It’s a big year for Africa. This year, 17 African countries celebrate 50 years of independence, and the 2010 World Cup will take place in South Africa during June. As the world turns its eyes to this huge continent and wonders what its future holds, the annual Cascade Festival of African Films arrives right on time.
It’s actually a big year for the Cascade Festival, too, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Founded by Portland Community College faculty, the festival is now supported by dozens of schools and businesses in Portland and beyond.
Why all the support? The Cascade Festival is dedicated to spreading information and awareness about African culture, politics and history. That’s some extensive ground to cover, but the festival committee is doing what it can.
This year the festival features 23 films from a variety of countries like Malawi, Senegal and Ghana. Some are documentaries, others are fictional, but all of them address important issues across Africa, such as the status of women, apartheid, and racial and political tension.
Most of the films were directed by African filmmakers, but not all—a few of the directors are French, American and Uruguayan, among other nationalities.
As always, the Cascade Festival is free to the public.
“We want to be able to include everyone in the community,” said Shireen Farrahi, who is on the festival’s executive committee and works with its endowment effort.
The festival’s committee works year-round to find appropriate films and organize the month-long event. They seek out films that include a variety of social, historical and political issues from a diverse range of countries.
This year, five directors will be speaking. The festival kicks off at Hollywood Theatre today with Teza director Haile Gerima. His latest film—a story of an Ethiopian doctor who finds himself displaced and helpless amid the violence in his homeland—won the grand prize at the pan-African film festival FESPACO in 2009.
“It’s a great honor [to have Gerima speak],” Farrahi said. “We wanted to open this year’s festival with a bang, and he’s a very well known director.”
Next weekend, South African playwright, actor and film director John Kani will host a screening of his latest film, Nothing But the Truth, which examines the complex social and interpersonal relationships that resulted from apartheid.
After the festival, the films will become part of the PCC library, where they are available to students, faculty and staff, as well as the public. This is part of the library’s African Film Collection, one of the largest collections in the Pacific Northwest.
Most of the screenings will be held at the PCC Cascade campus in North Portland, and others will be shown at the Hollywood Theatre and McMenamins Kennedy School. A full calendar and listing is available on the festival’s website.
It’s a good idea to show up early to these films, since they are free and mostly show on weekends.
“The opening night [screenings] and especially the Saturday nights, they do tend to fill up quickly,” said Farrahi.