Courtesy/UMass Media RelationsIt is that time of year again! The Interdepartmental Program in Film Studies at the University of Massachusetts is hosting the 15th annual Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival.
The MMFF was founded in 1993 by Professor Catherine Portuges, director of the Interdepartmental Program in Film Studies. The festival hones in on innovative cinematic works by filmmakers young and old, up-and-coming and reputable.
The festival selects a different theme each year, focusing on contemporary issues in both politics and art. Film scholars and filmmakers give an introduction before the showing of a film and take questions from the audience following the film’s commencement.
The MMFF is thirteen free weeks of engaging cinema guaranteed to interest not only students but faculty and the wider community as well. This year’s theme is titled, “Africanicities: Conflict and Community.”
Running from Feb. 6 to April 23 throughout the five colleges, the festival focuses on the exploration of the various challenges undergone by African Americans on their quest for equal opportunity.
It begins with an exclusive ode to the beloved Ousmane Sembene, a prominent Senegalese filmmaker. Sembene recently passed away at the age of 84 in his home of Dakar, Senegal. His family announced his death this past Sunday. He had been struggling with an unknown illness since this past December.
Sembene is dubbed “the father of African cinema,” having taken up filmmaking in the 1960s. He studied film at Gorky Studio in Moscow and held a firm belief that film could reach a more diverse African audience in comparison to literature. Two of his films are scheduled to be screened tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Isenberg School of Management.
The remainder of the festival is infused with new cinema, in addition to various storytellings that emphasize the daily life of modern day African Americans. Among these is the MMFF’s very own mini-series titled “Landscapes of Violence.” The short sequence of films features an array of disturbing occurrences, targeting war and terrorism in such nations as Bosnia, Darfur, Indonesia and the United States.
Perhaps the most intriguing portion of this mini-series will be the April 9 screening of a segment on the suffering nation of Darfur entitled “Darfur Now!” It is directed by critically-acclaimed director Ted Braun, once a student at Amherst College.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Amherst College’s Stirn Auditorium, the 92-minute documentary closely examines the evident devastation sweeping Darfur through the eyes of six individuals working to end the mass murders. Don Cheadle, a prominent celebrity activist, actor and author fighting for Darfur, makes a special appearance in the film, urging people everywhere to do everything in their power to work toward ending genocide.
Providing a release of tension and adding a great deal of humor is the ostentatious Keith Price, co-host of Sirius Radio’s “OutQ in the Morning.” Premiering on March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Isenberg School of Management is “Ebony Chunky Love: Bitch Can’t Get a Date.”
The humorous film puts the spotlight on the personal and professional difficulties of a homosexual African American comedian. It’s directed by Lonnie Renteria, who uses various clips from Price’s comedy routine as well as past interviews to address various issues pertaining to the African American gay community. Wrapping up the Festival on April 30 is “Look Back and Wonder: The Rise of Black Studies at UMass Amherst.”
The film looks into the history of the department it is co-sponsored by, the W.E.B. Du Bois department of Afro-American Studies. It highlights the department’s achievements and debates through its impressive footage and insightful interviews. The film also zones in on the department’s impressive history of featured members, including Shirley Graham Du Bois, Chinua Achebe, James Baldwin and such world-class musicians and cultural icons as Archi Shepp and Max Roach.
Heather Waxman can be reached at [email protected].
