DOCUMENTING OUR EXPERIENCE | 4 pm PST | Moderator Abie Ekenezar, actress, singer and “Cosplayer” who has been in the entertainment industry professionally with IMDB credits since September 2013
Exploring tradition, from the deepest pain and collective joy across three continents, this set of films will give you a glimpse of the breadth of the Black experience, across the diaspora. Warning: Some content in this block may be strong for some viewers
Pulling The Evidence That Remains | Kendra Brown | 9min51sec | A portrait of Veronica Carter, a 50-year-old woman from the Bronx, as she tries to understand the trauma she faced during her childhood and her relationship with her family, as she currently seeks therapy for her bipolar disorder. Learn more about the history of mental health in the Black community at BlackPast.org: https://www.Blackpast.org/african-american-history/mental-illness-in-Black-community-1700-2 019-a-short-history/
The Call of the Drum | Márcio Cruz | 15min 52sec | The history of Afro-Brazilian women is one of resistance, creation, and celebration. The 400 women of Ilú Obá de Min create music and dance together; they unite a woman’s body and her instrument. The Call Of The Drums meets the group on the eve of São Paulo’s 2019 Carnival, their most political parade to date. Through beautiful still images and Ilú Obá’s powerful voices, the film weaves together a poetic and compelling vision of an inspiring ‘insurrection’, in the words of Ilú Obá. Their ideas and movement — and this film — are a very special call to arms.
Marked | Henry Ogunjimi | 25min | It’s the 21st century, and Henry carries marks of the culture of the Nigerian Yoruba people on his face. Remembering vividly the teasing from schoolmates while growing up, he goes to Oyo town to find out what is left of this almost-extinct tradition of tribal marks. Learn more about Oyo at BlackPast.org: https://www.Blackpast.org/global-african-history/oyo/.
Sankofa | Princess Garrett | 28min | This documentary is about the loss of identity and its systemic impact on Black males. By exploring the complexities of mental slavery, Sankofa calls it’s audience to free themselves from the system in which they were born.
We Do What We Can | Kwaku Awuku Asabre | 8min33sec | A film that looks at one of the miracles in the journey of diaspora Africans. It follows a couple who have a child when they don’t have a place to live as they find a way to make a life.
Mithunzi | Tebogo Malebogo | 8min35sec | The film follows Mthunzi walking home from the shops as he sees a lady go into seizures in her driveway – he is then asked to help carry her in by her niece and so becomes caught up in a world he does not belong.
