Wednesday, 5/7/97 Celebrating Afrikan Visions The Pan Afrikan
Visions ’97 film festival, dedicated to director Ousmane Sembene,
offers a rare glimpse of African movies and culture.
By Tristan Thai Daily Bruin Contributor The excitement is high
at Pan Afrikan Visions ’97. Organizers busily answer phones and put
together last-minute flyers for what they hope will be a successful
film festival. Pan Afrikan Visions ’97, in its second year, is a
student-run series sponsored by Melnitz Movies. The two-week film
festival began Monday with a screening of "Sankofa," a film about a
contemporary African American woman who is forced to look back at
the history of her ancestors. In the coming weeks, the festival
will showcase short films, documentaries, animation and new
releases from Africa and the Black Diaspora. "Here in America, we
take African cinema for granted," says N’dine K. Rowe, graduate
student and festival director. Rowe’s intention for the film
festival is to give African cinema the exposure it lacks. Rowe
started the festival last year to address some concerns she had on
campus. "I saw the festival as a need to show that there is such a
thing as African cinema. There was an imbalance in programming on
campus. You saw films from everywhere around the world but Africa.
This was a way to address our invisibility in film." Whereas last
year’s festival was basically an introduction to Pan African
cinema, this year’s festival will incorporate a photo exhibition,
performing artists and panel discussions about African films. There
is a big difference in this year’s festival financially, but
organizers feel that this year’s is very different in prestige as
well. "The festival’s a tribute to one of the greatest influences
in Pan African cinema, someone who’s been long overdue, who’s
really important to the world, and who’s opened doors to the
industry," says Melle Randall, second-year graduate student and
assistant director of Pan Afrikan Visions. Randall is talking about
the festival’s main focus this year, a retrospective on Senegalese
filmmaker and author Ousmane Sembene. The Sembene retrospective,
titled "From ‘Black Girl’ to ‘Guelwaar’: Celebrating Screengriot
Ousmane Sembene," starts on Friday with an opening gala and salute
to be held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It
begins with a screening of his latest film, "Guelwaar," which
focuses on Muslim and Christian conflicts which arise after the
title character’s Christian family finds out that he was
accidentally given a Muslim burial. Sembene is scheduled to attend
this event with a question-and-answer session to follow. "Ousmane
Sembene is the godfather of African cinema," says Rowe. "He started
the whole thing. Sembene has done more for filmmaking on the
continent than anyone else. He has been the voice for African
cinema for so many years." Sembene is known all over West Africa as
a social activist and progressive filmmaker. His political and
controversial films focus on oppression and the schism between
social classes. An example of this would be "Black Girl," the short
film which put Sembene’s name on the map. In the film, Sembene
heavily criticizes French colonialists and their attitudes toward
Africans. Attacking the colonial establishment as well as the
Africans who accept it is a topic which Sembene touches upon in
several of his films. Many of Sembene’s works have been censored or
banned in his native country of Senegal. Among these is one of
Sembene’s most controversial films, "Xala." Based on his book of
the same name, "Xala" is a tale of a Senegalese businessman who is
cursed with impotency on the eve of his third marriage. The film is
a social commentary which openly criticizes the Senegalese
government. Rowe points out that Sembene has had a direct influence
on just about all the other films on the festival slate. "He paved
the way. Without him, African filmmakers wouldn’t have been
encouraged to pick up a camera." Of Sembene, Randall adds, "Every
other film on there (Pan Afrikan film festival) is because of the
doors that he’s opened by being a persistent filmmaker." In
addition to the films, the festival will also include "Celebrate
Pan Africa!," a showcase of various performing arts ranging from
traditional African dances to modern-day hip-hop. To conclude the
festival, Pan Afrikan Visions will hold a photography exhibition by
Keba Konte. Konte will present moving still presentations of the
Million Man March and the first South African elections. Randall
believes the Sembene retrospective and the festival itself will
enlighten people and expose them to a genre of cinema that has yet
to be heard from here in Los Angeles. "You don’t see a lot of black
or African films. It doesn’t mean that they’re not being made – it
just means that they don’t have a venue to be played." "I hope
people get an appreciation for African artists and filmmakers."
Rowe says. "I hope people get a sensitivity toward the issues that
some of these films try to address. I hope people see the diversity
in African culture. I hope people see that there’s quality work
going on in African cinema at the highest levels." FILM: Pan
Afrikan Visions ’97 runs through May 17. Admission is free.
Screenings will be held at the James Bridges Theater and Korn
Convocation Hall. For more information, call (310) 206-4724 or
e-mail pav@ucla.edu. The academy salute to Ousmane Sembene will be
held at the Academy Theater at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly
Hills. Tickets are $5. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
Director Ousmane Sembene will be honored at Pan Afrikan Visions ’97
for his revolutionary films. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences "Xala," based on the novel of same name, promises to be an
experience for audiences. Sembene’s "Guelwaar" is among the films
that will be featured during the two-week festival. Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Xala" is one of Sembene’s films
that explores African American issues through its stories. Previous
Daily Bruin stories Film student founds festival to celebrate
African cinema", May 3, 1996 Faced with cutbacks, Melnitz plots
course for its uncertain future, June 6, 1996