press release september 2011
(< Return to Press Releases)Second Annual Silicon Valley African Film Festival
Opens On Friday, October 14 at
Community School of Music And Arts
City Council declares 3-day event as “Silicon Valley African Film Festival Weekend” in the City of Mountain View.
(Mountain View, CA) When the 2011 Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF) opens on Friday, October 14 at the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA), the world’s high-tech capital will once again become a lens for experiencing the true stories, hopes and dreams of Africa. Now in its second year, the annual weekend showcase of more than 30 films from various African nations 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 weekend of October 14-16, starting on Friday morning with the “Africa in the Classroom Film Series,” a showcase of shorts and animations for middle school students and teachers. A formal opening ceremony with a “Parade of Nations” featuring flags and drum/music performance will be held on Saturday, October 15, 10-11:30 am, with films shown from noon-10 pm. On Sunday, films will be shown from 11 AM-5 pm, with a closing awards ceremony from 7-9 pm. All films will be screened at CSMA at Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View.
Additional event highlights include African drumming and dance performances, workshops, panel discussions, special films for children, post-screening talks with filmmakers, and an awards ceremony recognizing best short, best feature, best documentary and Emerging Filmmaker.
Participating in this year’s event is acclaimed Tanzanian born writer/director/producer Ekwa Msangi-Omari whose short film “Taharuki {Suspense}” will be shown at the festival on Saturday, October 15. Msangi-Omari, a former student at Mountain View High School, currently lives in Kenya and New York and is known for her work both in television and film.
One of Africa’s finest filmmakers Zola Maseko from South Africa is scheduled to attend the festival. Zola’s film “Drum,” which won the “Etalon D’Or de Yennenga” / Golden Stallion Award at Africa’s biggest Film Festival FESPACO, will be shown on Saturday, October 15. Also scheduled to attend is Rwandan filmmaker Gilbert Ndahayo whose compelling documentary “Beyond the Deadly Pit” screens on Sunday, October 16. “Beyond the Deadly Pit” is a personal account of the filmmaker’s journey to forgiveness and healing after his parents and sister were killed during the Rwandan genocide.
In recognition of the festival, Mountain View City council members and other officials will be attending the opening ceremony on Saturday, October 15 at 10:00 AM, at which time Vice Mayor Mike Kasperzak will present a proclamation declaring the 3-day event as “Silicon Valley African Film Festival Weekend” in the City of Mountain View.
“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. Building on our success from last year and 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 home to the Silicon Valley African Film Festival again this year,” says CSMA executive director Moy Eng. “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, Goodluck Ukwujie, Gabriel Nwoffiah II, Marie Gunter and Brandace King, with international advisors Diem Jones (USA), Dr. Mohamed Ghazala (Egypt), Lucy Igbenabor (Nigeria), Gabriel Okanime (South Africa) and Dela Acolatse (Ghana).
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 $250,000 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, with student/senior discounts offered. Children 12 and under admitted for free. To purchase tickets online, go to http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/196533. Depending upon availability, tickets may be purchased at the door the weekend of the event, October 14-16. 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.