Currently running from Feb. 16-23 in Los Angeles is the 19th Annual Pan African Film Festival, where over 100 quality films from the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the South Pacific and Canada are showcasing the diversity and complexity of people of African descent.
Among the films being shown are ‘The Tested’ with Aunjanue Ellis, Russ Parr’s ’35 and Ticking’ with Meagan Good and Kevin Hart, Effie T. Brown’s ‘The Inheritance’ with Golden Brooks and ‘The First Grader’ with Naomie Harris.
Here are a few films and documentaries that are among the selections.
‘Africa United’
Directed by Debs Gardner-Paterson, the film stars Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Nsengiyumva and Sanyu Joanita Kintu
The extraordinary story of three Rwandan kids who walk 3000 miles to the Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Using a sackload of ingenuity and sass (and a World Cup wall chart for a map), the pint-sized protagonists set off through the endless horizons of Africa in pursuit of an unlikely dream. And as they walk they gather a tribe – a ragamuffin team – of broken and brilliant characters who help them negotiate a way through a series of glorious, dangerous, hilarious and often bizarre situations. Through these kids, we will encounter an Africa few people ever get to see; experience the hard reality of an epic walk through seven countries; as well as the joy, laughter and hope – ‘the ubuntu’ – that comes from making an incredible journey together.
‘Anchor Baby’
Directed by Lonzo Nzekwe, the film stars Nollywood Actress Omoni Oboli, Sam Sarpong and Terri Oliver
Married, undocumented couple Joyce (played by Omoni Oboli) and Paul Unanga (played by Sam Sarpong)have been ordered to leave the country by the U.S. immigration. They decide that they will leave, but only after Joyce, who is five months pregnant, delivers her baby in the U.S. to guarantee automatic U.S. citizenship for their child. Ignoring the deportation order, the couple goes into hiding. But Paul is caught and deported leaving Joyce to fend for herself, struggling on her own to accomplish their dream. Bureaucracy keeps getting in the way of Joyce achieving her goal and just as she is about to give up hope, she meets Susan, a married freelance writer who offers to help in the form of safe, free accommodation until the baby is born. With the help of her newfound friend, Joyce sets out to make the ‘American Dream’ come true for her unborn child. ‘Anchor Baby’ highlights the struggles of many immigrants in the United States and other developed countries across the world.
‘The First Grader’
Directed by Justin Chadwick, the film stars Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge and Oliver Litondo
Taking advantage of a 2002 Kenyan law that guaranteed free education for all, 84-year-old Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge, a veteran Mau Mau freedom fighter, shows up at his local one-room school, walking stick in hand. The sympathetic principal reluctantly turns him away, but Kimani returns the next day, and the day after that. Eventually, she allows him to stay and he ends up joining a class alongside six year-olds. But there is fierce opposition to his presense in the classroom by school officials and parents who think at his age, Kimani is squandering precious school resources. Interspersed with the modern day are flashbacks of Kimani’s cruel treatment at the hands of British imperialists in detention camps during the struggle for independence. Set in a mountain village in Kenya this is the remarkable true and emotionally uplifting story of a proud old Mau Mau veteran who is determined to seize his last chance to learn to read and write.
‘Desert Flower’
Directed by Sherry Hormann, the film stars Ethiopian super-model Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Juliet Stevenson, Timothy Spall and Anthony Mackie
A beautifully shot biopic of the fairy tale-like life of Waris Dirie. Born into a family of goat-herding nomads, Waris’ fascinating path would take her from the Somali deserts to the world’s most prestigious fashion runways and magazines. At 13, Waris fled a forced marriage and crossed days of desert alone before reaching Mogadishu. Relatives soon shipped her off to London to work as a servant in the Somali embassy. When faced with the threat of returning to war-torn Somalia, Waris found herself homeless and illegal. Taken in by a friendly shop girl, she finds a job in a fast-food restaurant. There an influential photographer spots her and sets her on the path to become one of the world’s top models. But behind the glamorous façade, she is burdened by a secret. At the height of her career, Waris reveals to the world that she is a victim of female genital mutilation.
