these men hail from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. The story grows from a finely delineated mosaic of personalities - reactions to the journey's mounting danger - that span the emotional panoply of human experience. Toure's compelling tale says as much about the universal nature of courage and perfidy as it does about the economic realities faced by so many of the world's people. THE PIROGUE was featured in Cannes 2012, in the Un Certain Regard section." ~ Film Forum.

* Festival international du Film de Cannes, Un Certain Regard, 2012
* Tanit d'or award, Carthage Film Festival, 2012
* Award for best direction, people's choice award, Angouleme, 2012
* Prix Lumieres award for best French-language film, Locarno International Film Festival

WATCH THE PIROGUE ON VOD HERE

COLOBANE EXPRESS

Director: Khady Sylla
From: Senegal/France
Year: 1999
Minutes: 52
Language: Wolof with English subtitles
Genre: Docu-Drama

 

Public vans provide the traditional and sole means of city transportation in Dakar, Senegal. In a frenzy of activity, from the outskirts to downtown, people from all walks of life as well as fruits, vegetables, chickens, etc. are transported daily in these public vans. Colobane Express opens a window on a slice of life in the busy urban metropolis where drivers and their trainees are always on the go, managing relationships, incidents and conflicts, dealing with the competition and providing an invaluable service to demanding yet loving customers.

THE SILENT MONOLOGUE / LE MONOLOGUE DE LA MUETTE
Director: Khady Sylla and Charlie Van Damme
From: Senegal / Belgium
Year: 2008 Minutes:48mins
Language : French and Wolof with English subtitles
Genre: Docu-drama

In a voice-over, we hear the thoughts of Amy, a girl from a rural area of Senegal who works as a domestic for a well-to-do family in Dakar. She complains about her employer, who continuously criticizes her and gets on her case, and she talks about her dream of one day opening her own eatery. Meanwhile, we see her sweep the pavement, prepare the food and clean the house. The contrast with her vast and barren native region is enormous. In Dakar, some 150,000 young women work as housekeepers for families whose daughters can go to school. "Why does the emancipation of some result in the servitude of others?" Amy wonders. The filmmakers interview other young maids who dream of going to school, and they film a woman who shouts her furious lyrics straight into the camera in rapper-like fashion: "I keep your houses squeaky clean, but you all think I'm dirty!" In a dramatized scene in a slum, the women demonstrate how they'd like to deal with a woman who doesn't pay her housekeeper enough. In response to the situation, the filmmakers make an appeal to change the rules of the world economy.

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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 5

GREAT AFRICAN FILMS: VOLUME 5

Regular price $395.00
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GREAT AFRICAN FILMS - Vol 5 The fifth installment in this series of award-winning films from Africa includes award winning films A Son (Un Fils) by Mehdi Barsaoui and Wulu by Daouda Coulibaly.

A SON (Un Fils) / Bik Eneich 

An intense family drama starring French-Tunisian actor Sami Bouajila, winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor, Venice Film Festival 2019 and winner of the César Awards, France for Best Actor in 2021.  

11 year old Aziz needs a liver transplant after being seriously injured during a terrorist ambush while on holiday in 2011. At the hospital, a family secret will be revealed.

A drama that expertly captures complex human emotions within their socio-cultural, historical and political context. ~ Hollywood Reporter

Directed By Mehdi Barsaoui / Tunisia/ 2019/ Drama/ Arabic With English Subtitles/ 96 Min


WÙLU

Shot for a good deal of the time using hand-held cameras, WÙLU is an African thriller that has an urgency and a vibrancy most Western made films lack.

Ladji, (a beautifully understated Ibrahim Koma), is the young man who, after losing his job on the cross-border taxis, takes up smuggling cocaine with lucrative if highly dangerous results.

A social commentary about the impact of corruption on intelligent, hard working African youths looking to improve their standard of living at home.

Official Selection TIFF 2016.  Winner Ousmane-Sembene Prize and Best Actor Award for Ibrhim Koma at FESPACO 2017.

Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, 2016, France/Mali, 95min, crime drama, French w/ English subtitles

 

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KING BEHIND THE CAMERA

KING BEHIND THE CAMERA

Regular price $295.00
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KING AMPAW is a Germany trained Ghanaian filmmaker whose work has gained international recognition. Kukurantumi, The Road to Accra, winner Film Critics Award, FESPACO 1985, is one of two feature films - with No Time to Die - in this double set DVD "A KING BEHIND THE CAMERA" that offers a good-humored depiction of life in modern Ghana.

