Since its inception in its current format in 2004, the annual Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film at the Stone Center has been spotlighting films from all corners of the African diaspora. Many screenings are North Carolina premieres and are followed by in-depth post-screening discussions featuring commentary, insights and contextualization by filmmakers and scholars.
All screenings are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise stated, all in-person screenings will occur onsite in the Stone Center’s Hitchcock Multipurpose (150 South Rd, Chapel Hill).
For screening schedules and further information on this fall programming at the Stone Center, be sure to sign up for our mailing list at our homepage (www.stonecenter.unc.edu); follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter handles, or contact us by phone at:919-962-9001
Lineup and Schedule – 2022 Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film
Thursday, September 29 - Kickoff Screening | 6:00 p.m. | Varsity Theater
Freedom Hill (Q&A with filmmaker Resita Cox after the screening)
Monday, October 10 | 12:05 p.m. Lunchtime | Hitchcock Multipurpose Room
Òsányín's Ewé: The Secret Of The Leaves
Later When
How Many More
Round Trip
Tuesday, October 11 | 6:30 p.m | Hitchcock Multipurpose Room
Waak An Danz (Walk An Dance)
Unless We Dance
Jonkonnu Nuh Dead
Wednesday, October 12 | 12:05 p.m. | Hitchcock Multipurpose Room
Something Beautiful
Guntoosoon
All I Have
Juneteenth: Enter The Deities Of The African Diaspora
The Black Fire Documentary
Thursday, October 13 | 6:30 p.m | Hitchcock Multipurpose Room
Amagama Ka Nokutela
Anwuli
Mawbe
Nyamaza – Shut Up
Someone Else's Child (Is Not Your Slave)
See
**Post-screening discussion to be led by members of co-sponsor OASIS
SYNOPSES
ALL I HAVE
Dir.: Ken Gregory | USA | 2020 | 10 Min | Shorts
There's the protest and the fallout from the protests BUT what about the in-between; which is the life that happened and happens in-between the headlines. An emotionally tattered father tries to raise his civic-minded teenage son in a nation of civil unrest and systemic racism.
AMAGAMA KA NOKUTELA
Dir.: Zimisele Ngubane | South Africa | 2021 | 11 Min | Shorts
Amagama ka Nokutela, which means Nokutela's words or names, honours the life and legacy of South African musician, teacher, essayist, school and newspaper co-founder, Nokutela Mdima-Dube who lived from 1873-1917.
ANWULI
Dir.: Nosazemen Agbontaen | Canada | 2022 | 6 Min | Shorts
A quirky mother-daughter duo contend with an authoritarian mother-in-law and pious father while navigating the game of life as diasporic Nigerians.
THE BLACK FIRE DOCUMENTARY
Dir.: Kia Freeman-Hicks, Patrick | USA | 2022 | 27 Min | Doc
The Black Fire Documentary recounts the story of the label’s founders and the musicians, producers and radio personalities they influenced. The film depicts iconic images of the 1970s & 80s and speaks to how the music and activism of that era shaped the terrain of independent music business and paved the way for innovative jazz, hip-hop, deejays and Afro-future creatives.
JUNETEENTH: ENTER THE DEITIES OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
Dir.: Joseph Dyer, Malik Pollard | USA | 2022 | 28 Min | Shorts
The documentary focuses on the importance of the representation of the African Diaspora Deities within mainstream media.
FREEDOM HILL
Dir. Resita Cox | USA | 2022 | 30 Min | Doc
Princeville, NC is the first town incorporated by freed, enslaved Africans in America. This historical significance sits on a precipice: it is gradually being washed away.
GUNTOOSOON
Dir.: Babajide Bamidele Kolawole | USA | 2022 | 10 Min | Shorts
A father breaks out of prison to see his son who wants nothing to do with him.
HOW MANY MORE
Dir.: Lucas de Jesus | Brazil | 2021| 14 Min | Shorts
João only wanted to fight for a better and fairer world, but a sad reality comes to light.
