Annansi Chronicles

As part of the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, the African Film Commission will present On The Rumba River (Le Batelier de la Rumba) a film Jacques Sarasin. I won’t be able to attend but, I encourage any of you who will be in LA this week to support us and catch this exciting documentary. Details below.

Synopsis:
Brimming with music and dance, On the Rumba River looks at the life and times of beloved Congolese musician Wendo Kolosoy. Throughout a career that spans decades, Papa Wendo has weathered personal hard times as well as Congo’s troubled political and economic history, all of which he’s faced with a combination of determination, humor and, of course, music. This touching and lively documentary captures Kolosoy’s latest reunion with his band, the Victoria Bakolo Miziki Players, when they gather to play the transcendent music that has come to embody the spirit of the Congolese people.

Screening Times:
Thu. Jun 28, 7:00pm, Mann Festival Theater
Sat. Jun 30, 5:00pm, Italian Cultural Institute

For event information and tickets, call 866.FILM.FEST (866.345.6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com

Last Saturday I attended the 5th Annual Hip-Hop Odyssey (H2O) Awards, held at BB Kings in New York City. Organized by the Hip-Hop Association, the awards ceremony recognized today’s hottest Hip-Hop filmmakers, industry professionals and pioneers. The event always features appearances and performances by Hip-Hop heavyweights. This year’s event, as usual, was packed with many of the individuals who have played a major part in shaping the hip-hop landscape including, artist/entrepreneur/hip-hop personality Fab 5 Freddy (that’s him in the picture standing in front of me as we listen to DJ Beverly Bond speak about YO! MTV Raps’ late producer Ted Demme), Ice-T (who gave an excellent acceptance speech about staying true to oneself), Dana Dane, Grand Wizard Theodore, (Dr.) Roxanne Shante, Ralph McDaniels (Video Music Box), The Cold Crush Brothers, Chubb Rock and much more.

One of the most important events for Africa’s technology, entertainment, and design industry development, TEDGlobal 2007, is in full swing in Arusha, Tanzania. Coming from vacation I have been reinvigorated by all the developments coming out of this seminal event. Now in it’s 3rd day, the conference has already given me more than enough insight into innovative ideas behind Africa’s next chapter. With all the information and idea sharing at this event, the African blogosphere is sure to be fueled for a long time to come. Below are some important resources for keeping up to date with the happenings in Tanzania. I’ll be watching and listening closely as I hope you all are.

Live updates:
Soyapi Mumba is Twittering TEDGlobal
Ethan Zuckerman of My Heart’s in Accra is live-blogging

Other bloggers at TEDGlobal 2007:
TEDFellow Erik Hersman, of White African
TEDFellow Rafiq Phillips at WebAddiCT
DNA
David McQueen
Africa Beat, by Jennifer Brea
Bankalele
Mental Acrobatics
AfroMusing
TEDFellow Mweshi
TEDFellow Fran Osseo-Asare, of Betumi: The African Food Network
TEDFellow Soyapi Mumba
TEDFellow Ramon Thomas, of NETucation
Ndesanjo Macha, who writes Digital Africa, in English, and Jikomboe, in Swahili
Fifthculture
Ellen Horne at Radio Lab in Tanzania
ClassV
Sam Ritchie
Harinjaka (in French)
Kenyan Pundit, by TED Conference speaker and blogger Ory Okolloh
Timbuktu Chronicles, by TEDGlobal conference director Emeka Okafor
and of course you can get official updates at the TED blog site

Today is February 1st and the beginning of Black History month here in the US. In the past I haven’t really followed the events which take place for Black History month because it had turned into just a part of big business’ marketing calendar. But this year Black History Month might turn out to be worth noting for both Africans and African-Americans. Vh1 is leading the pack with it’s debut of a 30-seond spot directed by director Spike Lee encouraging African-Americans to scientifically determine their African lineage.

The spot which debuts today (February 1st) on the VH1 soul channel will feature several African-Americans initially mentioning the American cities that they are from. The people are then featured again, holding swabs and naming the African region that their ancestors are from. The spot then encourages viewers to “take pride in their original homes during Black History Month”. The campaign feature DNA-based ancestry tests performed by African Ancestry, Inc., a company that uses swabbed DNA to genetically determine where in Africa a person’s African ancestors came from. DNA ancestry tests have gained mainstream popularity particularly through the efforts of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s four-part PBS series “African American Lives,” which used DNA to trace the roots of Oprah Winfrey, Chris Tucker and other prominent African Americans all the way from slave plantations to the shores of Africa. Dr. Gates, a professor who heads Harvard’s Afro-American Studies program, also hosted another recent PBS special centered around tracing Oprah Winfrey’s genealogy and is releasing a book and DVD “Finding Oprah’s Roots — Finding Your Own”.

Earlier this week the NY Daily News rang the bell on the newest blood diamond match this time between Russell Simmons and Blood Diamond director Ed Zwick. The director’s critisism comes as the latest part of the fallout from Simmons’ fact-finding African diamonds mission. Since last week’s press conference, Russell has been fending off all kinds of hits about what many perceive as his being a puppet for DeBeers. Everyone from the hip-hop press to Rush Limbaugh have an opinion on diamonds now. I think Russell hurt his business more than ever. As Zwick and Simmons continue their match, the winners of the week seem to be Botswana’s Kalahari Bushmen who just won their diamond filled land back from Botswana’s government. It seems they have Leonardo DiCaprio to thank.

This is an excellent article from today’s Independent newspaper. As part of the World AIDS day Product (RED) issue, the article emphasizes the importance of African cultural expression.

“African leaders need to be more conscious of the role that culture can play, particularly economically. Many Western economies - such as Britain - have benefited hugely from the showbusiness and music sector. It generates huge amounts of money and provides significant opportunities to work. Everyone in Africa - whether a politician, musician or businessman or woman - needs to appreciate the role that culture can play in our development.”

The full list is below and the full article is here

Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun is dedicated to his craft. Like many African born filmmakers he is intent of furthering the African experience through film. Using his country, Chad, as a backdrop he is currently at work on another film that puts a face on the people who experience the challenges of living on the continent. A recent Washington Post article talks about the lengths to which he and his crew are going to make his movie Dry Season authentic. To some extent his filmmaking style is more documentary than entertainment. His previous films Bye Bye Africa and Abouna similarly put a face on the 30-year Chadian civil war.
Mr. Haroun is one of many filmmakers who are creating great films without the support or existence of a native filmmaking industry. Besides the virtual nonexistence of a film community and ongoing political repression, many African filmmakers also face the challenge of seeking funding abroad with "many international donors viewing the arts as a luxury in times of food shortages, health crises and other emergencies". Fueled by their travels and a new access to resources not available in their countries, more and more Africans are using their artistic vision to tell stories of Africa as they have experienced it. Last November in New York City, I got a chance to see one of the movies cited in the Post article, Hip Hop Colony, sweep the H20 (Hip-Hop Odyssey) International Film Festival Odyssey awards, winning the Best Feature Documentary award and the Heineken Emerging Filmmaker Award. Along with Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, Hip Hop Colony was a highlight at the festival, bringing Africa-themed films to the forefront. South African film Tsotsi's win (Best Foreign Language Film of the Year) at February's Academy Awards has given African film a new life and with more structure they will stand a better chance of getting funding and distribution to the world.
"Africa has such a terrible image," said Issa Traoré de Brahima, a filmmaker from Burkina Faso who was working on the Chadian film. "And at the same time, we have so many talented people with artists' souls. We just wish they didn't have to leave the continent to earn a living. But in some places that is slowly changing."