This is the 35th year of the Cascade Festival of African Films hosted by Portland Community College with screenings and discussions scheduled Thursday through Saturday throughout the month of February. Jan Haaken talks with the internationally acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa who will be joining the festival for a special Retrospective of his work. They talk about the vision guiding his most recent film--Xalé-- in what Absa describes as a trilogy of films centered on defiant and richly drawn female protagonists. Absa will be present for the screening of Xalé at the Hollywood Theatre at 6:30 pm on Friday February 14th and for screenings of Tableau Ferraille and Madame Brouette on Saturday February 15th at the PCC Cascade Moriarty auditorium. All screenings are free and open to the public.
Find out more about the African Film Festival at https://www.africanfilmfestival.org/.
Music: "Griots" by Moussa Sène Absa
Left image: black and white photo of Moussa Sène Absa, a Black man in flowing, traditional-looking clothing, standing, seen from the hips up, left hand holding right wrist, cradling a cane; he has 2 or 3 metal bracelets on his left arm, and 2 rings on his left hand, one on his right hand; he is looking directly into the camera, and not quite smiling. Photo by Gerhard Kassner Berlinale, used with permission of CAFF.
Right image: Fair use: Poster by Alex Seidel for the 35th annual Cascade Festival of African Films, a Celebration of Black History Month at Portland Community College. Description: in addition to the text, the poster shows the top half of a Black person's face, with eyebrows raised, looking up. Coming out of the top of their head are various film-related things, including a reel of film, a person pointing a movie camera, a clapper slate, images framed by sprocket holes.
- KBOO