Welcome to the Barbados section of
the second annual Africa World Documentary
Film Festival, based in St.
Louis, Missouri. This year's Festival features
a partnership between the Center for International
Studies at the University of Missouri-St.
Louis and the Department of Language, Linguistics
and Literature, in association with the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, University of the West
Indies, Cave Hill, to bring a selection of the
festival films to a Barbados audience.
Through the art of documentary filmmaking,
the AWDFF is committed to the promotion of
knowledge of the life and culture of the people
of Africa and of African descent worldwide.
In Barbados, we are presenting 27
films by filmmakers from Angola, Belgium,
Canada, Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Germany,
Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, India, Israel, Jamaica,
Mali, Netherlands, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago,
Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania,
Switzerland, Sudan, United Kingdom and
USA, treating subjects as varied as womanism,
hip-hop, HIV, sport, migration, the environment,
music, spirituality, carnival and
African religions in the Caribbean and Latin
America.
This international partnership has come
about out of recognition of the relevance of
documentary film to the Caribbean. Through
the Festival, not only are film-makers from
Africa and the diaspora in dialogue, but so
are audiences in St. Louis and Barbados.
Film-makers and audience will meet and
exchange views in discussion sessions titled:
Why Documentary? The St. Louis Festival Director
and the Cave Hill Curator will be on
hand for audience responses to the Festival.
Niyi Coker, Jr, AWDFF Director and
Jane Bryce, Cave Hill Curator.
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009
6.00 PM – 7:33 PM
The Neo African Americans
Kobina Aidoo (56m, USA)
How rapid immigration from Africa and the
Caribbean is transforming the African American narrative.
Through the Negev
Ya-Hsuan Huang (18m, USA, Israel, Sudan)
The genocide and violence in Sudan has created a
Diaspora of refugees as far north as Israel.
Salt Harvesters of Ghana
Marcia Rock (19m, USA, Ghana)
The women of Ghana who harvest salt with their
bare hands in the dry season and farm in the rainy
season.
7.55 PM - 10.00 PM
Gods for Sale
David Gladsteen (52m, Belgium, Mali)
In 2000 Lassana Cissé, head of the local Cultural
Mission of The Dogon Country in Mali, received a
letter informing him of the theft of a sacred item of
high significance.
But Some are Brave
Grace Channer (5m, Canada)
“But Some Are Brave” is a five-minute oil
painted animated film infused with evocative
vocals and a lyrical soundscape.
A Voodoo Memory
Irène Lichtenstein (61m, Haiti, Switzerland)
The film draws a portrait of Marianne Lehmann, a
Swiss woman settled in Haiti, who has built the
biggest voodoo objects collection in the world.
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Kick the Lion -Witchcraft and Football in
Africa (Film Removed)
The Griot’s Story 
Burkina Faso (Poland, 55m)
A personal account by Adama Drame, master drummer and descendant of a griot family, of his mission to keep the ancient art of griot performance alive.
Nora
(USA, UK, Zimbabwe, 35 mins,):
An extraordinary danced autobiographical account of her childhood in Zimbabwe in the 1960s by the accomplished dancer, Nora Chipaumire. Nora dances the parts of her mother and herself, accompanied by other dancers to a score by Zimbabwean musical legend, Thomas Mapfumo.
The Art of Stick Fighting
Joseph Valley (28m, Trinidad and Tobago)
“The Art of Stick Fighting” highlights the significance,
purpose and meaning of this traditional art
form of stick fighting.
8.20 PM - 10.00 PM
Massacre at Murambi
Sam Kauffmann (5m, France, USA, Rwanda)
Does the way we responded to the genocide in
Rwanda tell us about who we are as members of
the “Global Village” and predict our response to Darfur?
Death of Two Sons
Micah Schaffer (54m, USA, Guinea)
This documentary explores the circumstances surrounding
the murder of Guinean immigrant, Amadou
Diallo in New York City, at the hands of the NYPD.