 

KUKURANTUMI: THE ROAD TO ACCRA 

DIRECTED BY KING AMPAW 
GHANA / 1983 / ENGLISH / 95 MIN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFPNW_2tZuE

SYNOPSIS

In this revealing African comedy-drama that contrasts the hectic life in Accra, the capital of Ghana, with the relative peace of Kukurantumi, a rural town, a truck driver makes runs between the two locations with few problems until he is forced to replace his truck. In order to raise the money to get a new vehicle, he sells some stolen watches and promises his daughter in marriage to a rich merchant. Rebelling against this fate, the daughter runs off to Accra with her boyfriend -- but then nothing turns out quite like she had planned, and the rich merchant looks better with each passing day.

 

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: King Ampaw
Starring: Evans Oma
Starring: Amy Appiah
Starring: David Dontoh
 

GENRES

  • Drama and Comedy

NO TIME TO DIE 

DIRECTED BY KING AMPAW
GHANA AND WEST GERMANY / 2006 / ENGLISH / 95 MIN


SYNOPSIS

Death and funeral traditions play a significant role in African culture. No Time to Die is director King Ampaw’s contribution to passing the tradition onto the next generation.

A hearse driver meets and falls in love with a young, beautiful dancer who is planning an elaborate homegoing celebration for her mother. This love and comedy feature length film follows David as he does everything to win her affection.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Nick Hughes
Starring: Fritz Baffour
Starring: Kofi Bucknor
Starring: Agnes Dapaa
 

GENRES

  • Drama and Romantic Comedy 
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MAMA AFRICA: MIRIAM MAKEBA + ACES

MAMA AFRICA: MIRIAM MAKEBA + ACES

Regular price $395.00
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MAMA AFRICA: MIRIAM MAKEBA

DIRECTED BY MIKA KAURISMÄKI
SOUTH AFRICA AND GERMANY / 2011 / ENGLISH / 90 MIN


SYNOPSIS

Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba focuses on the life and influence of the South African singer and civil rights activist, Miriam Makeba. The film's segment concerning her time in the USA is particularly significant, as it showcases her impact on the Civil Rights Movement and her artistic collaborations in the country.

During her time in the United States, Makeba's music and activism became deeply intertwined with the African-American experience. Her marriage to Stokely Carmichael, a prominent figure in the Black Panther Party, marked a crucial period where her artistry and advocacy for African rights gained prominence, but also led to controversy and eventual exile from the USA. The documentary explores how Makeba used her voice not only to enchant American audiences with her music but also to raise awareness about the struggles against apartheid in South Africa, making her a vital cultural and political link between Africa and the African-American community.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Starring: Hugh Masekela
Starring: Angélique Kidjo
Starring: Harry Belafonte
 

GENRES

  • Documentary

 

BONUS FILM

ACES

DIRECTED BY NTANDAZO "DIDI" GCINGCA 
SOUTH AFRICA / 1999 / ENGLISH / 17 MIN


SYNOPSIS

Aces is the story of a young man who fights against the battering of his mother by his drunken father. The situation escalates until Ace desperately stabs his father to death, and is sent to jail for a period of 15 years. Nine years later he is out on parole. He kills again within a day's time of his release.

DIRECTOR AND CAST

Director: Ntandazo "Didi" Gcingca 
GENRE
  • Short Drama


 

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MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS & MARY LOU WILLIAMS, THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS & MARY LOU WILLIAMS, THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

Regular price $395.00
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Experience the essence of jazz and blues in two captivating documentaries! Music Pictures: New Orleans by Ben Chace features legends like Irma Thomas and Ellis Marsalis, while Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band by Carol Bash delves into the life of the groundbreaking Mary Lou Williams.

Music Pictures: New Orlean Trailer Art from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MUSIC PICTURES: NEW ORLEANS

Music Pictures: New Orleans gives us legacy portraits and a rare backstage access into the lives and craft of four New Orleans music legends: Grammy-winning vocalist known as “The Soul Queen of New Orleans” Irma ThomasLittle Freddie King, one of the last original bluesmen who at the age of 81 still performs live; the world renowned Tremé Brass Band, a fixture in the New Orleans jazz community; and Ellis Marsalis - father of internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader Wynton Marsalis - the patriarch of the famed jazz family who helped found the modern jazz scene in the 1950s. 

Directed by Ben Chace, 2022, USA, 72 Min, Documentary, English

MARY LOU WILLIAMS TRAILER from ArtMattan Productions on Vimeo.

MARY LOU WILLIAMS: THE LADY WHO SWINGS THE BAND

She was ahead of her time, a genius. During an era when Jazz was the nation's popular music, Mary Lou Williams was one of its greatest innovators. As both a pianist and composer, she was a font of daring and creativity who helped shape the sound of 20th century America. And like the dynamic, turbulent nation in which she lived, Williams seemed to redefine herself with every passing decade.

Directed by Carol Bash, 2015, USA, 70 min, Documentary, English

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