WASHINGTON — The Washington DC African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will celebrate its 11th Anniversary from August 18 to 20, 2017 at the George Washington University (GWU) in the Marvin Center located at 800 21st Street NW in the District of Columbia. The weekend will feature fourteen films, including: 11 DC premieres taking audiences in and out of the United States.
The Opening Night film “Not Black Enough” by Tracey Anarella, is a sharp documentary about class warfare and the cross-tides that African-Americans must deal with within the black community. Opening Night start with a VIP catered reception at 7 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. screening and a Q&A with director Tracey Anarella after the film.
Other highlights of the festival include: the D.C. premiere presentation of Gurumbe: Afro-Andalusian Memories by M. Angel Rosales, a revealing musical documentary that presents the hidden history of Africans in Spain in the 16th century and their contribution to Flamenco. Well documented with a great intellectual rigor, the film goes into areas of Spanish culture seldom covered in Spanish films.
By bringing back the award-winning documentary Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba by Mika Kaurismaki, ADIFF introduces a new generation of Americans to the world-famous South African singer Miriam Makeba and her legacy. Makeba (1932-2008) spent half a century traveling the world spreading her political message fighting racism and poverty and promoting justice and peace. Through rare archive footage of her performances and through testimonies of her contemporaries and supporters, including: Harry Belafonte, Stokely Carmichael, Hugh Masekela, Paul Simon, Angélique Kidjo and many others, we discover Miriam Makeba’s remarkable journey.
From its inception, ADIFF has always showcased great films that explore the black British experience. Films like Pressure by Horace Ove; Burning an Illusion by Menelik Shabaz; and The Stuart Hall Project by John Akomfrah are some of the most representative works by black British filmmakers. Now, ADIFF proudly introduces the next generation of black British filmmakers with the screening of The Naked Poet by Jason Barrett, a sharp, witty, sexy, deep and quite emotional exploration of the complexities of love presented from a black male’s perspective in contemporary London.
The closing film of the festival Independencia/Independence is about the struggle of one of the last African countries to free itself from colonial rule. The film depicts Angola’s struggle for liberation from Portugal (1961-1974) “from within” through the testimonies of Angolans from different social, regional and political circles.
For a complete list of films and for ticket information, visit: www.baltimoretimes-online.com