African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 is one of our favorite New York film festivals because it shows how the African Diaspora is many different branches with the same roots ~ even in places where you don’t expect to find the African Diaspora.
African Diaspora International Film Festival Caribbean Film Series 2024
African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Caribbean Film Series focuses on Caribbean culture which is near and dear to many New Yorkers.
Teachers College, Columbia University
The African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Caribbean Film Series screens a dozen films about Caribbean life at Teachers College, Columbia University in Morningside Heights, Manhattan; from Friday-Sunday, April 26-28, 2024. 🇧🇸 🇧🇧 🇨🇺 🇩🇴 🇭🇹 🇯🇲 🇲🇶 🇵🇷 🇸🇷 🇹🇹
We confirmed on Thursday, April 25, that the festival is on. The Columbia University protests are not affecting Teachers College.
Highlights include:
- “You Can Read, Can’t You?” by Ananta Khemradj (Surinam/Netherlands): In Surinam, where a former dictator
has been elected president with the support of young voters, journalist Ananta investigates why her generation
remains uninformed about the atrocities of the 1980s. 🇸🇷 - “Fortune for All” by Yao Ramesar (Trinidad & Tobago) – NY Premiere: Following the death of their brother
Addo, the Fortune siblings reunite at their family’s seaside estate to mourn, while their grieving mother stays close
by. 🇹🇹 - “Claude McKay” by Matthieu Vermeil (France/Jamaica/USA): Embark on a thrilling 1920s journey from Marseille
to Harlem, through Jamaica, Russia, and Morocco, tracing the steps of Claude McKay, a revolutionary figure of the
Harlem Renaissance and a trailblazer for black literature and advocacy. 🇫🇷 🇯🇲 🗽 - “Man Up” by Kwame Lestrade (Barbados) – NY Premiere: This film explores masculinity through six
relationships, touching on themes of accusation, aggression, authenticity, dating dynamics, and manipulation. It
challenges and deepens viewers’ understanding of gender interactions. 🇧🇧 - “Who in Da Morning” by Phillip Williamson Jr & Johnathan Isaac Jackson (Bahamas) – NY Premiere:
Junkanoo in the Bahamas is one of Caribbean’s most celebrated and spirited carnivals. This documentary follows
two Junkanoo veterans – Junkanno Goddess Angelique McKay and The Genesis Warhawks – preparing for
Junkanoo for the first time in 2 years after COVID. Post-screening conversations with the directors. 🇧🇸
Get tickets at nyadiff.org
African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Screens Films By and About Women, the Guardians of Culture
The African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 screens twelve films by women filmmakers from Haiti, Bangladesh, Chad, Morocco, Samoa, Ethiopia, Australia, Tunisia, and the United States; at Teacher’s College, Columbia University; from Friday-Sunday, March 29-31, 2024. From $11. Weekend Pass $45. Free to Teachers College students and staff with valid ID. 🇦🇺 🇧🇩 🇹🇩 🇪🇹 🇭🇹 🇲🇦 🇼🇸 🇺🇸
The focus on women filmmakers is important because women are the guardians of culture.
Films
- “Survival of Kindness” (2022) by Rolf de Heer, is a gripping narrative of human compassion set against a dystopian backdrop. Nominated for the Golden Bear at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival, it won the FIPRESCI Award (International Federation of Film Critics). Critics note the outstanding performance of Mwajemi Hussein. The film is a powerful metaphor for the frustrations of the cyclic nature of racism. After freeing herself against all odds, BlackWoman encounters the same mess because the world hasn’t freed itself ~ yet. It was filmed in Tazmania and Australia. 🇦🇺
- “Rediet’s Coming Home” (2024), by Rosalind C. Patton, is a documentary that offers a poignant look at identity and belonging through the eyes of
an 18-year-old returning to Ethiopia. 🇪🇹 - “Raja Amari – A Feminist Filmmaker” is a showcase of Amari’s work, including “She Had a Dream” (2021) and “Foreign
Body” (2016), portraying strong female protagonists navigating societal challenges. In Arabic and French with subtitles. 🇲🇦 - “Loimata, The Sweetest Tears” (2021), by Anna Marbrook, is a moving documentary from Samoa and New Zealand that follows a family’s
journey of healing and self-discovery to their family homeland in Samoa. 🇼🇸 - “Chercher la Vie” (Looking for Life, 2000), by Claudette Coulanges, is the story of how two women in Haiti help each other in the daily struggle. 🇭🇹
- “How to Sue the Klan,” by John Beder, is a timely and important film that explores a landmark civil rights case in the United States. 🇺🇸
There are more great films. This is one of the few film festivals, where we would like to watch all the films.
Tickets and More Information
nyadiff.org
X (Twitter) @NYADIFF
Facebook @NYADIFF @artmattan
Instagram @ny_adiff
YouTube @africandiasporainternation1291