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Films @ FWMoA
The People and Culture of West Africa
1:00 - 7:00pm
Free

This day-long film festival presents the people and culture of West Africa from varying perspectives and in different times, places, adn environments. Through moving pictures, this festival will explore West African music and dance, burial traditions, children's folklore, social norms, as well as the struggles and achievements of West Africans in the United States.  For more information email Ann at hall@fwmoa.org.

Emmanuel’s Gift by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern                
Produced by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern, Narrated by Oprah Winfrey
A First Look release of a Lookalike Production Film ©2005 80 minutes

This is the story of a disabled orphan whose father abandoned him, whose village dismissed him and whose country thought him better off dead. This is the story of     Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, who had nothing, but gave everything --- and changed a nation forever.

 2006 Media Access Awards
Outstanding Achievement – Film Documentary
2005 Artivist Film FestivalHonors, Best Feature Artivist Spirit Award
2005 Atlanta Film Festival Audience Award, Best Documentary Film
2005 Cinequest Film Festival Audience Award, Best Documentary Film
2005 Newport Beach Film Festival Audience Award, Best Documentary Film
2005 Newport Beach Film Festival Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking: Humanitarian Vision

Ghana, Coffins to Order by Phillippe Lespinasse      
Ciné Fête ©2006 52 minutes

The Ga of coastal Ghana have been building coffins in the shape of fish, boats, shoes, fruit or cars for nearly half a century. They believe that when their loved ones die, they move on into another life -- and the Ga make sure they do so in style.

They honor their dead with brightly colored coffins that celebrate the way they lived. The shape of the coffin gives the onlooker the feeling of having known the one who has just left this world or to recognize someone who had the same passion as him, the same dream ... or to allow a professional corporation to pay tribute to a brother who has just passed away.

The popularity of the coffins of Ga, which normally all end up underground, have now found a place in museums outside the continent.

African Dance: Sand, Drums, and Shostakovich                                   
by Ken Glazebrook and Alla Kovgan

A documentary by Ken Glazbrook and Alla Kovgan that explores contemporary dance in Africa. The film introduces eight modern dance companies from Africa, Europe, and Canada that participated in the Festival International de Nouvelle Danse in Montreal, Canada in 1999. Through insightful interviews and outstanding performances, the film depicts a fascinating diversity of themes in contemporary African dance – interactions between tradition and modernism, consequences of colonization and urbanization, women’s self-expression, masculinity, and family relationships. The film is a unique source of inspiration for audiences of all ages and specifically dancers, choreographers, dance historians, critics, and all those interested in African culture.

Documenta Madrid International Film Festival, 2005,
Jackson Hole Film Festival, 2004,
Roxbury Film Festival, 2004,
Denver Pan African Film Festival, 2004,
Melbourne International Film Festival, 2003,
Black Harvest Film Festival, 2003,
Woods Hole Film Festival, 2003,
Maui International Film Festival, 2003,
Dance on Camera Festival, 2003

Dollars for Dreams: West Africans in New York by Jeremy Rocklin             
Produced by Jeremy Rocklin and Abdel Kader Ouedraogo
Documentary Education Resource ©2007 56 minutes

Dollars and Dreams is a documentary film focused on the pursuits and challenges of numerous West African immigrants as they confront the idea of the American Dream and the reality of the New York experience. Including additional perspective from scholars, authors, and community leaders, the film creates a vibrant portrait of African achievement throughout the city, while exploring the complicated issues African immigrants face as they balance their deep connections to Africa and their enthusiastic commitments to America.

15^th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival, NYC, November 2007
92^nd Street Y, Africa: Conversations with a Continent film series, NYC, December 2007
FESPACO Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou, 2007
Museum for African Art, New York City, 2008
Society for Visual Anthropology/American Anthropological Association Conference, San Francisco, 2008
International Black DocuFest, Atlanta, GA, 2008