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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n THE NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The virtual 28<\/strong>th<\/sup><\/strong> edition of the festival runs February 4 – 14 at Film at Lincoln Center The Opening Night and Centerpiece films, The Milkmaid <\/em>and This is Not A Burial, Trailblazing director Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro receives a career retrospective<\/strong><\/p>\n NEW YORK (January 14, 2021) \u2014<\/strong> The 28th<\/sup> edition of the New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) returns with a virtual program celebrating the shared aspirations that drive humanity through time and the voices of the women who push the culture forward while preserving treasured traditions. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) and African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF), this year\u2019s NYAFF will showcase ten features and 21 short films from Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. The event will be presented under the banner \u201cNotes from Home: Recurring Dreams & Women\u2019s Voices\u201d in FLC\u2019s Virtual Cinema from February 4 to 14 and in the Maysles Documentary Center Virtual Cinema from February 18 to March 4.<\/p>\n Presenting an array of offerings that capture \u201cAfricanness\u201d in its myriad iterations and manifestations, NYAFF spotlights the global Black community\u2019s influence on our cultural pasts, present, and futures.<\/p>\n The Opening Night film is Desmond Ovbiagele\u2019s The Milkmaid<\/em>, Nigeria\u2019s entry for the 2021 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Depicting the impact of extremism on the families of those it touches, the drama follows a Fulani milkmaid as she confronts the religious insurgents who kidnapped her sister.<\/p>\n The Centerpiece selection is Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese\u2019s acclaimed Sundance prizewinner, This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection<\/em>, which recently became Lesotho\u2019s first-ever Oscar entry. The film paints a stirring portrait of an elderly woman whose plans for death are interrupted when news arrives that her village will be flooded and its inhabitants resettled to make way for a reservoir.<\/p>\n Other features in the program include the documentary Sankara Is Not Dead<\/em>, which follows the young poet Bikontine as he travels along Burkina Faso\u2019s only rail line in the wake of the 2014 uprising and encounters the enduring legacy of the late President Thomas Sankara; Pascal Aka\u2019s Afro-noir Gold Coast Lounge<\/em>, about a Ghanaian crime family fighting to prevent its lucrative lounge from getting shut down by the government amidst danger and intrigue; Mohamed Ismail\u2019s La Mora<\/em>, in which a young Spanish woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery to Morocco after finding a secret about her parentage in a letter left behind by her late mother; Amleset Muchie\u2019s Min Alesh?<\/em>, an Ethiopian drama about a young woman\u2019s quest to change her family\u2019s fate through her passion for running; Hawa Aliou N\u2019diaye\u2019s documentary Invisible Husband<\/em>, which introduces audiences to the phenomenon of jinn possession in the director\u2019s community in Mali; Atiq Rahimi\u2019s Our Lady of the Nile<\/em>, based on Scholastique Mukasonga\u2019s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, which brings viewers into the lives of teenage girls at a prestigious Rwandan boarding school as a growing inferno engulfs their nation; and A Day with Jerusa<\/em>, which captures a mystical, intergenerational encounter between two Black women in S\u0101o Paolo, Brazil.<\/p>\n The feature presentations also include a new restoration of\u00a0<\/span>Camera d\u2019Afrique<\/em> (<\/span>African Cinema: Filming Against All Odds<\/em>)<\/span>, <\/em>F\u00e9rid Boughedir\u2019s 1983 documentary capturing the rise and the striking visions of African auteurs like Ousmane Semb\u00e9ne, Souleymane Ciss\u00e9, Safi Faye, Oumarou Ganda, and Gadalla Gubara at a time when African countries were emerging from the shadows of colonialism.<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u2019s NYAFF will showcase a retrospective of trailblazing filmmaker Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro, who became the first woman from Burkina Faso to direct a fiction film with her 1991 short, A Certain Morning<\/em> (Un Certain Matin<\/em>). A founding member of the African Guild of Directors and Producers, Nacro explores modernity and tradition from a woman\u2019s perspective in films that are poignant, satiric, and often surprisingly comic. A program of her shorts will include A Certain Morning<\/em>, Bintou<\/em>, Open Your Eyes<\/em> (Puk Nini<\/em>), and Konat\u00e9\u2019s Gift<\/em> (Le truc de Konat\u00e9<\/em>). Nacro will join the festival for a special Q&A about her career.