{"id":133048,"date":"2019-05-16T18:35:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T22:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/?p=133048"},"modified":"2019-05-16T18:35:57","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T22:35:57","slug":"garifuna-international-indigenous-film-festival-begins-its-8th-anniversary-may-23-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/garifuna-international-indigenous-film-festival-begins-its-8th-anniversary-may-23-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival begins its 8th\u00a0anniversary May 23-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival<\/strong> (GIIFF) will celebrate its 8<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0anniversary, with an emphasis on screenings and programming about social and cultural issues, currently making headline news. The four-day festival runs from May 23-26, 2019 at the Electric Lodge, located at 1416 Electric Ave. in Venice, Calif.<\/strong>\u00a0Opening night festivities will kick off with the Los Angeles premiere of\u00a0<\/span>Dak\u2019Tok\u00e1 Ta\u00edno<\/strong> (I Am Taino) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2019 at the Electric Lodge Theatre. Written, produced and directed by Alba Garcia, \u201cDak\u2019Tok\u00e1 Ta\u00edno\u201d is a live-puppet short film about a Puerto Rican family dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.\u00a0<\/span>Garcia will follow the screening of her film with a master class on how she used the power of film to spark activism and awareness of the Ta\u00edno indigenous community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Interestingly, Heather Henson of IBEX Puppetry \u2013 the daughter of acclaimed puppeteer Jim Henson, the founder of The Muppets \u2013 served as executive director on the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Founded in 2012 by festival director Freda Sideroff<\/strong>, the mission of GIIFF is to provide a platform to preserve the culture of Garifuna as well as Caribbean and other indigenous cultures, showcasing the cuisine, music and art of indigenous people and their communities from around the world. Sideroff is Garifuna. Garifuna is an indigenous population from the Caribbean island of\u00a0Yurumein, today known as\u00a0St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Garifuna people suffered a painful past of genocide at the hands of the British more than 220 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cAs a member of an indigenous community, I am excited to provide a platform to not only preserve, but celebrate the historical and cultural traditions of indigenous people worldwide,\u201d<\/strong> said Freda Sideroff, the festival director of GIIFF. \u201cIndigenous people are integral to cultural diversity, globally, and recognizing these cultural traditions educates the majority community about the richness of traditional art forms and indigenous wisdom.\u201d<\/strong> According to the United Nations Development Programme, there\u2019s an estimated 375 to 500 million indigenous people worldwide, spread across 90 countries and representing 5,000 cultures.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This year, GIIFF has selected approximately 40 films, representing more than 50 indigenous communities from around the world. In the spirit of the #MeToo and Time\u2019s Up movements, the festival\u2019s roster of films and workshops will tackle topics on the subject of sexual assault and sex trafficking; as well as Islamophobia, racism and inequity; civil right, environmental and social injustice \u2013 just to name a few.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recognition of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month, GIIFF will also partner with the\u00a0Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health #5 with master classes on mental health issues, discussing mental health wellness and suicide prevention.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition,\u00a0<\/span>an\u00a0Ambassador of Music Awards and Culture<\/i>\u00a0will be awarded to artist, composer, and producer Aponte of the Puerto Rico Bomba Collective for his preservation of \u201cbomba,\u201d a traditional, indigenous art form of music and dance from the Afro-Puerto Rican diaspora. Aponte hails from Puerto Rico and has performed live for audiences around the world, including Europe, Israel and Latin America. And he\u2019s also worked with many Grammy and Latin Grammy winners and nominees like Wisin y Yandel, Tega Calder\u00f3n, David Sanchez, Giovanni Hidalgo and Gilberto Santa Rosa \u2013 just to name a few.\u00a0\u00a0Currently, he\u2019s an educator with the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.\u00a0<\/span>Plus, GIIFF will present an exhibition, featuring the work of Garifuna cultural visual artist and musician Greg Palacio from Belize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few of the festival highlights:<\/span><\/p>\n

MAIN ATTRACTIONS<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Opening Night\u00a0Los Angeles\u00a0Premiere | Thursday, May 23, 2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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