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Africa Video & Film Series

Fall 2009

"Redemption Song: The Role of Music and Social Change From Bob Marley, to Miriam Makeba, to the Wu Tang Clan"

Presented by Johanna Almiron, FDI Predoctoral Fellow

How does the role of art, music and creative expression play within social movements, politics and social change? The film-video series address a range of social issues and themes including Pan-Africanism through reggae (Africa Unite, 2008. 89 min./Sept. 30th), South African apartheid through the voices of exiled musicians (Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony, 2002. 108 min./Oct. 14), and the violent diamond conflict in Sierra Leone by way of hip-hop and reggaeton (Bling: A Planet Rock, 2007. 87 min./Nov. 18). Each indie documentary focuses on how art can raise collective consciousness and speak truth to power.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
"Africa Unite"
5:00 PM in Gleason Theater (RRL)
This documentary tribute to legendary reggae icon Bob Marley centers on the Marley clan's 2005 visit to Ethiopia, in which they perform a live musical salute to the family luminary, with more than 300,000 fans in attendance. The film also includes never-before-seen footage of Marley, along with a soundtrack full of his studio hits and appearances by the likes of Danny Glover and matriarch Cedella Marley Booker. Fore more information on film:
http://www.bobmarley.com/africaunite/

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony"
5:00 PM in Gleason Theater(RRL)
The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances. Featuring Miriam Makeba aka. “Mama Africa,” Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masakela, Vusi Mahlasela and others.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
"Bling: A Planet Rock"
5:00 PM in Gleason Theater(RRL)
BLING is a feature length documentary that takes a satirical, yet hard-hitting look at how the flashy world of commercial hip-hop has indirectly and ironically supported the diamond conflict in Sierra Leone via hip-hop's gawky obsession with "blingin'". BLING will link the hip-hop generation in the U.S. with the residents of Sierra Leone in order to experience a community that has suffered atrocities at the hands of rebels, some as young as 4, from 1991—2001. Featuring Kanye West, Jadakiss, Paul Wall and Raewkon.

For more info on film: www.undp.org/bling/ or djalirancher.com/blog/

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact the Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies. For more information on the series, contact FDI Fellow Johanna Almiron at (585) 275-7235 or e-mail fdi@mail.rochester.edu