JONKONNU NUH DEAD
Dir. Ryan Eccleston | Jamaica | 2022 | 6 Min | Doc
“Jonkonnu” is one of the oldest traditional folk practices in Jamaica. But as the years pass by, it has sidelined and almost forgotten by the wider Jamaican society. With deep roots in Africa, this film looks to go deeper in the origins of this art form that has been a symbol of strength, resistance, defiance and joy for many of our forefathers. It follows the protagonist of the story. Carlton Walters through his dreams and early memories and what drew him to “Jonkonnu”. He is the leader of a “Jonkonnu” group in the parish of St. Mary, one of the last strongholds of this art form. What does the future hold for the survival?
LATER WHEN
Dir.: Johnny Massaro | Brazil | 2021 | 14 Min | Shorts
"Scientists warn Bluetooth headphones may carry cancer risks. This headline sends a middle-class young man from Rio de Janeiro through moral dilemmas."
MAWBE
Dir.: Mame Selemane Dieye | Senegal | 2020 | 10 Min | Shorts
In Dakar West Africa, 4 young apprentice mechanics headed by Mawbé, a disabled person, forge a very strong friendship between them. Despite the difficulties, Mawbé keeps his feet on the ground thanks to the solidarity and sharing spirit of his gang. On a daily basis, he teaches the trade to his loyal gang. One day, a car accident occurs on Mawbé. The children decide to design a memorable keepsake gift for her. For this, they will have to show solidarity, stay motivated and redouble their creativity despite their lack of financial means.
NYAMAZA – SHUT UP
Dir.: Ak Simba | Uganda | 2022 | 14 Min | Shorts
Nyamaza is a short animation film about young boy who is search for the whereabouts of his father who is believed to be locked up. With guidance from his grandmother he sets out to the wild world in quest for his dad. But in the meantime, the supposed location of his father's incarceration is home to a soldier who wants to quit his job due to the inhumane ways the prisoners are held.
ÒSÁNYÍN'S EWÉ: THE SECRET OF THE LEAVES
Dir.: Pâmela Peregrino | Brazil | 2021| 22 Min | Shorts
A child is born with leaves on its body and her mother seeks healing. At school, however, the other children discriminate against her and she runs away to the forest! In the Caatinga, she meets enchanted beings of indigenous and black traditions and walks on an adventure of self-knowledge. Her search takes her to Òsányìn, the Orisà of the leaves, which presents the power of plants and the importance of environmental preservation.
ROUND TRIP
Dir.: Obehi Desire | Spain | 2020 | 23 Min | Doc
The 12Nubes socio-educational project, made up of young people from the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, has interviewed their parents and grandparents about the migratory experience that meant leaving their homes in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, northern Morocco, Nigeria and Mali, starting the dangerous route to Europe with the aim of settling in Spain.
SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD (IS NOT YOUR SLAVE)
Dir.: Patricia Kwende | Cameroon | 13 Min | 2021 | Shorts
Elodie is a young African girl who comes to Europe to continue her studies, when she arrives at her uncle's home his family reduced her to slavery
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
Dir.: Joshua Otis Miller | USA | 2021 | 3 Min | Shorts
Something Beautiful is a short film about painting an inclusive picture and provoking a discussion around the way people think about people of color through the eyes of a person who embodies all things beauty, success, love, and freedom. And that happens to be black.
UNLESS WE DANCE
Dirs.: Fernanda Pineda, Hanz Rippe | Colombia | 2022 | 14 Min | Doc
Jonathan (Bonays), an Afro dance teacher, undertakes an initiative to rescue young people from the delinquency that stalks Quibdó, a city with the highest rates of violence in Colombia. This is how Black Boys Chocó emerged, a dance company where hundreds of young people face brutal destinies through a passion. UNLESS WE DANCE is a tribute to their cry of resilience and to all the lives that have been lost.
WAAK AN DANZ (WALK AN DANCE)
Dir.: Esteban Richmond U | Costa Rica | 2020 |60 Min | Doc
At the seashore, a body sprouts between sand and cement. His dance guides us on a journey through the ancestral afromestizo heritage and the various ways to experience dance in the city of Puerto Limón. A place where when people walk, they dance.
SEE
Dir.: NobleOT | Nigeria | 2021 | 5 Min | Shorts
A partially sighted young man sees the world differently, but more special the way he sees the woman he admires