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| Mississippi River 9th Ward Film Festival |
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On October 17, 2009 the New Orléans Afrikan Film and Arts Festival will host a special event for friends of the Mississippi River 9th Ward Film Festival. We will screen Karmen Geï (2001), the award-winning film of NOAFEST Co-President Joseph Gaï Ramaka. An adaptation of Bizet’s opera Carmen set in contemporary Senegal, Karmen Geï has been screened and won awards at festivals around the world, including the Cannes Festival in 2001 and in 2002 at the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (Los Angeles) where it received the Best Feature Award. “Mr. Ramaka keeps music bubbling through the text . . . music becomes an organic part of the way the characters lead their lives, instead of having them break meaninglessly into song. The wonderful soundtrack . . . has a come-hither fire . . .” (Elvis Mitchell, New York Times). The screening will take place on the grounds of the historic Doullut Steamboat Pilot House in the lower 9th Ward and will be preceded by a reception and performances, featuring Kora Konnection, with Morikeba Kouyate, griot, kora master, and electrifying performer; Tim Green, internationally acclaimed jazz musician and master of the tenor saxophone; James Singleton, acoustic bassist and composer extraordinaire; Jeff Klein, passionate, seasoned percussionist and composer; and the outstanding Nkafu African dance troupe featuring Mariama Curry. The October 17 screening will inaugurate the annual Mississippi River 9th Ward Film Festival. On October 1-3 and October 8-10, 2010, we will bring together celebrated films and cinematic traditions from around the world, including those of Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the U.S. We will screen approximately twenty films over two weekends with filmmakers in attendance. These open air screenings will be held on the banks of the Mississippi River in the lower 9th Ward. Feature films by guest filmmakers will be preceded by music and dance performances and also by screenings of films of local interest or made by local filmmakers. We will host a photography exhibit in which residents of the 9th Ward share photos on their lives, homes, and neighborhoods before and after Hurricane Katrina, and we will sponsor a colloquium on the theme of communities and renewal. Please contribute to this initiative! We need you! Your ideas, your hard work, funds or whatever you can do to support us! Click here to tell us how you wish to help. Click here to donate. Friends who contribute $30 or more will be invited to the inaugural event on October 17, 2009. Seating is limited to 200 places. Come join us. Reception provided by Whole Foods Eileen Julien Co-President Joseph Gaï Ramaka Co-President and Festival Director |
The Audio-Visual Workshop We're back!
To play a further role in the rebirth of New Orleans, we are creating, with the help of local partners and institutions, the Audio-Visual Workshop We're back! Through documentary and fiction filmmaking, we will contribute to the task of sustaining historical and contemporary memory. By working with a team of local directors, actors, musicians, and technical staff, we will draw on and draw attention to the expertise of professionals in New Orleans and Louisiana.
We would be pleased to have your support of this important cultural and educational initiative.
