Dear Friends of NOAFEST,

We're back! And pleased to announce CINÉMA PREMIÈRE@Café Istanbul, our 2012 spring series of films by three bold and provocative filmmakers from Senegal!

Friday May 11 - Ousmane Sembène's Ceddo (1976, 120 mins) In an unspecified past, the Ceddo try to preserve their traditional culture against the onslaught of Islam, Christianity, and the slave trade. When King Demba War sides with the Muslims, the Ceddo kidnap his daughter, the beautiful, defiant Princess Dior Yacine, to protest their forced conversion to Islam. A jazz score by Manu Dibango. Ceddo is as provocative as they come.

Friday June 15 - Djbril Diop Mambéty's Hyenes (1992, 110 mins) Linguère Ramatou, an aging woman, "as rich as the World Bank," returns home to her village and lavishes luxuries on the town in exchange for the murder of Dramaan Drameh, the local shopkeeper who abandoned her after a love affair which left her pregnant at age 16. A comic and bitter satire of today's Africa.

Friday July 13 - Joseph Gaï Ramaka's Karmen Geï (2001, 90 mins) An adaptation of the Georges Bizet opera Carmen, set in contemporary Senegal, with a bold jazz score by David Murray, has been screened at Cannes, Sundance, and the Los Angeles Film Festival where it won the Best Feature Award. Love and freedom in the magical and chaotic urbanity of an African city.

Café Istanbul
2372 St. Claude Ave, NOLA 70119
Screenings 6:45. Tickets $5.

More info: noafest@neworleansafrikanfilmfest.org
202-276-8761