2009 DC Caribbean FilmFest
Date: Thu, June 4th 2009 - Fri, June 5th 2009External Link: Event Website
Event Tags: The Movies
Location: AFI Silver Theatre & Cultural Center
2009 DC Caribbean Filmfest
In recognition of Caribbean American Heritage Month in June, AFI Silver is proud to once again host screenings of the DC Caribbean Filmfest, now in its 9th year.
The festival is presented by Caribbean Association of World Bank and IMF Staff (CAWI), Caribbean Professionals Networking Series (CPNS), Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS), and TransAfrica Forum. For a complete film schedule, please visit: www.transafricaforum.org.
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AFI Member passes will be accepted at all films in the 2009 DC Caribbean Filmfest series. |
HAPPY SAD
When 17-year-old Mandy's mother is sent to prison, she goes to live with her father's dysfunctional family, whom she has never known. Her new situation brings about profound changes in the lives of several people, and long-hidden family secrets are revealed as tempers and personalities flare. (Note courtesy of Pan African Film & Arts Festival)
DIR Dianah Wynter SCR/PROD Horace Winter; PROD Rodill Clarke. Trinidad and Tobago, 2009, color, 105 min. NOT RATED
Thursday, June 4, 7:00
EL BENNY
Best Film, 2007 Cartagena Film Festival
Official Selection, 2006 Locarno, 2006 Mar del Plata, and 2007 Miami Film Festivals
A colorful biopic of one of the biggest legends in Cuban music, 1950s bandleader and all-around mambo king Benny Moré. Exciting music and dance numbers sparkle against the darker passages in Moré's life, including hard drinking and struggles to retain artistic integrity in the face of those who seek to manipulate him for economic or political gain.
DIR/SCR Jorge Luis Sánchez; SCR Abrahán Rodríguez; PROD Iohamil Navarro. Cuba, 2006, color, 132 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Thursday, June 4, 9:30
RAIN
Raised by her grandmother on bucolic Ragged Island in the Bahamas, teenager Rain goes to live with her estranged mother in Nassau after her beloved grandmother passes away. But her mother leads a dangerous and self-destructive lifestyle, and Nassau turns out to be a very different place from her former home. At her new school, Rain's track coach (THE SHIELD's CCH Pounder) becomes a mentor to the youngster, and helps her navigate the challenges and realize her potential.
DIR/SCR/PROD Maria Govan; PROD Nate Kohn; Pamela Kohn; Francis J. Kuzler; Molly M. Mayeux. Bahamas, 2008, color, 93 min. NOT RATED
Friday, June 5, 7:00
SUGAR CANE ALLEY
Best First Work, 1984 César Awards
Best Actress for Darling Légitimus, and Silver Lion, Best First Work, 1983 Venice Film Festival
In 1930s Martinique, José (Garry Cadenet) is orphaned at age 11 and goes to live with his grandmother (Darling Légitimus) in Sugar Cane Alley, a shantytown located next to the fields where the residents perform backbreaking work for little pay. José excels in school, and when he wins a partial scholarship to a top school in the city, his devoted grandmother moves them there, making a home for them out of a packing crate and working even longer hours to make ends meet. Director Palcy (A DRY WHITE SEASON) blends humor and heartbreak in this classic of Caribbean cinema, elegantly balancing sentiment and tough-mindedness.
DIR/SCR Euzhan Palcy, after the novel by Joseph Zobel. France/Martinique, 1983, color, 103 min. In French with English subtitles. RATED PG
Friday, June 5, 9:30