<\/p>\n \u201cEach generation takes a sprint and then passes the baton. Looking back, our filmmakers act as modern-day griots, grabbing that baton and weaving the story of their time while also propelling us forward,\u201d said AFF Executive Director and NYAFF Founder Mahen Bonetti. \u201cThis year\u2019s festival captures that look toward the past that helps our storytellers meet the present moment with inspiration from the elders.\u201d<\/p>\n The 28th NYAFF will present 17 additional films in three genre-spanning shorts programs. \u201cNotes from Home,\u201d an exploration of Africa on the continent and abroad, includes Joe Penney\u2019s Sun of the Soil<\/em>, Marin Sander-Holzman\u2019s 1000 Songs<\/em>, Che Applewhaite\u2019s A New England Document<\/em>, and Akosua Adoma Owusu\u2019s Pelourinho: They Don\u2019t Really Care About Us<\/em>. \u201cNew World Order\u201d presents tales of women power throughout the ages, including Chelsea Odufu\u2019s Black Lady Goddess<\/em>, Hlumela Matika\u2019s Tab<\/em>, Vatora Godwin\u2019s Omi<\/em>, Mmabatho Montsho\u2019s Joko Ya Hao<\/em>, Kyung Sok Kim\u2019s Furthest From<\/em>, and Tomisin Adepeju\u2019s Appreciation<\/em>. \u201cCity Dreams,\u201d a tapestry of desires expressed and realized in urban areas around the globe, includes E. G. Bailey\u2019s KEON<\/em>, Laurence Attali\u2019s Tabaski<\/em>, Ukachi Arinzeh\u2019s The Inconvenience of Being Black<\/em>, Will Niava\u2019s Zoo<\/em>, Edem Dotse\u2019s Linger<\/em>, Sylaz Udee\u2019s The Elevator<\/em> and Manu Luksch\u2019s ALGO-RHYTHM<\/em>.<\/p>\n The NYAFF Digital Art Exhibition will also feature a short visual excerpt from poet and author Ladan Osman’s Exiles of Eden<\/em> and performance works by Kenyan artist Ingrid Mwangi. Mwangi and her partner Robert Hutter, together known as Mwangi Hutter, often use their own bodies as sounding boards to reflect on social interrelationships. These works will be presented on africanfilmny.org<\/a>. More details about talks and events will be announced in the coming weeks on filmlinc.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beginning February 18, the festival has a two-week virtual run at the Maysles Documentary Center. Additional details on this segment of the event will be announced shortly.<\/p>\n Film at Lincoln Center Virtual Cinema tickets are $12, and go on sale on Friday, January 22 at noon. See more and save with the discounted NYAFF All-Access Pass. Film at Lincoln Center<\/a> members save an additional 20% on individual rentals and the all-access pass. Learn more at filmlinc.org\/AFF2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n The programs of AFF are made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Mayor\u2019s Office of Media and Entertainment, Bradley Family Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, New York Community Trust, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund, Domenico Paulon Foundation, Motion Picture Enterprises, Manhattan Portage, Black Hawk Imports and Royal Air Maroc.<\/p>\n FILMS & SYNOPSES<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Opening Night<\/strong><\/p>\n The Milkmaid<\/strong><\/p>\n Desmond Ovbiagele, Nigeria, 2020, 136m<\/strong><\/p>\n Hausa with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Set in a village in sub-Saharan Africa, Desmond Ovbiagele\u2019s thriller tells the story of Aisha, a Fulani milkmaid, who is kidnapped by religious extremists along with her younger sister Zainab. Aisha manages to escape, but she decides to go back and confront the extremists to try and bring Zainab home. Her quest proves complicated in a world of festering conflict. The Milkmaid<\/em>\u2014chosen as Nigeria\u2019s entry for the 2021 Academy Awards\u2014showcases the vibrancy of Hausa and Fulani culture while drawing attention to the plight of the victims of the real-life militant insurgency in Nigeria.<\/p>\n Centerpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection<\/strong><\/p>\n Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, 2019, Lesotho\/South Africa\/Italy, 120m<\/strong><\/p>\n Sesotho with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n In the mountains of Lesotho, an 80-year-old widow named Mantoa eagerly awaits the return of her son\u2014her only living kin\u2014from the South African mines where he works. When instead she receives news of his death, she puts her affairs in order and makes arrangements to be buried in the local cemetery. Her careful plans are upset abruptly by the news that provincial officials intend to resettle the village, flood the entire area, and build a dam for a reservoir. Determined to die on her own terms and in her own land, Mantoa resolves to defend the spiritual heritage of her community.