New York Latin Culture reminds us that the African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Caribbean Film Series is screening films about Caribbean life. It opens with the documentary film The Mali-Cuba Connection: Africa Mía on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 6:00pm, at Teachers College, Columbia University, Morningside Heights, Manhattan. The festival continues through Sunday, April 28, 2024. ($13 per film; $11 students/seniors.) [See additional segment below on “Screens Films by and about Women, the Guardians of Culture.”]
Description of The Mali-Cuba Connection: Africa Mía (Artmattan Films): Directed by Edouard Salier and Richard Minier, 2020, 81min, France, Cuba, Mali (in Spanish, French with English subtitles).
In the midst of the Cold War, ten young promising musicians from Mali are sent to Cuba to study music and strengthen cultural links between the two socialist countries. Combining Malian and Afro-Cuban influences, they develop a revolutionary new sound and become the iconic ensemble ‘Las Maravillas de Mali’. New Year’s Eve 2000. Richard Minier, a French music producer meets a former member of the band in Bamako and decides to bring the band back together.
African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Caribbean Film Series focuses on Caribbean culture which is near and dear to many New Yorkers. [. . .]
Highlights include:
“You Can Read, Can’t You?” by Ananta Khemradj (Surinam/Netherlands): In Surinam, where a former dictator has been elected president with the support of young voters, journalist Ananta investigates why her generation remains uninformed about the atrocities of the 1980s. 
“Fortune for All” by Yao Ramesar (Trinidad & Tobago) – NY Premiere: Following the death of their brother Addo, the Fortune siblings reunite at their family’s seaside estate to mourn, while their grieving mother stays close by. 
“Claude McKay” by Matthieu Vermeil (France/Jamaica/USA): Embark on a thrilling 1920s journey from Marseille to Harlem, through Jamaica, Russia, and Morocco, tracing the steps of Claude McKay, a revolutionary figure of the Harlem Renaissance and a trailblazer for black literature and advocacy. 
“Man Up” by Kwame Lestrade (Barbados) – NY Premiere: This film explores masculinity through six
relationships, touching on themes of accusation, aggression, authenticity, dating dynamics, and manipulation. It challenges and deepens viewers’ understanding of gender interactions. 
“Who in Da Morning” by Phillip Williamson Jr & Johnathan Isaac Jackson (Bahamas) – NY Premiere:
Junkanoo in the Bahamas is one of Caribbean’s most celebrated and spirited carnivals. This documentary follows two Junkanoo veterans – Junkanno Goddess Angelique McKay and The Genesis Warhawks – preparing for Junkanoo for the first time in 2 years after COVID. Post-screening conversations with the directors. 
Get tickets at nyadiff.org
Also see “African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Screens Films By and About Women, the Guardians of Culture.”
[. . .] “Chercher la Vie” (Looking for Life, 2000), by Claudette Coulanges, is the story of how two women in Haiti help each other in the daily struggle. 
[. . .]
For full article and more information, see https://www.newyorklatinculture.com/african-diaspora-international-film-festival/
Also see https://www.africanfilm.com/products/mali-cuba-connection
New York Latin Culture reminds us that the African Diaspora International Film Festival 2024 Caribbean Film Series is screening films about Caribbean life. It opens with the documentary film The Mali-Cuba Connection: Africa Mía on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 6:00pm, at Teachers College, Columbia University, Morningside Heights, Manhattan. The festival continues through Sunday, April 28, 2024.
