The Harlem International Film Festival celebrates the art of independent cinema in the home of the Harlem Renaissance.
19th Harlem International Film Festival 2024
The 19th Harlem International Film Festival 2024; is at The Forum at Columbia University (125th and Broadway) in Manhattanville, West Harlem, Manhattan; from May 16-19, 2024. FREE.
Opening Night Films
It’s the big night.
Kankantri
The first opening night film is the North American Premiere of “Kankantri” (the silk cotton tree) by Curaçao-born Gabri Christa (@shaolinfilms), a dancer who makes films. It is filmed in Suriname, South America. It’s a post-colonial response to the Dutch history of slavery and its consequences. Both Curaçao and Suriname were colonized by the Dutch, so was New Amsterdam which became New York City.
The synopsis is: “A woman enters a place of worship and is transported to the parallel universe of all her ancestors who do not let her leave, until she participates in their dances and rituals, and exits integrated.”
As an American, that sounds like a nice fantasy. As a person of the Caribbean, that sounds like the real magic of everyday life. In African Diaspora and Indigenous tradition, dance is how we pray, and dance is part of our lives. Whatever you think is true, but we think that rituals are not to gain favor or give thanks to your name for God, but rather to change our own minds. The rituals work on us and thereby activate the divine that is in all living things.
You Are Always Right There
The second opening night film is the World Premiere of “You Are Always Right Here,” by Nana Ghana. It’s a lockdown story about the pain of loss and isolation, shot cinéma vérité style (slice of life with little direction).
The pandemic was hard on all of us. The isolation stirred lots of emotional problems, some of which are still with us. It all seems long ago, but actually we are just coming out of it.
18th Harlem International Film Festival 2023
The 18th Harlem International Film Festival 2023 opens with the New York premiere of Ryan Dickie and Abigail Horton’s “Blow Up My Life” at the AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 Theatre; on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 6:30pm.
The Friday night red carpet gala has many filmmakers in attendance with two spotlight presentations.
There is the world premiere of two episodes of STARZ’ Run the World” series second season. Chronicling the euphoric highs and heartbreaking lows that three black women must endure in their pursuit of world domination, the dramatic comedy returns as they continue to not simply survive but thrive. A panel discussion after includes series stars Amber Stevens West, Bresha Webb, and Corbin Reid, with showrunner Rachelle Williams-BenAry.
The world premiere of “In the Weeds,” is a New York magical realism drama by Clayton P. Allis and Doug E. Doug. A free-spirited girl from Harlem falls for a handsome transplant from London, whose mental scars have been awoken by the pandemic. The remedy, she believes, is outside, everywhere, from medicinal weeds sprouting out of sidewalks in the Bronx, to magic mushrooms in Queens. Meanwhile, her chronically suspicious father, with the help of two healing witches runs all over NYC looking for her, desperate to make amends.
The in-person festival runs to Sunday, May 21 and goes virtual until May 28, 2023. Movies $15. 🇺🇸
Harlem International Film Festival
The Festival was founded in 2005. Harlem represents diversity, and diversity in film is what you’ll see at the Festival. Every person is unique and every film is unique, so the Festival curates films by anyone and about anything under the sun ~ with a Harlem state of mind.
Tickets and Film Lineup
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