press release september 2010
(< Return to Press Releases)First-ever Silicon Valley African Film Festival Debuts October 23-24 at Community School of Music and Arts
Festival opens with a “Parade of Nations” on Saturday,
October 23, 11 am
(Mountain View, CA) When the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) makes its debut on Saturday-Sunday, October 23-24, 2010 at the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA), the world’s high-tech capital will become a lens for experiencing the true stories, hopes and dreams of Africa. The weekend showcase of 30 films from 16 countries will take audiences of all ages across the continent, presenting a mix of feature films, shorts and animations from Africa’s seasoned and emerging first-voice filmmakers.
Presented by Oriki Theater in partnership with CSMA, film screenings will be held throughout the two-days, beginning daily at 11 am, at CSMA at Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. Additional event highlights include an opening ceremony, with a “Parade of Nations,” and mixer, drumming and dance performances, workshops, panel discussions, post screening talks with filmmakers, special awards ceremony honoring Ethiopian filmmaker Yetnayet Bahru, age 25, more.
“The festival's mission is to promote an understanding and appreciation of Africa and Africans through moving images,” says film festival director Chike C. Nwoffiah of Oriki Theater. “In line with Oriki Theater's mission of Sharing Africa with our community, we are honored to offer an African film festival that enriches our cultural landscape. It is a delight to partner with CSMA on this project and it is only a beginning. Given our strong partnerships and networks with filmmakers on the African continent, this festival is bound to become an annual destination film event in Silicon Valley.”
In the 1950s and 60s, African filmmakers began to create images of post-colonial Africa with nuanced understanding of Africa’s cultural diversity. Over the last half century, having sliced through stereotypes with exacting social critique, African cinema has become a unique blend of aesthetic experimentation, history and politics. As African nations have constructed modern identities from traditional and colonial experiences, the role of visual culture in communicating these new transitional identities has immediacy for audiences around the world. The impetus for themes such as colonialism, post-independence corruption and chronicles of “tribal” customs often erupts from the ironies of contemporary life.
“CSMA is thrilled to be the venue for the inaugural edition of the Silicon Valley African Film Festival,” says CSMA interim executive director Kathy Thibodeaux. “As a non-profit arts education organization committed to providing Arts for All, we know that the medium of film is a powerful and creative art form for promoting cultural literacy.”
Joining film festival director Chike C. Nwoffiah in organizing the SVAFF are committee members Ozo A. Braddy, chair, Deffria Bass, Tumani Onabiyi, and Goodluck Ukwujie, with international advisors Diem Jones (USA), Dr. Mohamed Ghazala (Egypt), Lucy Igbenabor (Nigeria) and Gabriel Okanime (South Africa).
Oriki Theater is a Mountain View based nonprofit performing arts company dedicated to the promotion of Africa’s culture and heritage through a unique combination of dance, drama, music, folk stories, chants and the DRUM. From outreach programs in schools to theatrical productions and workshops, Oriki brings to our community a shared experience of Africa, its people and their way of life. For info about Oriki Theater, see www.oriki.org or call 650-968-1598.
The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center, a nonprofit arts education center founded in 1968, is committed to providing Arts for All, regardless of age, level, background or economic means. Annually, the school reaches more than 40,000 people throughout the Silicon Valley region through: music, art and new media classes and camps; private lessons; in-school programs; free concerts; lectures; exhibitions; and community outreach events. In keeping with its mission to make the arts accessible to all, the school’s Financial Aid Program awards over $200,000 annually in tuition aid and program subsidies to youth and low-income families. CSMA is the largest non-profit provider of arts education programs in the region and among the top 10 schools of its kind in the United States.
The SVAFF will be held at the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. Limited free on-site and street parking are available. For directions and info about the school’s programs and events, see www.arts4all.org.
The festival offers a variety of ticket purchase options, ranging from $5-$30, including one- and two-day passes and single movie tickets, with student/senior discounts offered. To purchase tickets online, go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125249. Depending upon availability, tickets may be purchased at the door the weekend of the event, October 23-24. For a complete daily schedule of SVAFF events, list of films (run with English subtitles, as needed), country of origin, suggested rating guideline (PG-13, G, R), screening times, and brief film descriptions, go to www.svaff.org, call 415-774-6787, or email programming@svaff.org.