Africa Is a Country

New Documentary Films

New Documentary Films

By
Sean Jacobs

A clip from Ann Buford’s new film, “Elevate,” about four high school athletes recruited from Senegal to play basketball at upscale prep schools in the US.

Then there’s “The Redemption of General Butt-Naked” directed by Eric Strauss and Danielle Anastasion. From the film PR: “… Once a brutal warlord who mercilessly slaughtered men, women, and children during Liberia’s bloody civil war, Joshua Milton Blahyi (General Butt Naked) led his child soldiers into battle in the nude, believing their bare skin to be impenetrable. This riveting documentary follows Blahyi as he reinvents himself as an evangelist and seeks forgiveness from the survivors of his victims, raising difficult questions about the limits of forgiveness and the possibility of deliverance.” The video above contains an interview with the directors as well as clips from the film. (The video was shot at Sundance 2011.) Here’s a link to another video interview with the directors of the film.

Both films are screening next week at the BAM Cinemafest (link to the program) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I am hoping to see both films as well as the documentary film about Brooklyn street photographer, Jamal Shabazz.

Further Reading

Not exactly at arm’s length

Despite South Africa’s ban on arms exports to Israel and its condemnation of Israel’s actions in Palestine, local arms companies continue to send weapons to Israel’s allies and its major arms suppliers.

Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.