Finding Fela – © Watch Africa 2015
Watch Africa 2015 is bringing you some of the best in African cinema with a series of films being screened across Wales, starting on Friday the 3 October 2015.
This year’s festival aims to provide viewers with an insight into some of the issues facing people on the continent, with a focus on three main themes; Young Africans, From Africa with love and the North Africa Spring.
The Young Africans theme will include 13 films, from the challenges facing a young albino in ‘White Shadow’ to ‘Finding Fela’ which looks at the important role of the musician Fela Kuti, the afro-beat movement and the revolutionary political opinions which helped bring change from the Nigerian dictatorship of the 1970-80’s.
From Africa with love will explore the universal theme of love from a truly African context. Kenya’s ‘Stories of our Lives’ explores the issue of sexuality through a series of short films. Breathe Umphemulo brings a contemporary twist through a topical reworking of Puccini’s classic opera La bohème focusing on the damage done by tuberculosis in South African townships.
Three films will look at the conditions and social movements that triggered the wave of uprisings in what we call the North African or Arab ‘Spring’. The Moroccan/Belgian film ‘Horses of God’ looks and the rise of fundamentalism, whilst ‘We are Giants’ grapples with the agonizing and universal dilemmas at the heart of all struggles; to take up arms and fight, or to advocate change through peace and non-violence.
Festival Director, Fadhili Maghiya said: “I’m really excited by the films and themes we are show casing this year. Africa is a hugely diverse continent and I hope that people who come to see the films are left feeling like they have had a small taste of the challenges people are facing.
“As well as the films we will be hosting a number of question and answer sessions with partner organisations and experts in the field to allow people to share and discuss some of the key issues.
“Though Africa might feel like a world away, many of the challenges people face are easy to relate to and often much closer to home than we think.”
For more information and to see the full programme visit: http://www.watch-africa.co.uk/
The festival is supported by: British Film Institute (BFI), Arts Council Wales, Black History Month, Welsh Government, Sub-Sahara Advisory Panel (SSAP), Cardiff University and Hub Cymru Africa.
