The month-long 33rd New York African Film Festival continues its travels throughout New York City, heading to Harlem and the Maysles Documentary Center this weekend. Presented African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) and Maysles, the 33rd NYAFF features 11 contemporary and classic feature films and 11 short films from Africa and its diaspora screening at Maysles from May 15 through May 17 — offering an eclectic mix of acclaimed documentaries and powerful narrative films. Over 100 films are being presented by the festival throughout the month at Maysles and other esteemed New York City cultural venues.
The Opening Night selection is the U.S. premiere of Irène Tassembédo ’s French language film La Traversée, about Djibi, who returns to Burkina Faso with a troubled past and trains migrants for the journey to Europe. But as they abandon the dream, one boy’s attempt to see it through exposes the devastating stakes of migration. The film will be followed by a post-screening conversation with Tassembédo, moderated by fellow filmmaker Solo Ouedraogo.
The film will be preceded by Camille Varenne’s Wolobougou. “Wolobougou,” means “the place of compassionate birth” in Bambara and it is the name of the small bush maternity clinic founded by midwife Honorine Soma in Burkina Faso. Driven by a commitment to revolutionize the status of women in Burkinabè society, Soma created the clinic to provide healthcare access and independence to women in a region where medical resources are scarce. Wolobougou is a quest for dignity and justice, rooted in the intimate experience of the woman’s body.
The festival, which kicked off at the Africa Center and moved to Film at Lincoln Center, will alight on BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) under the name FilmAfrica from May 22 to May 28 during DanceAfrica. The festival returns to Harlem on May 30 for an outdoor screening at St. Nicholas Park.
WHO:
Directors Irène Tassembédo and Camille Varenne(La Traversée and Wolobougou respectively);moderator Solo Ouedraogo; and NYAFF Founder and African Film Festival, Inc. Executive Director Mahen Bonetti.
WHEN:
Friday, May 15
5:30 p.m. Screening of Wolobougou and Q&A
7:30 p.m. Screening of La Traversée and Q&A
@10:00 p.m. Afterparty
WHERE:
Maysles Documentary Center, 343 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard New York, NY, 10027 (between 127th and 128th Streets)
