Later this week, CUNY’s LaGuardia Performing Arts Center will be hosting a packed festival of two days of films related to the Amazigh peoples (frequently called Berber) of Northern Africa. The schedule is extensive, and there will be many interesting films being screened. Organized by Dr. Habiba Boumlik and her colleagues, the theme for the conference this year is women’s experience. We encourage you to check it out! This is the location:
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center,
Little Theater, 31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY
And here is an announcement from the festival:
The New York Forum of Amazigh Film (NYFAF) warmly welcomes you to its annual film forum showcasing the lives of the indigenous peoples of North Africa. Presented over two days at the Little Theater, Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27, 2018, NYFAF features contemporary dramatic, documentary, and short films by and about the Imazighen (plural of Amazigh). This year’s forum offers a timely community discussion on the theme of women’s perspectives. How do North African women negotiate their social, professional and political identities? What can we learn from Amazigh cinema about transmission of cultural belonging and meaningful change?
Commonly known as Berbers, the Imazighen are a diverse people originally from North and Sub-Saharan Africa — now spread out across Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and the larger diaspora. NYFAF’s fourth edition will consider varieties of women’s experience. Our Keynote speaker, Dr. Fazia Aitel from Claremont McKenna College, will present research on Amazigh expression and join a student-led discussion on gender issues across cultures. On Thursday, a musical performance by Yuba will be followed by a reception and evening feature. On Friday, audience members will vote on the Short Film Prize and meet the young women filmmakers in competition.
NYFAF is made possible through the generosity of the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and LaGuardia Community College, and co-sponsored by Columbia University’s Middle East Institute. It is affiliated with the Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève (FIFOG).
All NYFAF films are free and open to all. Films have English subtitles.
Website and program: https://www.nyfaf.com/