<\/p>\n Cam\u00e9ra d’Afrique (African Cinema: Filming Against All Odds)<\/strong><\/p>\n F\u00e9rid Boughedir, 1983, Tunisia\/France, 95m<\/strong><\/p>\n French with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Seventy years after the invention of the cinema\u2014and after several decades of colonial cinema using Africa as an exotic setting, often denying humanity and dignity to its people\u2014newly independent Africans finally took hold of the movie camera. Undeterred by the lack of means and infrastructure, they showed African reality in its variegated forms, seen at last through African eyes. Using extracts from significant films, interviews with filmmakers, and rare vintage footage, Camera d\u2019Afrique<\/em> recalls the first 20 years of the new auteur cinema of Sub-Saharan Africa, which bears witness to an indefatigable\u2014and still-enduring\u2014drive for self-expression. 2K restoration from the original 16mm print done by the Laboratory of the CNC with the support of L’Institut fran\u00e7ais.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n A Day With Jerusa<\/strong><\/p>\n Viviane Ferreira, Brazil, 2020, 74m<\/strong><\/p>\n Portuguese with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n The lives of two women intersect in Viviane Ferreira\u2019s beguiling film, set in S\u00e3o Paolo, Brazil. Silvia is a young medium and a market researcher struggling to make ends meet while awaiting the results of a public exam. Jerusa is a gracious 77-year-old lady who bears witness to daily life in Bixiga, a neighborhood that brims with ancestral memories. On Jerusa\u2019s birthday, while she waits for her family\u2019s arrival, an encounter between her deepest memories and Silvia’s mediumship allows the two of them to travel through time and their intertwined histories.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Gold Coast Lounge<\/strong><\/p>\n Pascal Aka, 2019, Ghana, 118m<\/strong><\/p>\n English and Ga with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n In this Afro-noir set amid the nightlife of post-independence Ghana, a crime family has to unite and clean up their act before the government shuts down their lucrative lounge. When their leader is mysteriously poisoned, it is up to Daniel\u2014the eldest son\u2014to take power. As Daniel struggles to implement his own policies, he is faced with power tussles, love triangles, tribalism, and a murder investigation.<\/p>\n Invisible Husband \/ Un Invisible mari<\/strong><\/p>\n Hawa Aliou N’Diaye, 2020, Mali, 68m\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Bambara and French with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Malian filmmaker Hawa Aliou N’Diaye believes that she is possessed by a jinn. In this documentary, she interviews other women in her community who also believe that they are controlled by jinn, which in some cases claim to be their husbands. Delving into Malian traditions and myths, N’Diaye explores the ethereal dimensions of the world around her.<\/p>\n Min Alesh?<\/strong><\/p>\n Amleset Muchie, 2019, Ethiopia, 84m<\/strong><\/p>\n Amharic with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Set in Merkato, a sprawling, open-air market in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Min Alesh?<\/em> tells the inspiring story of 21-year-old Selam, whose perseverance transforms her life for the better. Having grown up amid poverty and hardships, Selam is determined to change her and her family\u2019s circumstances through her passion for running. An international race offers her a chance to achieve her dream.<\/p>\n La Mora<\/strong><\/p>\n Mohamed Ismail, 2020, Morocco, 90m<\/strong><\/p>\n Spanish and Arabic with English subtitles<\/strong> Our Lady of the Nile<\/strong><\/p>\n Atiq Rahimi, 2019, France\/Belgium\/Rwanda, 93m<\/strong><\/p>\n French and Kinyarwanda with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Rwanda, 1973. At Our Lady of the Nile, a prestigious Catholic boarding school perched on a hill, young girls are trained to become the Rwandan elite. They share the same dormitories, dreams, and teenage concerns. But both within the school and without, a deep-seated antagonism is rumbling, about to change these young girls\u2019 lives\u2014and the entire country\u2014forever.