L Africana

Celebrate the triumph of the African-American religious experience through the last three centuries. From the arrival of the early African slaves through the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Era, and into the 21st Century, explore the epic struggle of a people whose faith was continually tested, and how that faith became a force for social change that helped transform America socially, politically and culturally.

The director presents takes and scenes filmed on location in Africa for a film-that-never-was, a black Oresteia.

The historical ties between Black and Jewish Americans began long before the Civil Rights era. Shared Legacies explores this significant alliance, sharing eyewitness accounts, interviews with civil rights leaders, including the late U.S. Representative John Lewis, and a treasure trove of archival footage. The film is a tribute to the pursuit of what Dr. King called a "coalition of conscience" and a celebration of partnership, as well as an urgent call to action for today.

Celebrate the triumph of the African-American religious experience through the last three centuries. From the arrival of the early African slaves through the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Era, and into the 21st Century, explore the epic struggle of a people whose faith was continually tested, and how that faith became a force for social change that helped transform America socially, politically and culturally.

Documentary feature exploring the rise of African-Americans to positions of greatness in American sports. Stories are told of boxers, tennis players, runners, and basketball players, athletes who either suffered the indignities of racism, helped break down its walls, or enjoyed the opportunities afforded by past struggles.

The film takes place at the end of the 19th century. The Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia has spent 20 years in Ethiopia to convert people to the Catholic Church. He comes back to Italy and he tries to get the help of the government of Piedmont. The Count Cavour, although he appreciates the Cardinal's deeds in Africa, cannot grant his Cabinet's support to the Cardinal's plans. The missionary man, trusting the Divine Providence, goes back to Africa by himself. The Cardinal, who is known among the people as Abuna Messias, becomes a friend of king Menelik. The support of the king is fundamental to spread his word and accomplish his mission. The Head of the Coptic Church, Abuna Attanasio, does whatever he can to prevent Massaia from reaching his goals and to get him exiled from Ethiopia. Menelik refuses to help Abuna Attanasio, who decides to address the Emperor, thus igniting a war between the Emperor and his subject Menelik. In order to end the war, the Cardinal decides to leave Africa.

A documentary portrait of the African photographer Malick Sidibe, and a journey through Malian history inspired by his iconic images. Sidibe's snapshots from the late 50s through to the early 70s capture the carefree spirit of a youth asserting their freedom from colonialism in the early days of Malian independence - until a coup ushered in decades of austere military dictatorship. So this is a film not only about art, but also about a culture reflected through a camera lens, in a country that today is one of the poorest in the world.

Episode 7 is intertidal, locating itself in and as mangrove, by speaking to interconnectedness and enmeshment. It constructs future oral histories by inviting real participants and asking them to image and imagine themselves as their future selves. This discursive, collaborative exercise in place-making is one where both science and the imaginary dovetail into a possible, collective futurology. In blending fact and speculative fiction, narrative and documentary, Shezad enacts a unique, sliding temporal scale that underlies the entire Leviathan project, connecting deep time to tentative futurity.

This documentary focuses on the Civil Rights Movement in the heavily segregated steel industry and its equally segregated union, The United Steelworkers of America (USWA), at the time when this industry—devastated by mismanagement and global competition—began to crumble. It is a powerful picture of black working-class life in the latter part of the 20th century, told in a combination of interviews and documentary footage. Through live testimonials and revelatory archival materials, Struggles shows the contributions of African Americans to the steel industry and to the labor movement more generally. (via cinema.indiana.edu)

This collection of the historically vital works of America's legendary first African-American filmmakers is the only one of its kind. Funded in part by a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, the packaged set includes no fewer than a dozen feature-length films and nearly twice as many shorts and rare fragments. Subject matter includes race issues that went unaddressed by Hollywood for decades.

Documentary film about the history and influence of Africans in Puerto Rican society. In addition to still photographs, film clips and interviews, the film utilizes dramatizations of scenes from the life of the poet Luis Palés Matos to illustrate the history and contributions of black Puerto Ricans through the centuries.

"An Introduction" provides an overview of disc content, featuring film historians Jacqueline Najuma Stewart and Charles Musser.

"The End of an Era" closes out the Pioneers of African-American Cinema set with additional thoughts from Jacqueline Najuma Stewart.

"About the Restoration" provides an overview of the recovery effort, hosted by Bret Wood. Also of interest are examples of movie making mistakes that remain in the pictures, with disc producers resisting the urge to correct these admittedly humorous issues.

"Religion in Early African-America Cinema" returns to Charles Musser & Jacqueline Najuma Stewart, who offers historical perspective on depictions and criticism of faith in the collected films.

Masai Mara, the traditional territory of the Masai tribe, divided between Kenya and Tanzania, is the setting for this documentary in which we approach a Manyata, a traditional Maasai dwelling to attend the ceremonies in which children become warriors.