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Teachers College African Diaspora Ciné-Club Presented by The African Diaspora Film Festival and
Friday, July 30 @ 6:00PM NATAL DA PORTELA
The name ‘Natal da Portela’ is historically attached to the cultural identity of Brazil. Natal da Portela created the first escola de samba in Rio de Janeiro. The schools of samba are the soul of carnival in Brazil and major reservoirs of Afro-Brazilian culture. The film depicts the life of Natal da Portela as a young man from the favelas--the slums of the northern part of Rio de Janeiro--up to the creation of “la Portela”, the school of samba he created. The principal role played by Milton Goncalves, one of the major Black actors in Brazil, gives the story an authentic flavor rarely seen in films portraying the contemporary life of Black people in Brazil. This is a film filled with joy, music and laughter. “Natal da Portela” is also a film that narrates the story of contemporary Brazil and the legacy of African people in that country. Several other major actors enrich the story, Zeze Mota well known for her role in “Quilombo” and the dean of Black Brazilian actors, the great Grande Otello much remembered for his major role in Rio Zona Norte and Macunaima just to mention a few titles.By Paulo Cezar Saraceni, Brazil, 1988, 100mins, fiction in Portuguese with English subtitles. TICKETS:
PAST SCREENINGS Friday, June 25 @ 6:00PM THE GLASS CEILING / LE PLAFOND DE VERRE
Europe's racial make-up is quickly changing. French-Algerian filmmaker Yamina Benguigui is hoping to start a conversation about affirmative action - a policy that does not exist in France today. Benguigui's Le Plafond de Verre (Glass Ceiling) presents a series of sometimes very emotional first-hand accounts of discrimination againt mostly black and North African Arab who are trying to find jobs. The documentary offers poingnant and reveiling accounts of discrimination faced by these full-fledged French citizens who are also children of immigrant parents. By Yamina Benguigui, France, 2004, 90mins., documentary, English and French with English subtitles. "Now that I am out there looking for work, I cannot forget that I am not French like other French people." "Politicians in France are mostly horrified to even think about such policies ( implementing an American-style affirmative action program with quotas) because they go against what are called the values of the republic. I think that unless there is pressure from the ground up, politics in France will never change."
Friday, May 28 @ 6:00PM YOUSSOU N'DOUR: RETURN TO GOREE A musical road movie, “Youssou N’Dour: Return to Gorée” follows Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour's epic journey tracing the trail left by slaves and the jazz music they invented. Youssou N'Dour's challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire of his own songs to perform a concert in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to commemorate its victims. From Atlanta to New Orleans, from New York to Bordeaux and Luxembourg, the songs are transformed, immersed in jazz and gospel. Transcending cultural divisions and rehearsing with some of the world's most exceptional musicians, Youssou N'Dour is preparing to return to Africa for the final concert. By Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, Switzerland/ Luxembourg/ Senegal, 2006, 108min, musical documentary, English and French with English subtitles. 
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Minutes: 100
