The Tenth Annual Africana Studies African Diaspora Film Festival curated to explore the complexity of hip hop music, culture and its relationship to the academy will be held April 2 – 23, 2012 at North Carolina State University in Poe Hall Auditorium.

On Monday, April 2, 2012 from 7:00 PM –9:30 PM the festival opens with the classic film Juice starring the late Tupac Shakur.  Gerard Brown, the screenwriter of Juice will share his professional and personal insights and respond to questions about the film and the role of hip hop culture in American society.  The screening will include commentary by Dr, Sheila Smith McKoy, Director, Africana Studies Program and the African American Cultural Center. 

On Tuesday April 10, 2012 from 7:00 PM-9:30PM the festival will offer Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.  This one hour documentary originally aired on PBS.  It examines issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in hip-hop culture. Marc K. Dudley, Assistant Professor of English, will introduce the film and moderate the discussion. 

On Monday April 16, from 7:00 PM- 10:15 PM  the African Diaspora film festival will present the critically acclaimed film Sarabah.  This film from Senegal with English subtitles features rapper, singer, and activist Sister Fa, who uses her music and persuasive powers to end the practice of female genital cutting.   Say My Name will also screen on April 16. In this film female lyricists speak candidly about class, race and gender and pursuing their passions in an industry dominated by men and noted for misogyny. Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Juliana Nfah-Abbenyi, will moderate the session.

Bling, the final film of the festival, will screen on Monday April 23, from 7:00 PM-9:30 PM. In this film, hip hop celebrities travel to war-torn Sierra Lione, West Africa and come face to face with the victims of the blood diamond industry so deeply entwined in hip hop.   The filmmakers explore the cultural significance of diamond jewelry in hip hop and trace its evolution from the early 1980s old- school culture to the bling-encrusted billion dollar industry it is today.

Following Bling, the festival will culminate with a panel discussion about hip hop culture, its place in the academy, and both its positive and negative impacts.  Moderated by Emmy Award winning filmmaker Dante James, Assistant Director of the African American Cultural Center, the featured panelists are hip hop artist and Director of the Community for Diversity, College of Natural Resources, Thomas Easley, multi-talented performance artist Sandra Dubose-Gibson and Rev. Carl Kinney, novelist, award winning journalist, and cultural critic.  

The African Diaspora Film Festival is free and open to the public. For more information call contact Katie Bean in the Africana Studies Program or Toni Thorpe in the African American Cultural Center at 919-915-5210.

http://www.ncsu.edu/aacc/index.php/events/entry/african-diaspora-film-festival/

---

Nyansapo - Symbol of Ingenuity. More information

Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved | Contact: ssmckoy@ncsu.edu