In sankofa, a contemporary africanamerican woman travels back in time and experiences slavery. An iconic film for the african diaspora and a key work in the oeuvre of african master haile gerima. Oct 09, 2011 released in 1993 written by haile gerima. Haile gerima is a cinema legend but still cant find support. No viewer can avoid the discomforting questions the film so eloquently raises. Teza, trailer, directed by haile gerima ethiopia youtube. While mona ogunlano, a black american fashion model, cavorts for a white photographer during a shoot at a fortress town on the ghanaian coast, an old drummer, sankofa ghanaba, warns that her. Buy, download, or rent sankofa at blockbuster today. Founded by shirikiana and haile gerima and named after the internationally acclaimed film sankofa they produced. Instead he is falsely arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didnt commit. A selfabsorbed black american fashion model on a photo shoot in africa is spiritually transported back to a plantation in the west indies where she experiences firsthand the physical and psychic horrors of chattel slavery, and eventually the redemptive power of community and rebellion as she. Bush mama is the story of dorothy and her husband t. Its symbol, the sankofa bird, looks backward constantly checking as she moves into the future. Teza, the latest work of the director haile gerima, has been widely lauded in festivals for everything from its musical score to its acting and cinematography, and it has received dozens of awards from, among others, fespaco, the venice film festival, and the dubai international film festival.
Since 1975, haile has been an influential film professor at howard university in washington, d. Hes typically relied on funding from nonprofits and coproducers in europe, but this time around, hes taking a more modern approach by launching a. He is a discharged vietnam veteran who thought he would return home to a heros welcome. Haile gerima was born in ethiopia as the fourth of ten children of a writer and a teacher. Powerful, moving and highly acclaimed, director haile gerima s sankofa is a masterpiece of cinema that has had a transformative impact on audiences since its release in 1993. Sankofa 1993 a model oyafunmike ogunlano on a photo shoot in ghana encounters an old mystic kofi ghanaba who transports her into the past, where she becomes a slave. A selfabsorbed black american fashion model on a photo. Teza 2008 is an ethiopian film about mengistu haile mariam, ethiopias dictator from 1974 to 1991. The storyline features oyafunmike ogunlano, kofi ghanaba, mutabaruka, alexandra duah, and afemo omilami. I practiced a lot even during sankofa, bush mama, i made movies. In sankofa, the running thread is the direction that the film provides for a grasp of the past in order to live with confidence in the present and plan for the future. Sep 17, 2009 a conversation with haile gerima published by tadias magazine september 17th, 2009 in featured. A conversation with haile gerima at tadias magazine. Her life revolves around the welfare office and a community facing poverty and unemployment.
Project muse haile gerimas black radical tradition on. Check out haile gerimas yetut lij film on indiegogo. Haile gerima is an independent filmmaker and professor of film at howard. Lindsey duff bws 151 section b professor adrian gaskins resistance to the injustice of rights how is slavery defined.
Jul 02, 2015 haile gerima makes movies about social justice, innercity poverty, and the african american experience. Sep 23, 2006 haile gerima, the highly acclaimed director and a professor at howard university, says he finds it difficult to call the current video productions real cinema. Haile gerima s cinematic rendering of this is perhaps one of his greatest filmmaking achievements. Haile gerimas sankofa 1993 provided a good example for the study of public history in film that is, the study of how history is presented and recreated for public consumption. Sankofa 1993 a model oyafunmike ogunlano on a photo shoot in ghana encounters an old mystic kofi ghanaba who transports her into the past. The symbol and name were used in the 1993 film sankofa by haile gerima, as well as in the graphic title of the film 500 years later by owen alik shahadah. Dec 03, 2014 teza, the latest work of the director haile gerima, has been widely lauded in festivals for everything from its musical score to its acting and cinematography, and it has received dozens of awards from, among others, fespaco, the venice film festival, and the dubai international film festival. Journal of media and communication studies cutting off. Kofi ghanaba, mutabaruka, oyafunmike ogunlano, alexandra duah, reggie carter, haile gerima. The film by gerima is a corresponding voice to theo eshetus blood is not fresh water from 1997 which is an experimental journey in form of a film with eshetus grandfather who had been an ethiopian diplomat and the writer of the first books on ethiopian history. Haile gerima has been at the forefront of the black independent film. Gerimas sankofa, articulates a black diasporic consciousness through use of continuity editing and.