Deaf and Whispering
Sam McPhee (7m, USA, Ghana)
In Ghana, Raymond Mensah learned sign
language in his dreams and then comforts his deaf
sister when the electricity goes out in her home.
Wild Ocean
Steve McNicholas, Luke Cresswell (40m,
USA, United Kingdom, South Africa)
“Wild Ocean” is a timely and uplifting film that
celebrates the life in our oceans. Hope is alive on
the Wild Coast, where Africa meets the sea.
SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2009
3.00 PM - 5.30 PM
Jamaica for Sale
Esther Figueroa and Diana McCaulay (92m, Jamaica)
As Jamaica is irreversibly transformed by the travel
and service industry, the documentary “Jamaica for
Sale” documents this transformation and also counters
the dominant view that tourism is the savior of
the Jamaican people.
Come Back to Sudan
Daniel Junge (28m, USA, Sudan)
Documentary following three “Lost Boys” of
Sudan and their adoptive American mother
as they journey home to their war-torn country.
Tesfaye's Story
Brent Gudgel (5m, Ethiopia, USA)
Faced with the environmental devastation of his
homeland, an Ethiopian man searches for hope.
Flowers of Rwanda
David Munoz (24m, Rwanda, Spain)
Rwanda. 14 years after the genocide that
took away the lives of more than 800,000
people. What's the current situation of the
country? What feelings prevail in the hearts
of the victims? Can victims and killers live together?
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Why Documentary?
Panel Discussion with Filmmakers
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Wrestling with the Angeles:
An Exploration of Caribeanness
Marsha Pearce (92m, Trinidad and Tobago)
This documentary explores Caribbean identity
through the images and sounds of a ubiquitous feature of contemporary popular culture: the music video.
A Very Short Story of Nollywood
Awam Amkpa, Manthia Diawara (14m, USA, Nigeria)
A behind-the-scenes analysis of the Nigeria's film
industry – Nollywood - operation.
Escape from Luanda
Phil Grabsky (72m, United Kingdom, Angola)
This film asks if, despite the ravages of 27 years of civil war, musical passion can overcome terrible hardships in Angola's only music school.
SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2009
3:00 PM – 5:30 PM
All the World's a Stage
Nirmal Chander (60m, India)
The Sidis came to India from East Africa 800 years ago. Centuries of discrimination have pushed them down the socio-economic ladder but
their unique devotional music has given them a strong sense of identity.
Foli
Floris Leeuwenberg (10m, Guinea)
Foli is the word used for rhythm by the Malinke People in West Africa. In this film you not only see rhythm but you feel it.
Deaf and Whispering
Sam McPhee (7m, USA, Ghana)
In Ghana, Raymond Mensah learned sign language in his dreams and then Comforts his deaf sister when the electricity goes out in her home.
Salah, an African Toubab?
Margriet Jansen (68m, Mali, Netherlands)
Living in Africa with western values and ambitious enough to create his own company, a man comes into conflict with his family and wife.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Why Documentary?
Panel Discussion with Filmmakers
7:00 PM -10:00 PM
Elephant King
Thenjiwe Nkosi (38m, South Africa, USA)
A South African story of the impact of history on who we are.
Just Add Water
Jeffrey Mead (30m, USA/Sudan)
Salva Dut, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan,
founded Water for Sudan, a non-profit organization,
to supply fresh water to people in southern Sudan –
one village at a time, drilling boreholes and installing pumps.
Dancing Deities (Rated PG)
Emilie Upczak (23m, Trinidad and Tobago)
“Dancing Deities” is an ethnographic short that attempts to depict the practices of the Claxton Bay Orisha community in Trinidad.
Foli
Floris Leeuwenberg (10m, Guinea)
Foli is the word used for rhythm by the Malinke People in West Africa. In this film you not only see rhythm but you feel it.
The Gospel Truth?
Chris Walker, Peter Wolsey (59m, United
Kingdom)
Recent visits to the Free Church communities
of the Outer Hebrides by Willie Ruff have convinced him his musical roots are more Afro Gaelic than Afro American.
Q & A/Feedback to Curators
