International Black DocuFest 2008

This documentary captures the sounds and images of a nearly-forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created race movies exclusively for black audiences. The best of these films attempted to counter the demeaning stereotypes of black Americans prevalent in the popular culture of the day. About 500 films were produced, yet only about 100 still exist. In the Shadows honors filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, the Noble brothers, and Spencer Williams, Jr. who left a lasting influence on the future of black filmmaking, and inspired generations of audiences who finally saw their own lives reflected on the silver screen.

The situation facing the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert is detailed in this eye-opening documentary. Evicted from their ancestral lands, forced to abandon their native languages, and left to fend for themselves in a state of brutal poverty on the fringes of South African society, the Bushmen now face further exploitation, since the hoodia cactus (a source of food and medicinal healing) is being taken from their remaining lands by western conglomerates. This documentary raises the issues of indigenous people's rights and fair use of community knowledge.

This is the story of a Rwandan woman who embarks on a journey to learn about her country, its people, and its history over two generations in an attempt to understand the genocide, ethnic division and the recurring violence. This pivotal work, well documented with unpublished official archives, places the victims' testimony at the center of the dialogue.

This experimental short documentary is a celebration of the glorious afro hair in its natural and unaltered state. On the streets of Toronto, the filmmaker draws dozens of joyful portraits of women, men, children who showed the beauty of their natural hair in front of the camera.

This experimental documentary short will introduce audiences to "stop-frame animation", the innovative use of digital stills to create moving images. This process tricks the brain into seeing movement in a sequence of still images that are quickly flashed before the eye. Experience this technique as it is applied to photographs of Zion Christian Church members as they perform their religious rites in an empty building in Johannesburg.

This short documentary explores the ambitions, inspirations and photographic genius of Shannon McCollum, an Atlanta-based photojournalist and hip hop documentarian who serves as the official photographer to Outkast, Dead Prez, Lil Jon and countless other hip hop giants.

Experience the pursuits and challenges of West African immigrants as they confront the idea of the American dream and the harsh realities of New York life. Including additional perspectives from scholars, authors, and community leaders, the film creates a vibrant portrait of African achievement throughout the city, while exploring the complicated issues African immigrants face as they balance their deep connections to Africa and their commitments to America.

Through in-depth interviews and performances, explore the long neglected female side of Reggae and Dancehall music. This documentary will introduce audiences to three generations of women artists who share their personal stories of past and present struggles, successes, and dreams in the male-dominated business.

Train surfing is a new sport that is catching on in the townships of South Africa. Young South African boys risk their lives and limbs to perform dangerous routines on moving trains, ducking bridges and high-voltage cables as they dance with death. Despite the bravado, this documentary delves into the personal and often difficult lives of these young train surfers, as they search for love and acceptance and grapple with loss and constant changes.

This documentary follows the Oregonian hip hop group, Rebel Soulz, as they travel to Freetown, Sierra Leone to discover a spiritual homeland and resurrect hip-hop music. Their journey unfolds as a story of hope and longing to find a common identity through hip-hop, and destroy the cultural divide between Africans and African Americans. As they confront stereotypes of one another and explore issues from sexism and gender to war and violence, the two groups forge a deep connection that transcends centuries of separation and misunderstanding.

In 1462, the first African slaves were settled on the island of Cape Verde brought by the Portuguese colonists. With them, they carried the rhythms and the seeds of what became the unique and beautifully sensual music and dance form performed mostly by ordinary women. Despite the attempts of colonists to ban the songs and dances of the Batuque, this wonderful tradition has remained alive in the hearts and daily lives of Cape Verdeans.

The island of Barbados has the world's 2nd highest per capita number of centenarians (adults who are 100 years of age or older). This documentary will allow you to explore the factors that contribute to this wonderful phenomena.

Filmed over the course of nine years, this film traces the remarkable journey of a 16-year-old who graduates from a poor and inner-city high school and successfully enters one of America's top Ivy League universities. Narrated by Daniel himself, the film explores the role of race and class in the American education system, while depicting the struggles of Black youth who find it difficult to fit in amongst the privileged students at college. Despite the challenges, this documentary celebrates the accomplishments of this extraordinary young man, and depicts his candid questioning of a system that has allowed him to excel but has left so many of his friends and family members behind.

Explore the emerging movement and critical innovations in dance through the voices and performances of contemporary African artists. In this realistic portrait of Africans dancers, witness the extraordinary physical power within the intimate parameters of breath-filled self-revelation. Through dance, these African artists challenge and explore the complexities of upturned cultural encounters, war, alienation, racism and worldwide.

Culture is no longer a static body of knowledge, values, practices and expressions shared and passed on by a community. It is a dynamic reality. This documentary explores how contemporary African women who choose to be professional artists claim their position, and deal with the stereotypes associated with being both African and female.

In Ghana, children as young as three are sent away from home to work for money needed desperately by impoverished families. Child trafficking leaves a wake of fractured families, exposes the difficulties of certain cultural values and gender roles, and illustrates the desperation poverty causes. This documentary follows one non-governmental organization efforts to rescue children from bonded labor and return them to their parents, many of whom who were trafficked out because their parents could not afford to take care of them.

Through in-depth interviews with Sudanese women, their children, and the refugee assistance agencies, we get a complex account about the realities and risks of escaping the current genocide in Darfur. This documentary short explores the struggles of displaced families as they dangerously escape war and instability in Sudan, travel to neighboring Egypt where they are violently persecuted, eventually traveling to Israel for safe haven. The situation is complex, as the refugees have journeyed across a web of geo-political and religious-cultural boundaries looking for a place to call home. This documentary is a collaborative project that chronicles the Sudanese refugee experience in Israel.

Shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this documentary explores the shocking plight of women and girls caught in the sexual crossfire. Since 1998, the brutal war that has ravaged DRC and killed over 4 million people, has resulted in the systematic raping and torturing of tens of thousands of women and girls by soldiers - both from foreign militias and the Congolese army that is supposed to protect them.

This documentary takes you on a journey through the Africa on the hearts and minds of many, offering you an opportunity to see the side of Africa that is often ignored. Through interviews with well-known artists, political figures, and broadcasters, learn and celebrate the beauty of African culture. Explore their perceptions and memories of Africa, as they describe the contemporary and traditional art, languages, music, literature, film, food and unique mannerisms.