Haile is perhaps best known as the writer, producer, and director of sankofa 1993. Check a local public library or a university library. This powerful film, which opened our 5th festival in 1995, catapulted haile gerima onto the world stage of filmmaking. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his films dont tend to be financed by major studios.
Acknowledging the sense of ones past, present, and future is a true sign of selfawareness. Teza won the top award at the 2009 fespaco festival. Haile is perhaps best known as the writer, producer, and director of the acclaimed 1993 film sankofa, which the new york times called poetic. Sankofa is a film that focuses on an american model, mona, while shes on location for a shoot in the african nation of ghana. Yetut lij child of the breast is a new film by the international awardwinning filmmaker, behind teza, sankofa, bush mama and harvest 3000 years. Critical analysis introduction this film by haile gerima fuses concepts of time and space in order to transport the protagonist, mona, and the viewers through the terrible. Sankofa essay lindsey duff bws 151 section b professor. Pdf analysis of haile gerimas 1992 film, sankofa researchgate. While on site, mona meets the mysterious sankofa whom brings her into an altered state of mind. The bookstore, gallery and cafe, sankofa, established by gerima. Sankofa 1993 free download dvdrip cinema of the world. Powerful, moving and highly acclaimed, director haile gerimas sankofa is a masterpiece of cinema that has had a transformative impact on audiences since its release in 1993. Sankofa takes an unflinching look at how slavery as an institution shaped modern day societies and the subsequent generations of black african men and women born into it. Haile gerima born march 4, 1946 is an ethiopian filmmaker who lives and works in the united.
Haile gerima 1 1946 filmmaker embraced america, shunned ethiopia 2 turned to film to reclaim his culture 3 chose howard university over hollywood 4 struggled to make sankofa 5 works continued to reclaim history 6 sources 7 filmmaker haile gerima 8s 1993 film sankofa follows a mod. What movies about slavery teach us about race relations. Mona, the lead character, is a pampered, selfcentered fashion model who is suddenly forced to endure a firsthand journey into the evils of slavery. This is a fan page for the amazing independent filmmaker haile gerima. His films have received wide international acclaim. On june 1st, gerima is launching an indiegogo campaign to finance the production of this new dramatic feature. Haile gerima is an independent filmmaker and professor of film at howard university in washington, d. Hollywood images of africans in africa and its diaspora begin. The story end page 252 of the protagonist, anberber, takes us from. The ethiopian intellectual anberber returns to his native country during the repressive totalitarian regime of haile mariam mengistu and the recognition of his own displacement and powerlessness at the dissolution of his peoples humanity and social values. A parable of africanamerican enslavement and resistance, the film tells the story of mona, an africanamerican fashion model on a photo shoot at cape. Released in 1993, it was directed by haile gerima, an ethiopian filmmaker based in the united states.
View or download all content the institution has subscribed to. An ethiopian film director, screenwriter, writer, producer, and philosopher. Sankofa black bookstore about african diaspora united. With kofi ghanaba, oyafunmike ogunlano, alexandra duah, nick medley. Sankofa film wikipedia, the free encyclopedia sankofa. Gerima, a howard university professor, did much to ensure that his portrayal of the institution of slavery and the presentation of african cultural traditions were as close to reality as possible. Jan 06, 2015 a film by haile gerima, 2008, ethiopia france germany, fiction, 2h20 starring aron arefe, abiye tedla, takelech beyene more on africine, the world lead.
