Africa Week Sept 7-12; lecture and film weekend to focus on theme: 'African Women Beyond Narrow Frames'

The 11th annual African Film Weekend will be held Sept. 11-12 at the University of Richmond, Robins School of Business, Queally Hall, Ukrop Auditorium.

This event gives faculty, staff, students and the greater Richmond community the opportunity to learn about cultures and issues in Africa through filmmaking. The theme of this year’s event is “African Women beyond Narrow Frames.”

“African cinema has been a largely male-dominated field ever since its rise in the seventies,” said Kasongo Kapanga, University of Richmond professor of French and event organizer. “For the past thirty years, a group of excellent women filmmakers have made the inroads and taken up the challenges to present the most pressing issues of the continent, particularly as lived and seen by women.”

Jude Akudinobi, who holds a Ph.D in cinema-television from the University of Southern California and teaches in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will serve as presenter of the film series.

The films will include “Timbuktu,” “Kwaku Ananse,” “Aissa’s Story,” “Coming Home,” and “Morbayssa.” 

The complete film schedule, including directors and descriptions, is available online.

African Film Weekend is part of “Africa Week.” This cultural celebration includes a lecture, “Soft Power in the African Diaspora: The Case of Cuba and Angola,” by Linda Heywood, a professor of African history and the history of the African diaspora and African American studies from Boston University.

The lecture will be held Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m., at the Carole Weinstein Intentional Center, International Commons.

The lecture and film series are free and open to the public.

The Office of International Education, the Media Resource Center, the International Studies Program and the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures cosponsor this event.

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