<\/p>\n Sankara Is Not Dead<\/strong><\/p>\n Lucie Viver, 2019, Burkina Faso\/France, 109m<\/strong><\/p>\n French with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n After Burkina Faso\u2019s October 2014 popular uprising, the young poet Bikontine starts to question his dreams of seeking a better life in the West. He decides to go meet his fellow citizens along the country\u2019s only rail line. From south to north, through cities and villages, he learns about their dreams and disappointments, confronting his poetry with the realities of a rapidly shifting society. His journey<\/p>\n ultimately reveals the enduring political legacy of storied former president Thomas Sankara, who was known as the \u201cAfrican Che Guevara.\u201d<\/p>\n Spotlight on Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n With 1992\u2019s <\/span>Un Certain Matin<\/em>, Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro became the first woman from Burkina Faso\u2014home to FESPACO, the largest Pan-African film festival in the world\u2014to direct a fiction film. Since then,<\/span><\/p>\n – <\/strong>more –<\/strong><\/p>\n Nacro has developed a rich body of shorts (as well as one feature film) in which the old and the new cohabitate, illustrating stories from her matrilineal upbringing. Her work depicts the courtyard effect: the entire community comes together to agree and disagree but always finds a positive and collective path to a solution. As Nacro eloquently states: \u201cIt is a vision, a certain gaze on our world, that we are proposing.\u201d<\/p>\n A Certain Morning \/ Un Certain Matin<\/strong><\/p>\n Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro, 1992, Burkina Faso, 13m<\/strong><\/p>\n Moor\u00e9 and French with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Fanta Nacro\u2019s debut film is a provocative look at cinematic illusions versus deadly realities. Riga is a farmer who lives peacefully with his wife and children on the Mossi plateau. When he hears a woman calling for help one day, his entire world is called into question. The first fiction film directed by a Burkinab\u00e9 woman, A Certain Morning<\/em> was presented at the 1992 Carthage Film Festival.<\/p>\n Open Your Eyes \/ Puk Nini<\/strong><\/p>\n Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro, 1995, Burkina Faso, 30m<\/strong><\/p>\n Dioula with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n A beautiful noble Senegalese woman arrives one day in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, and creates chaos through the city with her remarkable seductive powers.<\/p>\n Konat\u00e9\u2019s Gift \/ Le truc de Konat\u00e9<\/strong><\/p>\n Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro, 1997, Burkina Faso, 27m<\/strong><\/p>\n Dioula with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n When Dj\u00e9n\u00e9ba returns from the city where she has been visiting her cousin, she brings her husband, Konat\u00e9, a wonderful gift: a condom. Konat\u00e9 is furious and refuses to change his habits. Dj\u00e9n\u00e9ba, well aware of the effects of AIDS, refuses to give in.<\/p>\n Bintou<\/strong><\/p>\n Fanta R\u00e9gina Nacro, 2001, Burkina Faso, 31m<\/strong><\/p>\n Moor\u00e9 with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Bintou wants to make sure that her daughter goes to school, but her husband Abel doesn’t think it’s worth it and claims there is only enough money to educate their sons. But Bintou won’t give up and starts her own business to make the extra money. Abel, wary of losing control and scared that Bintou’s newfound financial freedom will lead her to adultery, tries to sabotage her efforts. Bintou <\/em>tackles sexuality, gender relations, and the fraught relationship between tradition and modernity with joyful satire.<\/p>\n Shorts Program: Notes from Home Part. 2<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n 60min<\/strong><\/p>\n A continuation of a theme from the 27th NYAFF, this program of shorts explores layered histories, notions of home and the footprints of Africa in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n Sun of the Soil<\/strong><\/p>\n Joe Penney, 2019, Mali\/USA, 26m<\/strong><\/p>\n English and French with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n In 14th-century Mali, an ambitious young royal named Mansa Musa ascended the throne of the richest kingdom in human history. Sun of the Soil<\/em> follows Malian artist Abdou Ouologuem on a journey to discover the truth behind the legendary African king. Abdou and Musa\u2019s arcs weave together, punctuated by performances that illustrate key moments in Musa\u2019s reign.