Highlighting the extensive but little-known film production that flourishes on the African continent, the African Film Series at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater will illuminate realities of modern African life from a variety of artistic visions. Each of the selections brings to life contemporary issues and allows the viewer to share in the sights and sounds of this diverse continent with its rich cultural traditions. The African Film Series is sponsored by Christine Matheu, Architect, in Memory of William B. Cohen. The series is presented in collaboration with the African Studies Program and features contemporary film selections from South Africa, Senegal and Cape Verde. The films will be shown on Thursday evenings from July 12 to July 26 at 7:30pm and tickets are $5 each film, available at the door.

THURSDAY, JULY 12
AFRICAN FILM SERIES presents
Faat Kine (2001) 121 min, Senegal
Director: Ousmane Sembene
in French and Wolof with English subtitles
7:30pm

In Faat Kine, Ousmane Sembene, the unquestioned father of African cinema, calls his fellow Africans to a reckoning of the post-independence era at the beginning of a new century. At 77, he sums up 40 years of path-breaking filmmaking with a penetrating analysis of the interplay of gender, economics and power in today's Africa. Sembene accomplishes all this through the deceptively light domestic drama of Faat Kine, a gas station operator born, significantly, the same year as Senegalese independence, 1960.

Faat Kine is, from its first shot to its surprising last, Sembene's tribute to what he calls the "everyday heroism of African women." In the opening frame, a procession of traditionally dressed women wends its way majestically through the hectic heart of modern Dakar. Faat Kine lets them pass and drives on as she carries their story into the present. Sembene has said: "Africa's society and economy are held together today by women. But how can women have these responsibilities and yet be denied the same privileges as men?"

"Faat Kine marks a milestone in its director's relentless struggle to create restorative images of Africa and to promote a new film language... A folktale masterfully oscillating between past, present and future." - Samba Gadjigo, Mount Holyoke College.

THURSDAY, JULY 26
AFRICAN FILM SERIES presents
Drum (2005) 95 min, South Africa
Director: Zola Maseko
7:30pm
$5 General Admission

1951. Johannesburg, South Africa. Jim Bailey, the heir of a wealthy British mining family, launches Drum magazine, a mass circulation weekly providing a steady stream of crime, sports, gossip, music, and sex stories. Among Bailey’s noteworthy stable of talented writers and photographers, two figures emerge as the guiding force behind the magazine - Henry Nxumalo, a South African writer, and Jurgen Schadeberg, a German photographer.

Against the exhilarating backdrop and rhythms of 1950’s Johannesburg, Henry and Jurgen’s nightlife exploits parallel their journalistic triumphs. After finding success on a number of challenging investigative assignments, Henry and Jurgen stumble upon the story of a lifetime. Using their extensive political and underworld contacts, and with danger at every turn, the duo risk everything gathering evidence to publish their exposé of a major government conspiracy.

As the voice of Drum magazine grows louder, the government will stop at nothing to silence its most influential contributors, Henry and Jurgen.

The Buskirk-Chumley Theater is a 600 seat, historic theater located at 114 E. Kirkwood in downtown Bloomington.  Beautifully restored in 1999, the theater is currently managed by a private non-profit organization, BCT Management, Inc.  The theater is a valued community resource, available for public or private events.
 

 Directions ● History & Photos ● Textillery Gallery  ● PRIDE ● Good Ol' Summertime Series
African Film Series   ● Golden Age of Hollywood Movie Series ● BCT Concert Series