Africanismo! — Short Films and Live Performances at the Bronx Museum
On Friday, August 1, 2008 from 6:00 to 10:00pm, the Andrew Freedman Home in the South Bronx will serve as the backdrop for the Bronx Museum of the Arts’ FREE First Fridays! event “Africanísmio!”
Organized in collaboration the African Film Festival and Afrokinetic, the program will offer an exciting afternoon of outdoor film screenings by some of today’s brightest filmmakers, and live musical performances by DJ Chris Annibell and Magbana Drum and Dance NYC.
The Andrew Freedman Home is located across the street from the Bronx Museum at 1125 Grand Concourse (at McClellan Street). In the event of rain, the program will take place at the Museum.
PERFORMANCES: 6:00 – 7:00 PM
DJ CHRIS ANNIBELL (AFROKINETIC) — Musically connected, socially inclusive and culturally diverse, Afrokinetic explore afro-rhythms influence on dance music worldwide. With a seamless mix of Afrofunk, house, soul, broken beat, Latin grooves, jazz, reggae, rock and classics; innovative music, art, dance and beautiful people come together in dynamic environments.
MICHAEL MARKUS + MAGBANA DRUM AND DANCE NYC — Established in 1997 by artistic director Michael Markus, Magbana Drum and Dance NYC, is a group of fourteen talented percussionists and dancers with a large repertory of exciting West African pieces as well as works that combine martial arts, modern dance, and world percussion. The sheer power of the drumming and the explosive energy of the dancers combined with tight arrangements, innovative choreography, original costumes, and racial diversity put Magbana in a class by itself.
FILM SCREENINGS: 7:30 – 9:00 PM
“THE LITTLE GIRL WHO SOLD THE SUN” (Dir. Djibril Diop Mambety, Senegal – 1999 – 45 min. – in Wolof with English subtitles) — This film is a luminous portrait of a young physically-challenged girl and her determination to be a street vendor of Le Soliel, the national newspaper of Senegal. It is at once a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the “street children” of Dakar and to the individual’s capability for transforming his/her situation.
“MAMBETY” (Dir. Papa Madieye Mbaye, Senegal – 2002 – 28 min. – in Wolof and French with English subtitles) — How did the great Djibril Diop Mambety direct his critically acclaimed films “The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun” and “Hyenas”? This behind-the-scenes documentary by Papa Madieye Mbaye looks at the aesthetics and antics of one of the most important African filmmakers of the last century.