Opening Night
DAYS OF GLORY/INDIGÈNES
(Algeria/Morocco/France/Belgium, 2006, 120 min.), directed by Rachid Bouchareb.
The festival opens with the highly acclaimed World War II drama Days of Glory/Indigènes, winner of the Best Actor prize (for ensemble acting) at Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and Oscar nominee for best foreign language film in 2007. This extraordinary film tells the story of the more than one hundred thousand “indigenous soldiers” who fought for France against the Nazis, whom the history books have largely forgotten. The film focuses on a small group of soldiers from Algeria and other French colonies in North Africa who choose to fight for the French, each for his own reason. The film follows them over the course of a year through Italy and across France into Alsace, where they find themselves alone fighting to save a village against German assault. Days of Glory created a firestorm in France by highlighting the struggle of “non-French” veterans of World War II to receive their pensions from the government. In French and Arabic with English subtitles. Rated R for combat violence and some profanity.
Friday, February 1, 7:00 p.m., Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
Tribute to Ousmane Sembène, the “Father of African Cinema,” 1923 – 2007
BOROM SARRET
(Senegal, 1963, 19 min.), directed by Ousmane Sembène.
BLACK GIRL/LA NOIRE DE…
(Senegal, 1966, 65 min.), directed by Ousmane Sembène.
The festival is honored to pay tribute to Ousmane Sembène, the great director who died earlier this year. The festival began in 1991 with a film by Sembène, and over the years we have shown nearly all of his films. Two of his films that have never been shown at the festival are the films Borom Sarret and Black Girl. Borom Sarret, Sembène’s first film, is a classic of Third World Neorealist filmmaking. It follows a cart driver through the streets of Dakar as he picks up fares and struggles with a system that is stacked against him. This beautiful short film immediately propelled Sembène to the forefront of Third World filmmaking. Black Girl, Sembène’s first feature film, is a story of dreams and dashed hopes in the realm of neocolonialism. Diouana, a young woman who works for a French couple in Senegal, is given the opportunity to experience life in Europe when the couple repatriates to the south of France. Yet her experience in the not-so-ideal world of Europe turns out to be very different from what she had expected. This classic story of emigration and alienation is among Sembène’s most powerful, painful, and influential.
Saturday, February 2, 2:00 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Tribute to Ousmane Sembène, the “Father of African Cinema,” 1923 – 2007
GUELWAAR
(Senegal, 1992, 115 min.), directed by Ousmane Sembène.
Controversy erupts when the body of Pierre Henri Thioune, also known as Guelwaar, a political activist, disappears from the morgue just before his funeral. It turns up in a Muslim cemetery, though Guelwaar was a Catholic. The two communities, Muslim and Catholic, find themselves at an impasse. As they seek resolution, we come to learn more about the man known as Guelwaar, and what he represents. Sembène manages to combine social critique with biting humor and his usual deep sense of humanity in one of his most popular films, more relevant now than ever. In Wolof with English subtitles.
Saturday, February 2, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
BAMAKO
(Mali/USA/France, 2006, 115 min.) directed by Abderrahmane Sissako.
By the director of Life on Earth and Waiting for Happiness, two of the most highly-acclaimed films from Africa in the last decade, Bamako is a daring blend of global politics and the subtle interplay of everyday life, of social satire and poetry, despair and crazy humor. In the open-air courtyard of a working-class neighborhood in Bamako, the capital city of one of Africa’s poorest countries, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are on trial. Do they help Africa or do they further its poverty and stagnation? Against the backdrop of the fiery speeches and the often profound arguments, daily life in this neighborhood continually intrudes, adding layers to our understanding and delight. In Bambara and French with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 7, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, February 8, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Interview with Director Sissako
Mali Country Sheet
DARATT/DRY SEASON
(Chad, 2006, 95 min.) directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.
