The final week of the 32nd African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF-NY) is packed with an exceptional lineup of groundbreaking films and insightful discussions.
Covering themes ranging from the African American experience to the history and legacy of racial relations in Latin America, the closing events are sure to captivate audiences with their powerful storytelling and thought-provoking dialogue.
Gala Screenings
- The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos (TIFF Revelation) This bold and empowering Nigerian film by The Agbajowo Collective tells the true story of a young woman’s relentless fight for justice in a society stacked against her. Seven years in the making, it exemplifies the best of African cinema today. A Q&A session will follow the screening.
- Selling a Colonial War (Closing Night Film) A thought-provoking documentary, Selling a Colonial War examines the complexities of colonial power dynamics and their enduring effects. With a meticulous analysis of manipulation and deceit used to justify colonial domination, this film sheds light on the Netherlands’ colonial past. Winner of the 2023 IDFA ReFrame Award for Creative Use of Archive, the documentary is both revealing and impactful. There will be a discussion with the director after the screening.
Spotlight on the Afericna America Experience
- An Evening with Billy Woodberry Celebrated filmmaker and L.A. Rebellion icon Billy Woodberry presents his classic Bless Their Little Hearts alongside his latest feature-length documentary, Mario, a reflection on African leader Mario de Andrade. Woodberry will participate with Josslyn Jeanine Luckett—author of Toward a More Perfect Rebellion: Multiracial Media Activism Made in L.A. and assistant professor of Cinema Studies at NYU—in an in-depth conversation about his work and legacy.
- James Baldwin in Europe This double feature includes Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris, a candid short film that captures a Paris encounter with Baldwin, and James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, Karen Thorsen’s in-depth exploration of Baldwin’s life and activism. Following the screenings, Ms. Thorsen will be joined by Michael Haskins of WBAI for a conversation about Baldwin’s lasting impact.
Roundtable Discussions
- South Africa 1994-2024, A Conversation Following the screenings of the films Nothing but the Truth, Death of a Whistleblower (Opening Night Film) and Legacy: A Decolonized History of South Africa, this discussion reflects on South Africa’s journey since the end of apartheid, examining progress, challenges, and cultural shifts. Panelists include Tara Erica Moore (Legacy: The Decolonized History of South Africa), Naledi Bogacwi (Banned), and Zenande Booi (Executive Director, Center on Race, Law, and Justice at Fordham University School of Law).
- History and Legacy of Racial Relations in Latin America This roundtable explores race, identity, and historical narratives through films like The Esmeraldas Beach (Ecuador), Sugar Cane Malice (DR/Haiti) and The Invisible Color: Black Cubans in Miami (USA). Featured panelists include Professor Catherine Walsh, a leading scholar based in Ecuador, and Professor Tanya Katerí Hernández, author of the acclaimed Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality. Director Juan A. Zapata (Sugar Cane Malice) will join the discussion via Zoom. The roundtable will be moderated by Dr. Reinaldo Barroso-Spech, Co-Founder and Co-Director of ADIFF.
Festival website: www.nyadiff.org
The African Diaspora International Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.
The 32nd Annual New York African Diaspora International Film Festival is made possible thanks to the support of the following institutions and individuals: ArtMattan Films, New York State Council on the Arts, The Harlem Community Development Corporation, The New York City Council in the Arts, West Harlem Development Corporation, The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation administered by LMCC, The Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs and The George Clement Bond Center for African Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, The International Organization of La Francophonie New York, The Netherlands consulate-general in New York, Villa Albertine and the French Embassy in the United States. Funded in part by a grant from the New York City Tourism Foundation. WNYC is a media partner of the African Diaspora International Film Festival.
African Diaspora International Film Festival
Established in 1993, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is a Harlem based minority-led not-for profit international film festival that presents, interprets and educates about films that explore the human experience of people of color all over the world in order to inspire imaginations, disrupt stereotypes and help transform attitudes that perpetuate injustice.
The mission of The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is to expand the traditional views and perceptions of what the Black experience is by showcasing award-winning socially relevant documentary and fiction films about people of color, from Peru to Zimbabwe, from the USA to Belgium and from New Zealand to Jamaica
Commenting on the line up of ADIFF Chicago 2019, film critic Kathleen Sachs of the Chicago Readers wrote: “The films in the 17th Annual African Diaspora International Film Festival – Chicago do what much media and even the public school system fail to do: educate. Through robust programming that gives meaning to the word “diverse,” the selections in this year’s festival illuminate the experiences of those living in the African diaspora around the world. The New York-based husband-and-wife programmers, Reinaldo Barroso-Spech and Diarah N’Daw-Spech, have chosen more than a dozen films that, through a variety of modes and genres, further dimensionalize already complex issues specific to those living in these communities. Naturally, documentary lends itself to this mission, though several narrative features and a short fiction add to the plenitude of information.”
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