At Images Cinema: "Critical Visions: New Film from Francophone Africa" Festival
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Over five consecutive Mondays, February 9 to March 9, the Williams College Department of Romance Languages will screen recent French language African films as part of their "Critical Visions: New Film from Francophone Africa" festival.These films address questions of
• How has Francophone cinema reproduced or challenged pervasive media images of war, famine, and the natural beauty of the African continent?
• How does Francophone film expose stereotypes of Africa and provide more complex and nuanced debates on African lives, politics, and identities?
• How does Francophone African film advocate for critical engagement and activism?
On opening night of the Festival, February 9, the African film scholar Samba Gadjigo of Mount Holyoke College will give the inaugural address at 6 p.m., before the screening of "Daratt" at 7 p.m. Gadjigo will discuss "Africa from the Other Side of the Mirror: African Filmic Representations." In addition, there will be a screening of his short work on Ousmane Sembene and film production in Africa.
Williams professors Brian Martin, Kashia Pieprzak, Neil Roberts, and Stephane Robolin will introduce the films on February 16 and 23 and March 2 and 9 and lead discussions after each screening. All films will be screened at Images Cinema on Spring Street in Williamstown, Mass. They are free and the public is cordially invited to attend.
The screenings will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, "Reves de poussiere" ("Dreams of Dust"); Feb. 23: "Delwende: leve-toi et marche" (Delwende: Arise and Walt); March 2: "Frantz Fanon: sa vie, son combat, son travail" (Frantz Fanon: His Life, His Struggle, His Work); March 9: "Bamako."
The films are in French with English subtitles. Images for more information: http://www.imagescinema.org/events.php.
The "Critical Visions" festival is a collaboration of the Tournees Festival of the French-American Cultural Exchange Council and made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture (CNC), as well as the Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation, Highbrow Entertainment, Agnes B., and the Franco-American Cultural Fund. The Festival is presented by the Williams College Department of Romance Languages and co-sponsored by the Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; the Program in Africana Studies; the Program in Women's and Gender Studies; Middle Eastern Studies; and the Multicultural Center, and with the support of the Kagle Gift.