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1000 Songs<\/strong><\/p>\n Marin Sander-Holzman, 2020, USA, 10m<\/strong> \u00a0<\/strong>A New England Document\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Che Applewhaite, 2020, UK\/USA, 16m<\/strong> Pelourinho: They Don\u2019t Really Care About Us<\/strong><\/p>\n Akosua Adoma Owusu, 2019, USA\/Brazil, 9m<\/strong><\/p>\n English and Portuguese with English subtitles<\/strong> Shorts Program: New World Order<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n 118min<\/strong><\/p>\n Set in the past as well as the speculative future, the shorts in the program tell nuanced stories about women of various generations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Black Lady Goddess<\/strong><\/p>\n Chelsea Odufu, 2019, USA, 25m<\/strong><\/p>\n In Black Lady Goddess<\/em>, a satirical Afrofuturistic series set in the year 2040, humans have discovered that God is a Black woman, and reparations of $455,000 have been issued to each person of African descent. In this brave new world, a young activist, Ifeoma Johnson, comes into her own.<\/p>\n Tab<\/strong><\/p>\n Hlumela Matika, 2019, South Africa, 13m<\/strong><\/p>\n English and Xhosa with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Khanya and Sandiswa\u2019s father leaves them in his car outside the local horse racing tracks under strict instructions to stay put. Khanya gets her period and decides to enter the arena. When she is confronted by her father, the true confines of their delicate relationship come to light.<\/p>\n Omi<\/strong><\/p>\n Vatora Godwin, 2019, USA, 12m<\/strong> Joko Ya Hao<\/strong><\/p>\n Mmabatho Montsho, 2020, South Africa, 36m<\/strong><\/p>\n Xhosa, Zulu, and English with English subtitles<\/strong><\/p>\n Set in 1955 in Gracetown, South Africa, Joko Ya Hao<\/em> follows Nozizwe, a 30-year-old woman who dreams of becoming a lay preacher in the Methodist Church. Standing in her way is Mr. Mvelase, a theology teacher who does not believe in women\u2019s ability to lead. As Nozizwe confronts Mr. Mvelase\u2019s prejudices, she also finds herself facing a bigger problem: the forced removals of Black South Africans by the apartheid government. Inspired by the memory and spirit of Winnie Mandela, Joko Ya Hao<\/em> is a celebration of the power of women.<\/p>\n Furthest From<\/strong><\/p>\n Kyung Sok Kim, 2020, USA, 18m<\/strong> Appreciation<\/strong><\/p>\n Tomisin Adepeju, 2019, UK, 14m<\/strong><\/p>\n When an African Pentecostal pastor in London undergoes a life-changing event, she questions everything she believes in.<\/p>\n Shorts Program: City Dreams<\/u><\/strong>
\nand February 18 – March 4 at the Maysles Documentary Center<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s a Resurrection,<\/em> are Nigeria and Lesotho\u2019s respective 2021 Oscars entries<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nAfter her mother, Maria, passes away, Rosa, a young Spanish woman, discovers the secret of her biological roots in one of her mother’s old letters. The letter recounts how Maria fell in love with Rosa\u2019s father, Choaib, who was one of the many young Moroccan soldiers (known as the Regulares) forced to fight alongside General Francisco Franco’s troops in the Spanish Civil War. Rosa journeys to Morocco to meet her paternal family and discovers the reasons for her father’s death.<\/p>\n
\n1000 Songs<\/em> features 83-year-old Brooklyn musician and R&B singer Ricky Rose. Ricky has been playing music for 70 years, and despite never making it to the big leagues, his passion for performing live has never dimmed.<\/p>\n
\nUsing found footage with selected images and text from The Marshall Family Collection at Harvard University\u2019s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, A New England Document <\/em>reconstructs the impulse of two ethnographers\u2019 photographic encounters in the Kalahari Desert in Namibia from a reparative perspective.<\/p>\n
\nFreely inspired by a 1927 letter from American sociologist and Pan-Africanist W.E.B. Du Bois to the American embassy in Brazil, this colorful film takes us back to a time when it was impossible for African Americans to travel to Brazil and reminds us of the inequality still faced by the Black inhabitants of that country.<\/p>\n
\nWhen a salacious tape threatens a woman\u2019s marriage, an unexpected encounter offers her a door she must choose to open or close.<\/p>\n
\n1999, Novato, California. Eight-year-old girl Jessie is enjoying what little time she has left to spend with her best friend, Lucas. The trailer park they live in will soon be closed due to MTBE water contamination, and the whole community will be forced to evacuate. For Jessie, this means learning to say goodbye to all that tethers her to her little pink trailer.<\/p>\n