In the aftermath of Chad's bloody 40-year civil war and the wake of the amnesty granted to war criminals, Atim is sent by his blind grandfather out of his desert village to N’djamena, the capital city, to take revenge on his father's killer. Revenge is as hard as forgiveness in this searing film. In French and Chadian Arabic with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 7, 2:00 p.m., and Saturday, February 9, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Trailer for Daratt
Interview with Director Mahamet-Saleh Haroun
Chad Country Sheet
Thursday Evening Documentary Series with Film Director Jean-Marie Teno
COLONIAL MISUNDERSTANDING/LE MALENTENDU COLONIAL
(Cameroon, 2004, 73 min.) directed by Jean-Marie Teno.
ALEX’S WEDDING
(Cameroon, 2003, 45 min.) directed by Jean-Marie Teno.
Colonial Misunderstanding is a journey through history that brings to light the complex and problematic relationship between colonialism and missionary activity on the African continent. The film scrutinizes in particular the role of German missionaries in Namibia on the centenary of the 1904 genocide of the Herrero people in which more than three million Herrero people were murdered by the Germans, while missionaries helped to destroy African beliefs and social systems and replace them with European ones. The film looks to the past as a way of understanding (and finding solutions for) today’s neocolonial equivalents: rapacious globalization and Western “humanitarianism.” In French, German and English with English subtitles. In Alex’s Wedding, Alex is getting married to his second wife, young Josephine. He is still married to Elise, his first wife of 18 years with whom he has six children. This extraordinary chronicle of a polygamous marriage ceremony captures both its rituals and celebration - and the profound, unspoken subtext of those involved. In Bamileke and French with English subtitles. Jean-Marie Teno, one of Africa’s premiere documentary filmmakers, will be present to introduce and discuss his films.
Thursday, February 7, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Interview with Jean-Marie Teno
StudentFest Matinee
THE WOODEN CAMERA
(South Africa, 2003, 90 min.) directed by Ntshavheni wa Luruli.
The film takes place in Cape Town and the nearby township Khayelitsha in post-apartheid South Africa. A body is tossed off a train, forever changing the lives of two 13-year-old boys who discover the corpse’s worldly possessions – a video camera and a gun. Sipho takes the gun and Madiba the camera, which he covers with wood to disguise it. Their destinies are sealed. Special thanks to TLA Releasing and Fortissimo Films for granting permission to screen the film on DVD without charge.
Thursday, February 14, 12:00 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Catalogue Notes for THE WOODEN CAMERA
StudentFest Matinee
MASAÏ: THE RAIN WARRIORS
(Kenya/France, 2005, 94 min.) directed by Pascal Plisson.
Faced with the drought that endangers the continuity of their people, Masaï elders are convinced that they have been cursed by the Red God, the God of Vengeance. Following the death of the war chief, a group of adolescents must now cross over to adulthood to form a new generation of inexperienced but brave warriors. Their mission is to bring back the mane of a legendary lion to appease the wrath of the Red God and bring back the rains. Masaï is the first film to be solely populated by Masaï and spoken entirely in their native tongue. In Maa with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 14, 1:30 p.m., and Saturday, February 16, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Thursday Evening Documentary Series – Focus on Sierra Leone
THE LION MOUNTAINS: A JOURNEY THROUGH SIERRA LEONE’S HISTORY
(Sierra Leone/UK, 2006, 54 min.) directed by Louis Buckley.
MOVING TO THE BEAT
(Sierra Leone/USA, 2007, 52 min.) directed by Caleb Heymann and Abdul Fofanah.
The Lion Mountains documents the journey to Sierra Leone undertaken by Louis Buckley, a 25-year-old English man of Jamaican and African descent, who heads to Sierra Leone to discover first hand about the country’s past. With a hip-hop and reggae fused soundtrack, the film includes stunning views of Sierra Leone’s scenery. In Moving to the Beat, an African American hip hop group, Rebel Soulz from Portland, Oregon, journeys to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to discover a spiritual homeland and resurrect Chuck D’s notion of hip hop as the “black CNN.” The language of hip hop allows for a dialogue between Black Americans and Africans to explore issues of race, gender, war, and more, and to confront each side’s stereotype of the other. The result is a deeply forged connection that transcends centuries of misunderstanding and separation. Co-director Abdul Fofanah will introduce and discuss the film. Rebel Soulz and members of the film crew, among them PC Peri, one of the film’s photographers and CFAF Committee member, will also be on hand.
