Historic Harlem Parks Film Series
From the OMG-you-just-missed-this-really-cool-thing! department comes the Historic Harlem Parks film series "Through African Eyes."
This evening in Marcus Garvey Park was a live performance by the Kotchenga Dance Company and Ivorian Drummers and Dancers followed by the film Faat Kine. (The last 'e' in the film's title has an accent, and damned if I can get it to show up in Movable Type- Ed.)
Faat Kine, a 2001 film by Ousmane Sembene, the "Father of African Cinema," tackles the question of women in contemporary Dakar, Senegal. It's a warm, often funny story of a single mother, her children, ex-husbands, aged mother and friends. Sembene contextualizes his heroine, whose life is shaped by tribal custom and sexism as by her own ambition.
You have one more chance to catch the series in Marcus Garvey Park tomorrow (Thursday the 11th). Beginning at 7:30pm, DJ L'mani V and DJ Stone provide music, followed by TWO FILMS! (Suck it Bryant Park!)
First up is Banished, a 2006 film by American Marco Williams. From the 1860s to the 1920s, American towns violently expelled their entire African American communities. Thousands of families were forced to flee their homes. Banished tells the story of the Black descendants and the white residents who struggle with their hidden past.
Second is Notes On A Paper Plane, a 2006 film by HARLEMITE Nemo Librizzi (wonder if he has a pet?). Hope has just turned sixteen and her mother suggests its time she face the real world and learn to make money. Hope is less than enthusiastic at the prospect of taking on a part-time job, yet in obedience to her elders she seeks out a paper route.
Other Harlem parks are also hosting the series throughout the summer. To find out what is playing in Central Park at the Harlem Meer, St. Nicholas Park, Jackie Robinson Park, and Morningside Park, check out the website.