Powerful, moving and highly acclaimed, director haile gerimas sankofa is a masterpiece of cinema that has had a transformative impact on audiences since its. In a discussion held at addis ababa university, he said hasnt come across anything that be called cinema and has a sense of ethiopian history and culture. A selfabsorbed black american fashion model on a photo shoot in africa is spiritually transported back to a plantation in the west indies where she experiences. Following in the footsteps of his father, a dramatist and playwright. Haile gerimas cinematic rendering of this is perhaps one of his greatest filmmaking achievements. Haile gerima born march 4, 1946 is an ethiopian filmmaker who lives and works in the united states. Bush mama 1979 haile gerima, barbarao, johnny weathers.
This empowering film tells a story of slavery and of the african diaspora from the perspective of the enslaved, challenging the romanticizing of slavery prevalent in american culture. This empowering film tells a story of slavery and of the african diaspora from the perspective of the enslaved, challenging the romanticizing of slavery prevalent in. In order to be free, a person must return to oneself, which is the meaning of the word sankofa. The film is a story about an africanamerican womans awakening to the bitter realities of her peoples collective past. Youtube currently has it in divided sections, search sankofa part 1. Sankofa is a word in the akan language of ghana meaning to take back and get it, and the. Haile gerima, the director and producer of this important historic landmark, joins the voices of ethiopian historians, elders, priests, poets and singers, capturing on film the.
The hollywood industrial complex delivers entertainment to millions of people through the manipulation of images on the silver screen. The event ignited a lasting flame of hope, of freedom and independence in the hearts of african throughout the world. Haile gerima s sankofa 1993 provided a good example for the study of public history in film that is, the study of how history is presented and recreated for public consumption. Haile gerima is an independent ethiopian filmmaker, based in washington, d. Sankofa movie a selfabsorbed black american fashion model on a photo shoot in africa is spiritually transported back to a plantation in the west indies where she experiences firsthand the physical and psychic horrors of chattel slavery, and eventually the. Born and raised in ethiopia, gerima emigrated to the united states in 1967. Ethiopian writerdirector haile gerima is perhaps better able.
Haile gerima s poetic and precisely detailed film takes its audience into its heroines life and mind as her moral sense is challenged and changed. While visiting an old fortress from the slavetrade era in ghana, mona oyafunmike ogunlano encounters a colorful local character, an elderly mystic going by the name of sankofa. With aaron arefe, abiye tedla, takelech beyene, teje tesfahun. A selfabsorbed black american fashion model on a photo shoot in africa is spiritually transported back to a plantation in the west indies where she experiences firsthand the physical and psychic horrors of chattel slavery, and eventually the redemptive power of. The word sankofa derives its meaning from the ghanaian akan language which means to go back, look for, and gain wisdom, power and hope, according to dr.
We spoke with haile at his sankofa bookstore, conveniently located across from howard university where he. In 1996, gerima founded the sankofa video and bookstore in washington, dc. Haile gerima has been at the forefront of the black independent film movement to eradicate stereotypes while offering wholesome and complex stories about what it means to be black from an international perspective. Since 1975, he has served as a distinguished professor of film at howard university. Sankofa essay lindsey duff bws 151 section b professor adrian gaskins resistance to the injustice of rights how is slavery defined is it the labor and. Born in gondar, ethiopia, gerima is a writer, producer and director, perhaps best known for his acclaimed 1993 film sankofa. In 1967, he came to the united states to study at chicagos goodman school of drama. Haile gerima is an ethiopian filmmaker who lives and works in the united states. If you want to know more about the filmmakers please visit his website. Sankofa is an event used by saint louis university to honor africanamerican student graduates and students who graduate with degrees in african american studies. Yet, there are other images of blacks that are more diverse and realistic. Keywords haile gerima, sankofa, black film, black independent.
301 821 1171 1498 356 100 852 239 1362 414 470 716 1162 496 38 1150 179 69 1477 296 681 423 1085 956 99 574 634 369 904 790 690 435 423 434 361 1394 969 1125