GEMS OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

A film series of critically acclaimed films
presented in ADIFF over the last 20 years

Fri, June 29 to Sun, July 1, 2012
Teachers College, Columbia University

525 West 120th Street - Tel: 212-864-1760 - e-mail: info@NAYDIFF.org

The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. Join us to (re)discover films that had their US or New York premiere in ADIFF and received great reviews in Variety. These films illustrate the depth and range of ADIFF. Some of them have enjoyed a successful career in the USA while others disappeared after touring the festival circuit.


FILM SERIES DETAILED PROGRAM

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 2PM
NO TIME TO DIE
"Ghanaian helmer King Ampaw's beguiling English-speaking comedy, about the romantic travails of a lovestruck hearse driver, effortlessly shuttles between city and bush, from genre to fable and back again." - Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 4PM
SIA, THE DREAM OF THE PYTHON
"A delightful, pointed fable of religious and political extremism that's extra-relevant at present [Sia, the Dream of the Python is a] smart, briskly paced mix of costume exotica and punchy thematic universalism. - Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 6PM
FISH ABOVE SEA LEVEL
"Tyro Jordanian writer-director Hazim Bitar's laid-back minimalist approach works to surprising dramatic effect in "Fish Above Sea Level," a character-driven two-hander about the grandson of a white loan shark and the grandson of his black victim thrown together by the economic downturn." - Variety

SATURDAY, JUNE 30 @ 8PM
DANCING FOREVER
"Based on Marie Do's autobiographical novel, ["Dancing Forever"] neatly balances the two dominant factors in its heroine's destiny: her mixed-race heritage and her passion for dance. "Dancing Forever's" consistently upbeat tone matches its heroine's indomitable spirit. Featuring fully fleshed-out, juicily ambivalent characters coping with complexities of racism in 1960s France, and a wealth of colorful, well-executed terpsichorean material performed by a talented, real-life ballerina lead, pic satisfies on a number of levels." - Variety

SUNDAY, JULY 1@ 2PM
DESAMORES
"Spiffy Puerto Rican noir with a black private eye as hero, based on the novel "Desamores" by political writer Wilfredo Mattos-Cintron, brings some nice ironic class tensions back into the genre. The story hovers over the uglier aspects of the beautiful people as the cynical detective walks a thin line between a corrupt plutocracy and a psychopathic criminal underclass on the streets of San Juan. " - Variety

SUNDAY, JULY 1 @ 4PM
SCHEHERAZADE, TELL ME A STORY
"Though treating women's oppression as a political issue isn't exactly new, the clarity with which it's spelled out in "Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story" is both bold and brave. Together with scribe Waheed Hamed, helmer Yousry Nasrallah presents women's sexuality as an expression of self-determination, making clear the parallels with an ever-degenerating political system." - Variety

SUNDAY, JULY 1 @ 6:30PM
CURACAO
"With razor-sharp irony, Dutch documakers Sander Snoep and Sarah Vos limn a damning portrait of the legacy of colonialism in "Curacao." The slyly acerbic pic juxtaposes letters from 18th- and 19th-century magistrates and ship captains, matter-of-factly enumerating everyday horrors of the slave trade, with scenes of contemporary Hollanders wining and dining in gated communities; meanwhile, the faces of marginalized blacks silently confront the camera. A well-crafted study in cultural cluelessness." - Variety

WHAT:
GEMS OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA INTERNTIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

WHEN:
June 29 - July 1, 2012

WHERE:
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street - Room 263 Macy
Train 1 to 116th Street
FREE PARKING on weekends
Photo ID required to enter the building

Ticket price:
* Free on 6/29 @6PM
* $11, $9 for seniors and students per show on 6/29 @ 8PM, 6/30 and 7/1
* Day Pass: $20
* Weekend Pass: $30

Tel: (212) 864-1760

Buy $30 Weekend Pass, a $20 Day Pass Online or an individual ticket for any of the films.


DVDs of films from Africa and the African Diaspora will be on sale at the venue. $15 per DVD; $25 for 2 DVDs; $35 for three DVDs and $10 for each additional DVD.

Thanks to Sponsors:
The GEMS OF ADIFF Film Series is made possible thanks to the support of the following institutions and individuals: ArtMattan Productions; the Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs, Teachers College, Columbia University; the New York City Council in the Arts; WBAI; Afrikanspot, The Harlem Brewing Company and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.