‘Black Butterfly’
Directed by Mark Harris, the film stars Sheree Bynum, Ron Cooper, Elizabeth Abraham and Richard Gallion
16-year-old Ariel dreams of making the U.S. Women’s Swim Team. Ariel excitedly begins training when tragedy strikes. She is brutally raped. Her dreams of swimming, relationships, and life are tossed to and fro as she struggles with the aftermath. Should she tell her family? Should she hide? Adrenaline and anticipation rise as her coach, family and friends find out about the rape one by one in various ways. Now, what will each do to seek revenge on the rapist who is not a stranger? What draws the line between pain and possibility for Ariel?
‘Suicide Dolls’
Directed by Keith Shaw, the film stars LaQuita Cleare, Christy Carlson Romano, Heather Tom, Steven Bauer, and Anne Marie Johnson.
Desperate for someone to notice them, high school seniors Amber and Jade have always wanted to do something really killer with their lives. One week before graduation, they decide to make a suicide pact and record the last 24 hours of their lives. As they live out their last day, the girls face past demons and reveal secrets that led them down the path of self-destruction. From drugs to abuse to death, they’ve lived in a warped world that has propelled them into a downward spiral. As their midnight deadline approaches, Amber and Jade must make the biggest decision of all… do they go through with it?
‘The Tested’
Directed by Russell Costanzo, the film stars Aunjanue Ellis, Tobias Truvillion, Frank Vincent, Armando Riesco, and Michael Morris Jr.
One year ago, plainclothes cop Julian Varone gunned down an unarmed teen. Darraylynn Warren, the teen’s mother, has spiraled into a pit of despair, while his brother, Dre, flirts with gang life. As Julian prepares to get back to work, the three realize they cannot find closure without the other. Along with these themes the film explores loss, revenge, and injustice. It’s the complex relationship between a mother and son who don’t speak the same language and now have to deal with the death of a family member. A push-pull struggle ensues; he feels the need to grow up and become a man, while her needs are bit more complex – she wants him to step up as the head of the household and yet is still very protective of him. The fact that she is still grieving makes it nearly impossible for this relationship to fully blossom. After a mother already loses one of her sons, how can the remaining son carry all the responsibilities of the family? But there’s another side to all of this as well. How can the cop live with shooting an innocent kid – how do they all move past the tragedy and find their way through?
‘Thunder Soul’
Directed by Mark Landsman, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx has jumped on board to present one of this year’s most uplifting, crowd-pleasing music documentaries when it comes to theaters later this year.
Back then it was afros and James Brown. Platform shoes and Parliament Funkadelic. The 70s were upon us and history was about to be made at an inner-city high school in Houston. Charismatic band director Conrad “Prof” Johnson would turn his school’s mediocre jazz band into a legendary Funk powerhouse. Thirty-five years later, his students return to their old band room, dust off their instruments and prepare to pay tribute to the man who changed their lives. Although some have not seen each other or played in decades, they are determined to show the now 92-year-old Prof and the world that they’ve still got it and never forgot it!
‘The Inheritance’
Robert O’Hara is making his directorial debut with this horror film. The film is produced by Effie T. Brown and her production company, Duly Noted Inc.
Five cousins find out about a centuries old family ritual of sacrifice to an African spirit and must fight for their lives or take their place in a long line of offered souls.
The story centers on family friends (played by Golden Brooks, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Rochelle Aytes, Shawn Michael Howard, and D.B Woodside) who gather during a winter storm for a ‘secret’ reunion at the family estate. The connection to their tortured history is one of only passing fascination. The reunion turns deadly when the elders have to make good on an ancient pact with a spirit of an ancestor. Now, it’s this generation’s turn to make the ultimate sacrifice. It is their duty and their destiny, but they won’t give up without a fight to survive.
Also starring in the film are Keith David, Novella Nelson, Adriane Lenox, André De Shields, and Lanre Idewu.
For more information on the festival, go to https://www.paff.org/panafricanfilmfestival/.
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