The Caribbean Flavor in ADIFF 2015
The Caribbean is a reservoir of talent in many areas and, as time goes by, the Caribbean presence in films is more and more remarkable. The 23rd African Diaspora International Film Festival will showcase, as is its tradition, a selection of good films coming from the Caribbean and about Caribbean people out of the Caribbean.
Coming up this Friday, Dec. 4 at MIST HARLEM is NY Premiere and festival Centerpiece “Cu-Bop: Cuba – New York Music Documentary” by Japanese filmmaker Shinishi Takahashi.
 CENTERPIECE SCREENING:
Cu-Bop: Cuba - New York Music DocumentaryNEW YORK PREMIEREFri, Dec. 4 @ 6:30pm + Q&A and Concert
@ MIST HarlemSeparated by an ocean, two Cuban jazz musicians continue to perform in spite of the difficulties they face. César López is recognized as Cuba’s premier saxophonist, having founded his landmark jazz band, the Havana Ensemble, in his native country. The gifted young pianist Axel Tosca lives in New York City, the leader of (U)NITY, a band which fuses Afro-Cuban culture with modern jazz and hip-hop. With this documentary for all music lovers, first-time filmmaker Shinichi Takahashi explores the African roots of Cuban jazz and documents what happens when expats return to the source of their inspiration. Shinichi Takahashi, Cuba/Japan, 2014, color, 109 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles.
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Cu-Bop CUBA/New York music documentary treiler
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Also this Friday, Dec. 4 at Teachers College is the documentary shot in Haiti and Bangladesh, “A Journey of a Thousand Miles” which tells us a story of two countries that are embarked in a mutual discovery of sorts.
 A Journey of a Thousand Miles
Fri, Dec. 4 @ 8:30pm @ The Chapel, Teachers College
Directed by Academy Award Winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Geeta Gandbhir, the documentary A Journey Of A Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers follows three women in an all female, predominantly Muslim unit of police officers sent to post-earthquake Haiti as UN Peacekeepers for one year. The mission challenges these women while shattering commonly held stereotypes. We learn, as the camera follows three of these Muslims women, about life in Haiti and Bangladesh and the challenges faced by the population in both countries. The film had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, USA/Pakistan, 2015, 95min, documentary in English, Creole and Bengali with English subtitles.
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A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES: PEACEKEEPERS Trailer | Festival 2015
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OTHER FILMS WITH A CARIBBEAN FLAVOR ARE:
BLACK (NOIR) / NWA
NY Premiere
Wed, Dec. 9 @ 5:15pm – Bow Tie Buy tickets
 “Black / Nwa,” a “Hood” film set in Montreal, Canada that chronicles the lives of four people - including several youths of Haitian descent - living in a neighborhood plagued by poverty and violence, aspiring to freedom and happiness.
Noir Trailer film québécois
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SAND DOLLARS/ DOLARES DE ARENA
Sat, Dec. 5 @ 6pm – Chapel, TC Buy tickets
Wed, Dec. 9 @ 9:40 pm –Bow Tie Buy tickets
 “Sand Dollars” by Laura Amelia Guzman and Israel Cardenas is a film from the Dominican Republic submitted to the Oscar competition in the foreign film category. “Sand Dollars” is the story of Noeli (Yanet Mojica) whose love affair with Anne (Geraldine Chaplin) a woman double her age, is a rare subject in films.
SAND DOLLARS Trailer | Festival 2014
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THE BLACK BRITISH PROGRAM:
The Black British Film Program is comprised of a selection of four films about the presence of Black people in the UK with a very strong Caribbean flavor in front and behind the camera. The Black British Program will be held at Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas on Dec. 10 and will be hosted by actor/producer Paulette Harris-German.
Let the Music Talk Thurs, Dec. 10 @ 5:30pm - Buy tickets
- Let The Music Talk by Yvonne Deutchmann is a 1981 musical documentary never screened in the USA before. It tells the story of black music in Britain, from the calypso of Lord Kitchener arriving on the SS Windrush in 1948, gospel choirs, griots from Grenada, steel pans in schools and at the Notting Hill Carnival, jazz, Afro-rock, soul-funk with the Real Thing, reggae with Misty in Roots and Eddy Grant.
The Story of Lovers Rock Thurs, Dec. 10 @ 1pm - Buy Tickets
 - The Story of Lovers Rock by Menelik Shabazz - a favorite of ADIFF - tells the story of Lovers Rock as a musical genre and gives a voice to the Caribbean descendant people who created that music and culture in the UK.
Honeytrap Thurs, Dec. 10 @ 3:15pm - Buy Tickets
 - Honeytrap by Rebecca Johnson plays out as a tragedy. It tells a story of fifteen-year-old Layla (Jessica Sula - Skins), a beautiful and naive Trinidadian girl who, freshly arrived from her native land, quickly embarks on a journey of love, sex, hip hop and violence.
Second Coming Thurs, Dec. 10 @ 7:30pm - Buy Tickets
 - "Second Coming" by Debbie Tucker Green is an emotional and intimate drama about a woman in a London family who faces a dilemma with her husband (Idris Elba) and the tensions and communication issues associated with her situation.
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A Festival Pass is $160
A Festival Pass gives access to all regular screenings and to the panel discussions.
A FAN PASS is $55
A Fan Pass gives access to any six regular screenings during the festival.
To purchase a VAP or Festival Pass, indicate the name of the person to be printed on the pass and enclose a passport size photo of that person together with the order form and your check or money order. Pass holders should arrive at least 15 minutes before screening to secure seats.
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The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) is a 501-C3 Not For Profit organisation
....that showcases films about the human experience of people
of color all over the world
....that offers an alternative world view
....that enhances the cultural landscape of the USA
....that encourages dialog across communities
....that could use your support
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