Film Festival Unites African Diaspora In New York

 NEW YORK  -- The African Diaspora International Film Festival kicked off its second week on Saturday, December 4. Set in New York City, the festival presents the diversity of the Black experience through a wide selection of thought provoking films and documentaries.

One hundred and six films make up the festival this year, with 25 US premieres and 39 New York premieres. Over the next two weeks, the African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) has partnered with local organizations and businesses to bring stories from around the world to the New York audience. Women, Latinos, dancers, lovers; the 2010 selection has a little bit of something for everyone. "ADIFF is a bridge," say the Spechs, curators of ADIFF, "between diverse communities looking for works that cannot be found under the same roof in other festivals."

Women Indies Night on December 4, sponsored by New York Women in Films and Television, will present four works about women by women. The selection includes a short fiction "Riches," by this year's resident filmmaker Ingrid Sinclair. The film depicts the story of Mollie, a single mother who escapes apartheid South Africa, to find herself rejected in her new home of Zimbabwe because of her progressive ideas. "Riches" is one of six works by the filmmaker showing this year at the festival.

Latin America is featured with "Chance," a hilarious comedy from Panama, which premieres on December 5. "Chance" is the story of Tona and Paquita, the housekeepers for a bourgeois family. Tired of being mistreated, Tona and Paquita take their bosses hostage to get what they are due: seven weeks back pay.

The highlight of this second half is no doubt the William Greaves Fundraiser, scheduled for December 9. ADIFF will host the event at the Schomburg Center in Harlem in honor of the celebrated African-American independent filmmaker. The funds will go towards Greaves' upcoming film "Once Upon a Time in Harlem" which explores the cultural life of Harlem. The evening will include never before seen footage of this work and a conversation with Greaves' family and friends.

These are just a few of the events brought to you this year. The selection also includes "Sheherazade: Tell me a Story," a drama which explores the sexual, social and political repression women face in Egyptian society, and "Josephine Baker: Black Diva in a White Man's World."

The African Diaspora International Film Festival runs through December 14 in New York City.