Press

Press Contact

All media requests, including filmmaker interviews and screenings, should be directed to festival co-director:

Mary Holmström, 503.292.3685,

Dana Haynes, PCC Public Affairs Manager, 503-977-4421,

Festival Highlights

20^th Festival Opens with Haile Gerima at the Hollywood Theatre

To celebrate this amazing 20-year milestone, we have invited the great Ethiopian-American director Haile Gerima back to Portland to show his new film, Teza, winner of the top award at FESPACO, the premier African showcase for African film. One of the greatest of African filmmakers, Gerima is also an outstanding social critic and teacher. He opened our fifth festival in 1995 with his landmark film, Sankofa, and it was a remarkable evening with a huge audience. We expect the same this year at our 20^th.

South African Actor/Director John Kani Comes for Week 2

The veteran South African actor/playwright John Kani has just released his first feature film, Nothing But The Truth, and is bringing it to Portland. His film was awarded the Silver Stallion, the second-place prize (after Gerima’s Teza), at last year’s FESPACO. He’ll be with us to present the film and discuss what it has to say about exile, identity, and family.

Anglo-Ghanaian Director George Amponsah Brings His Film About Boxing for Week 4

George Amponsah, director of the documentary, The Fighting Spirit, will be with us during the fourth week of the festival. He will answer questions about his documentary methods and ways in which this film treats the universal dream of sport as a means to fame and a better life.

Joséphine Ndagnou Comes for Women Filmmakers Week – Week 5

Paris has always been a special magnet for young people in Francophone Africa, and the dream of leaving Africa for a life of success and sophistication in Paris has been the subject of many African films. Nowhere is this more true than in this new film by Joséphine Ndagnou from Cameroon, who will come to Portland to present Paris Or Nothing (in which she also plays the lead character). We are very excited to have this dynamic young filmmaker with us for our final week.

StudentFest Returns with Two Films

StudentFest presents films with special appeal to students of high school and college age in a matinee program. This year’s StudentFest will be at noon on Thursday, February 18. The first film, Adios Momo, is from Uruguay; in it, an Afro-Uruguayan boy learns important life lessons from people who befriend him during the Uruguayan Carnival. The second, Divizionz, is set in the hip-hop world of Uganda’s capital city of Kampala.

Family Film Day at the McMenamins Kennedy School with Baba Wagué Diakité

This year’s Family Film Day will be on Saturday, February 20, 2 p.m., at McMenamins Kennedy School. Featuring films that appeal to younger audiences (ages 5 and up), this year’s selection is Princess of the Sun, an animated feature film about the adventures of the 14-yea-old future wife of the Egyptian King Tutankhamun. It will be accompanied by a charming short, Obara and the Merchants. Artist/storyteller Baba Wagué Diakité of Mali will introduce the films with a traditional story from West Africa.

Documentaries on Thursday Evenings and Saturday Afternoons

This year’s documentary series will feature films from Senegal, South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. The documentaries cover a variety of topics from hip-hop to liberation politics, from reconciliation to environmental activism, from the dreams of boxers to the dreams of African women.

CFAF 2010 Concludes with Women Filmmakers Week

The final week of the festival celebrates women filmmakers with seven feature and documentary films and shorts made by women directors in Cameroon, Kenya, Senegal, Mozambique, and several other African countries.