TAN – The Afro News

Zulu Dance

Commentary /Ghana/Sierra Leone/Africa Development

As progress act, Africans are questioning their culture in terms of their advancement. The strategic issue of culture in Africa’s progress is gaining momentum. In Ghana, the culture-progress debate has given birth to an enlightenment movement. Read the full story

God No Say So

The Afro News Reporter: TAN  would like to congratulate the DOXA Film Festival for their wonderful showing of a variety of excellent films. For more information: www.doxafestival.com

God No Say So

Brigitte Uttar Kornetzky, Switzerland/Sierra Leone, 2010, 88 minutes at the Pacific Cinémathèque in Vancouver, BC. Canada.

God No Say So is an anti-war documentary which shows the triumph of the human spirit in the face of great suffering and adversity. It follows the eleven year civil war in Sierra Leone between the government and the rebels showing the horrible story of thousands of amputated hands hacked off and sent to the president, in an attempt by the rebels to sending a strong message to the voters to stop them from voting for the government. The film skillfully shows the lives and smiles of the amazing people of Sierra Leone who are able to cope despite adversity and let their beauty and humanity shine through like a beacon of light.

This unique film was nominated for the Prix de Soleure 2011, Solothurn, Switzerland

Skillfully directed by Swiss filmmaker Brigitte Uttar Kornetzky who used her unique background of fine arts to present a remarkable film, full of interesting details.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History

Chad Freidrichs, USA, 2010, 83 minutes Pacific Cinémathèque, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

This historical film follows the 20 year saga of a public housing project in St. Louis, Missouri and takes the viewer on journey of hope and despair as the project is finally demolished. It is an excellent film which follows the ups and downs of post war American history; the moving stories of the marginalized residents of the project and a look at poverty and race.

The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History shows the viewer that nothing stays the same. It is a good film for those interested in history and social studies, documenting the growth and decline of cities.

Director Chad Freidrichs has worked for four years to complete The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History, his third feature film. He creates a powerful moving human story that takes a look at injustice and the treatment of the poor.

Ariadne Sawyer, MA Peak Performance Plus

www.ariadnescoaching.com

Muammar Gaddafi of Libya

Comment/Sierra Leone/Liberia/Libya  : US Congressman Brad Sherman (Democrat, California) thinks in the wake of NATO’s expensive operations in Libya to contain Muammar Gaddafi’s attempts to kill protestors and the budget battle on Capitol Hill, the seized Gaddafi money, totaling over US$100 billion, should be used to pay for the Libyan no fly zone operations. That makes sense because of the humanitarian nature of the operations.  Read the full story

Actor Raven Dauda

By michelle-lee: Dora-winning actor Raven Dauda is starring in Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel” – a component of the Canadian Stage Company’s new season. Dauda, the offspring of a Jamaican mother and a father (now deceased) from Sierra Leone, was born in Ottawa in 1973. Her Mom, says Dauda, always pushed her to explore her artistic talent, often reminding her of cousins who worked in Caribbean Theatre and telling her that theatre “was in her blood”.

Dauda performed the role of Esther the shy seamstress in “Intimate Apparel” for the first time in 2008 at the intimate Berkeley Street Upstairs Theatre. At the time she was unknown to Toronto audiences but her performance drew raves from critics and theatergoers alike. Between then and now Dauda has made lasting impressions in three other plays (“Wild Dogs, “Miss Julie: Freedom Summer” and “Doubt”) and earned two Dora nominations and one Dora award for her work. She also attended Vancouver’s Studio 58 for a short time (she says she regrets not completing that program). She returned to Toronto, toured with Children’s Theatre until TV and Film entered her life. She was cast in nearly three dozen projects beginning with “Murder at 1600” and including recurring roles in series such as “Paradise Falls” and “Across the River to Motor City”.

She starred in trey anthony’s “da Kink in my Hair” when the play was remounted for Theatre Passe Muraille. She says of “da Kink…” – “I was so honored to be a part of that journey with trey and it helped me redefine my devotion to the theatre”. Her acclaimed performances have all been in roles specifically written for Black women but Dauda has no problem with that. She said, “Yes It has been Black specific, but it’s allowed me to delve into myself and into my race and I am grateful for those opportunities.” She added that she takes pride in “telling these stories”.

Susan McClelland Journalist

Helena Kaufman The Afro News Vancouver  small to carry the weight of her experience and the story that results from it. Unlike many of the child victims of war, the horrors Kamara saw, the assaults on her spirit and the brutality she experienced from age 12, are now being read and discussed by young people the world over. Her book, The Bite of the Mango, was begun before she even spoke English and not long after her arrival in Canada, still in her teens. With the support and story telling skill of journalist Susan McClelland, the engaging book offers well crafted characters and plot. The twist of course, is that Mariatu Kamara is very real – as are all the details of her story. On a recent stop on a North America wide tour to promote the book, she and Susan brought the reality to her generation. The duo, now more than writer and source, and more like family than friends, spoke to three schools in the Lower Mainland. Kamara contrasts life before the war, “Things were nice before, we lived in the village. We respected and helped each other. She muses on the difference between the earthy calm of her early years and the culture she now lives in. “All we value is life. The ability to live each day. Here people take little things very seriously and it causes them anxiety. At home we learned to respect everyone and take them for who they are.”

Read the full story