Thursday, February 14, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Excerpts from MOVING TO THE BEAT on YouTube
Centerpiece Film – Focus on Child Combatants in Sierra Leone’s Civil War
EZRA
(Nigeria, 2007, 110 min.) directed by Newton Aduaka.
Ezra tells the story of a former child soldier attempting to find inner peace after the horrors he had witnessed and committed as a combatant in Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war. Ezra is the first film to give an African perspective on this disturbing new phenomenon of child soldiers in the continent’s recent civil wars. At the same time that the film is a complex psychological study of one child soldier, it also points to ways these war-torn societies can reconstruct themselves. Winner of the Grand Prize at FESPACO in Burkina Faso, Africa’s largest and most prestigious film festival, in 2007. In English.
Friday, February 15, 7:00 p.m., Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
PLAN Interview with Newton Aduaka
SudPlanete Interview with Newton Aduaka
Ezra and Blood Diamond - A Comparative Essay by Becky Korman
IndieWire Interview with Newton Aduaka
Family Film Day hosted by Malian artist and storyteller Baba Wagué Diakité
Sponsored by Providence Health System
THE RED GLASSES
(Ghana, 2004, 47 min.) directed by Yinka Djin.
THE LEGEND OF THE SKY KINGDOM
(Zimbabwe, 2003, 78 min.) directed by Roger Hawkins.
The Red Glasses depicts the adventures of a young sister and brother after they find a pair of magic sunglasses which are later stolen by two local bullies, and the life lessons they learn. The Legend of the Sky Kingdom tells a magical tale of a group of children who journey to find the mythical sky kingdom. The film uses a unique stop motion animation technique known as Junkmation to depict the different worlds the film inhabits. While embracing its African origins, The Legend of the Sky Kingdom tells a universal story.
Saturday, February 16, 2:00 p.m., McMenamins Kennedy School Theatre, 5736 N.E. 33rd Avenue.
THE NARROW PATH
(Nigeria, 2007, 93 min.) directed by Tunde Kelani.
Tunde Kelani is one of the leading filmmakers in Nollywood, Nigeria’s vibrant, low-budget independent video film industry. His films are not only smash hits at home and in West African venues, but are also receiving acclaim worldwide. His latest film, The Narrow Path, tells the story of Awerro, a young village woman who chooses between suitors, the clumsy hunter Odejimi and the effete rich man Lapade. She settles on Odejimi. Events unfold to turn her wedding night into a nightmare. In English.
Thursday, February 21, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, February 22, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Interview with Tunde Kulani
BBC Master Class with Tunde Kulani
About Nollywood
Nigeria Country Sheet
KINSHASA PALACE
(Democratic Republic of Congo/France, 2006, 75 min.) directed by Zeka Laplaine.
Kinshasa Palace is an engrossing study of family displacement and the socially corrosive ramifications of the recent African diaspora. The Laplaine family is scattered around Europe and Africa, refugees from the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kaze (Zeka Laplaine) and younger brother Max live in Paris, though recently Max has gone missing and the family is beginning to worry. Somewhere between documentary and fiction, Kinshasa Palace speaks volumes about the legacy of an unstable Africa on the micro level. In French, Tshiluba, Portuguese, English, and Cambodian with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 21, 1:30 p.m., and Saturday, February 23, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Congo Country Sheet
Thursday Evening Documentary Series
THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK
(Sudan/USA, 2007, 85 min.) directed by Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern.
The Devil Came on Horseback exposes the tragedy taking place in Darfur, Sudan, as seen through the eyes of an American witness, former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, who as an official military observer had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. He was unprepared for what he would witness and experience. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the U.S. to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed and to take action to stop it.
Thursday, February 21, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Website for The Devil Came On Horseback
Seven Questions for Capt. Steidle of The Devil Came On Horseback
Sudan Country Sheet
Saturday Documentary Matinee
IN THE SHADOW OF HOLLYWOOD: RACE MOVIES AND THE BIRTH OF BLACK CINEMA
(USA, 2007, 58 min.) directed by Brad Osborne.
THIS IS NOLLYWOOD
(Nigeria, 2007, 56 min.) directed by Franco Sacchi.
