Women in Activism Film Festival 2017

Women in Activism Film Festival is a programme of screenings celebrating Black Women in Activism and to highlight the variety of work, experiences and excellence of Black Women around the world and through history. It is important to recognise that the contributions of Black Women to History, which makes for a much more inclusive, richer, fuller and more importantly, truthful account of World History.

The film festival will feature a mixture of feature films and documentaries. We will incorporate presentations and facilitate engaging post film discussions with audience members.

The programme of events are below:

THE SUPREME PRICE (15)
Friday 5th May 2017 @ Bernie Grant Arts Centre

Director Joanna Lipper elegantly explores past and present as she tells the remarkable story of Hafsat Abiola, daughter of human rights heroine Kudirat Abiola, and Nigeria’s President-elect M.K.O. Abiola, who won a historic vote in 1993 that promised to end years of military dictatorship. Shortly after the election, M.K.O. Abiola’s victory was annulled and he was arrested. While he was imprisoned, his wife Kudirat took over leadership of the pro-democracy movement. In this riveting political thriller, the Abiola family’s intimate story unfolds against the epic backdrop of Nigeria’s evolution from independence in 1960, through a series of military dictatorships to present day civilian rule as Hafsat continues to face the challenge of transforming a corrupt culture of governance into a democracy capable of serving Nigeria’s most marginalized population: women.

This event will take place on FRIDAY 5TH MAY 2017  from 7pm to 10pm.

Doors open at 7.00pm and the film will start at 7.30pm

The event will be held at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham Green, London, N15 4RX.

For location details go to http://www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk/index.php/your-visit

Tickets for this event are £8 plus booking fee.

 

SOUTH LONDON PREMIERE

PROFILED (15)
Saturday 6th May 2017 @ Upstairs at the Ritzy Cinema

Profiled knits the stories of mothers of Black and Latin youth murdered by the NYPD into a powerful indictment of racial profiling and police brutality, and places them within a historical context of the roots of racism in the U.S. Some of the victims-Eric Garner, Michael Brown-are now familiar the world over. Others, like Shantel Davis and Kimani Gray, are remembered mostly by family and friends in their New York neighborhoods.

Ranging from the routine harassment of minority students in an affluent Brooklyn neighborhood to the killings and protests in Staten Island and Ferguson, Missouri, PROFILED bears witness to the racist violence that remains an everyday reality for Black and Latin people in this country. Moving interviews with victims’ family members are juxtaposed with sharply etched analyses by evolutionary biologist, Joseph L.Graves, Jr, (The Race Myth) and civil rights lawyer, Chauniqua D. Young, (Center for Constitutional Rights, Stop and Frisk lawsuit). PROFILED gives us a window on one of the burning issues of our time.

This event will take place on SATURDAY 6TH MAY 2017

The event will be held Upstairs at the Ritzy, Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton Oval, Coldharbour Lane, London, SW2 1JG. The venue is not wheelchair accessible.

For location details and travel information, please go to https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/info/Ritzy_Picturehouse

Doors open at 12.00pm. The event will start 12.30pm sharp!

Seats are unallocated. Admission is £8 per person.

 

MAMA AFRICA (15)

Friday 12th May 2017  @ Bernie Grant Arts Centre

Mama Africa is the biography of the South African singer, Miriam Makeba, who was the first black, African musician to win international stardom. Her music influenced artists across the globe, although her style stayed anchored in her South African roots. She sang for John F. Kennedy and Marlon Brando, performed with Harry Belafonte, Nina Simone and Dizzie Gillespie.

Makeba was also a vocal campaigner against apartheid, and always stood for truth and justice. After her involvement with the 1959 documentary Come Back Africa (one of the first films to expose the harsh realities of apartheid) she was forced into a life in exile from her homeland.

This documentary traces her life and music through more than fifty years of performing. Friends and colleagues, some who knew her from the beginning, in the dance halls of South Africa (remember Pata Pata ), together with her grandchildren, allow us to know the remarkable journey of Mama Africa.

This event will take place on FRIDAY 12TH MAY 2017  from 7pm to 10pm.

Doors open at 7.00pm and the film will start at 7.30pm

The event will be held at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham Green, London, N15 4RX.

For location details go to http://www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk/index.php/your-visit

Tickets for this event are £8 plus booking fee.

Purchase your ticket from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mama-africa-women-in-activism-film-festival-tickets-32652920765?aff=erellivmlt

NORTH LONDON PREMIERE

THE AMAZING NINA SIMONE (15)

Friday 19th May 2017 @ Bernie Grant Arts Centre – SOLD OUT!

Thursday 8th June 2017 @ Bernie Grant Arts Centre – SOLD OUT!

Saturday 24th June 2017 @ Bernie Grant Arts Centre – SOLD OUT!

Black History Studies brings you the loved and often misunderstood story of America’s most overlooked musical genius, finally brought to light in The Amazing Nina Simone. Director Jeff L. Lieberman brings audiences on Nina’s journey from the segregated South, through the worlds of classical music, jazz joints and international concert halls. Navigating through the twists and turns of the 1960’s fight for racial equality, the film delves deep into Nina’s artistry and intentions, answering long-held questions behind Nina’s most beloved songs, bold style, controversial statements and the reason she left America.

Doors open at 7.00pm and the film will start at 7.30pm

The event will be held at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham Green, London, N15 4RX.

For location details go to http://www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk/index.php/your-visit

Tickets for this event are £8 plus booking fee.

Purchase your ticket for Thursday 8th June 2017, go to https://amazingnina-bhs-bgac.eventbrite.co.uk

Purchase your ticket for Saturday 24th June 2017, go to https://ninasimone3.eventbrite.co.uk

NORTH LONDON PREMIERE

BaddDD SONIA SANCHEZ (15) 

Friday 26th May 2017 @ Bernie Grant Arts Centre

For 81-year-old Sonia Sanchez, writing is both a personal and political act. She emerged as a seminal figure in the 1960s Black Arts Movement, raising her voice in the name of Black culture, civil rights, women’s liberation, and peace as a poet, playwright, teacher, activist and early champion of the spoken word. She is among the earliest poets to have incorporated urban Black English into her poetry; she was one of the first activists to secure the inclusion of African American studies in university curricula. Deemed “a lion in literature’s forest” by poet Maya Angelou and winner of major literary awards including the American Book Award, Sonia Sanchez is best known for 17 books of poetry that explore a wide range of global and humanist themes, particularly the struggles and triumphs of women and people of color.

In BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez, Sanchez’s life unfolds in a documentary rich with readings and jazz-accompanied performances of her work. With appearances by Questlove, Talib Kweli, Ursula Rucker, Amiri Baraka, Haki Madhubuti, Jessica Care Moore, Ruby Dee, Yasiin Bey, Ayana Mathis, Imani Uzuri and Bryonn Bain, the documentary examines Sanchez’s contribution to the world of poetry, her singular place in the Black Arts Movement and her leadership role in African American culture over the last half century.

The event will be held at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham Green, London, N15 4RX.

For location details go to http://www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk/index.php/your-visit

Tickets for this event are £8 plus booking fee.

(Please note, photographs will be taken at this event and may be used for promotional purposes)

The International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 68/237 and to be observed from 2015 to 2024, provides a solid framework for the United Nations, Member States, civil society and all other relevant actors to join together with people of African descent and take effective measures for the implementation of the programme of activities in the spirit of recognition, justice and development. It is also a unique opportunity to build on the International Year for People of African Descent, which was observed by the international community in 2011, and to further underline the important contribution made by people of African descent to our societies and to propose concrete measures to promote their full inclusion and to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.