Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia’s Institute for African American Studies is hosting the fourth annual African Diaspora Film Festival with films Feb. 18 through March 4. The festival features four films relating to the theme “Women Directors, Women in the World.”
Held in conjunction with Black History Month, the film festival aims to bring progressive, independent domestic and foreign films about people of African-descent to UGA and the Athens community, according to Derrick Alridge, director of the Institute for African American Studies. Another major purpose of the festival is to expose students to groundbreaking and avant-gardefilms that would not typically be shown at traditional theaters, he said.
The festival kicks off with a Feb. 18 showing of Rain at 7 p.m. at Ciné, 234 West Hancock Ave. The 2008 film by Maria Govanis the story of a young girl’s journey to Nassau, Bahamas, in search of the mother who abandoned her as a child. The film’s producer, Pamela Kohn, will introduce the film and lead a question-and-answer session following the screening. Tickets are $9 or $5 for students with ID.
On Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. the documentary Poto Mitan will be shown in Room 481 of the Tate Student Center. The 2009 film by Renee Bergan and Mark Shullar examines globalization and its impact on Haitian women workers.
On Feb. 26 Scene not Heard will be shown at 7 p.m. in the African American Cultural Center, which is located on the fourth floor or Memorial Hall. The 2005 documentary by Maori Karmael Holmes focuses on women in the hip-hop music scene in Philadelphia and across the nation.
The festival’s last presentation will be Daughters of the Dust, a 1991 film by Julie Dash, which will be shown March 4 at 7 p.m. in Room 481 of the Tate Student Center. Filmed on St. Helena Island in South Carolina, it depicts three generations of Gullah women moving from the Sea Islands to the mainland and the cultural issues associated with their move.
All on-campus film showings are free and open to the public. Additional information is available online at www.uga.edu/iaas/film_festival/index.htm and on Facebook.