Between 1915 and 1947, at a time when Hollywood refused to cast Blacks in films except as servants and buffoons, African American filmmakers created "race movies," films with Black casts, made exclusively for all Black audiences. Richly produced and featuring recently discovered footage of race films, In the Shadow of Hollywood is a nostalgic and thought-provoking exploration of the unshakable African American spirit. This Is Nollywood tells the story of the Nigerian film industry, a revolution enabling Africans with few resources to tell African stories to African audiences. Viewers of this film experience the world of Nollywood through acclaimed director Bond Emeruwa's quest to make a feature-length action film in just nine days. Armed only with a digital camera, two lights, and about $20,000, Emeruwa faces challenges unimaginable in Hollywood and Bollywood. Phyllis Benton, owner of Midnight Ramble Video and CFAF Committee member, and Dr. Darrell Millner, PSU Black Studies professor, are commentators in In the Shadow of Hollywood. Both will be present to introduce and discuss the film.
Saturday, February 23, 2:00 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
This Is Nollywood Website
Women Filmmakers Week
UNDER THE MOONLIGHT/SOUS LA CLARTÉ DE LA LUNE
(Burkina Faso, 2004, 90 min.) directed by Apolline Traoré.
The fourth film by this young Burkinabe director, Under the Moonlight is a story of betrayal, revelation, and the quest for tradition. Patrick, a French engineer, returns to a village in Burkina Faso to repair the water pump he installed nine years previously. He brings his young daughter Martine with him. The village is thrown into turmoil when Kaya, a young village woman who has been struck mute ever since Patrick left, kidnaps Martine and takes her into the bush for what will be a journey of discovery. In Djoula and French with English subtitles.
Thursday, February 28, 12:00 p.m., and Friday, February 29, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Interview with Apolline Traoré
Women Filmmakers Week
34 SOUTH
(South Africa, 2004, 144 min.) directed by Maganthrie Pillay.
The first South African feature film directed by a Black woman, 34 South is a captivating road movie about youth, identity, and life in the New South Africa. Frank September and his roommates set out on the road from Cape Town to Jozie (Johannesburg) and end up getting taken for a very different ride from the one they had anticipated.
Thursday, February 28, 1:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 1, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Interview with Maganthrie Pillay
Women Filmmakers Week – Thursday Evening Documentary Series with Film Director Sandy Cioffi
SWEET CRUDE
(Nigeria/USA, 2007, 100 min.) directed by Sandy Cioffi.
Sweet Crude is the story of Nigeria’s Niger River Delta, where 20% of U.S. oil is produced. For 50 years foreign oil companies have extracted oil from the region, destroying the environment and harming the health of and impoverishing the indigenous people in the process. In 1995 famed writer and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wewa and eight others were hanged by Nigerian President Sani Abacha for leading a worldwide protest and boycott on behalf of the Ogoni people against Shell Oil Company. Today a new brand of militancy has emerged to call attention to the desperate poverty and injustice in this region. Set against a stunning backdrop of Niger Delta footage, the film gives voice to the region’s complex mix of stakeholders. The film takes a stand for a more truthful conversation, with the hope that a more educated public will hold governments and big oil accountable to peaceful and just resolution. Sandy Cioffi will introduce and discuss her film.
Thursday, February 28, 7:30 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
SWEET CRUDE Website
Director's Statement
About Sandy Cioffi
Women Filmmakers Week - Saturday Documentary Matinee
Sponsored by the University of Portland
ZANZIBAR SOCCER QUEENS
(Tanzania/UK, 2007, 87 min.) directed by Florence Ayisi.
The film presents a provocative and timely portrait of Women Fighters, a team of strong-willed women determined to better their lives and define new identities through playing soccer in Zanzibar, a predominantly Muslim society. This is a rare and fresh look at the lives of women in Africa, with challenging viewpoints from a community of women determined to achieve personal goals beyond their prescribed traditional roles and expectations.
Saturday, March 1, 2:00 p.m., Moriarty Arts & Humanities Building, Room 104, PCC Cascade Campus.
Please note: Most of the films are not rated. Except for the Family Film Day films, most of these films are not suitable for children.