African Diaspora Film Festival Presents
Latin American and Caribbean Films at Black History Month 2022

February 18—21, Online

The African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) hosts The Black History Month Film Series, a selection of films celebrating Black History from around the world. The film series will take virtually in the entire USA, including Hawaii and Puerto Rico from February 18 – 21, 2022. Included in the series are 2 themed programs, 8 feature documentaries and 4 narrative features. Ticket prices range from $10 and $12 for one screening/program to $45 for an all-access pass.

ALEIJADINHO, PASSION, GLORY, AND TORMENT
(Geraldo Santos Pereira, Brazil, 2001, 100 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Set in 19th century Brazil - at a time when slavery was still at the foundation of the Latin American economy - this fascinating historical drama is loosely based on the life of Black sculptor Antonio Francisco Lisboa "Aleijadinho," one of the greatest sculptors of Latin America.
Streaming Online from February 18 to 21

DOUTOR GAMA
(Jeferson De, Brazil, 2021, 92 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles)
Doutor Gama is based on the life of Luiz Gama, one of the most important characters in Brazilian history. A black man who used the law and the courts to free over 500 slaves. Born a free man, Gama was sold as a slave at the age of 10 as payment for his father's debts. Even as a slave, he learned to read and write, studied and then gained his own freedom, becoming one of the most respected lawyers of his time. He was an abolitionist and a republican who inspired an entire nation.
Streaming Online from February 18 to 21

THE ESMERALDAS BEACH
(Patrice Raynal, Ecuador/France, 2020, 58 min. In French and Spanish with English subtitles)
In today’s Ecuador, the black population, the descendants of enslaved Africans, continue to experience strong racial and social discrimination. Yet people in the community still strive to value their specific culture and transmit the rebellious memory of their ancestors who fought for freedom. The Esmeraldas Beach sets out to expose the invisibility of Afro-Ecuadorians and rectify the narrative of the country’s history with the film’s central protagonist, Juan García, who has worked on that project for years. He developed a schoolbook that presents black Ecuadorians prominently since the only Afro-descendants shown in local schoolbooks are portrayed next to a marimba and football. The documentary also addresses the 1999 assassination of Prime Minister Jaime Hurtado, the first Black to hold this office.
Streaming Online from February 18 to 21

KAFE NEGRO: CUBA & THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION
(Mario Delatour, Cuba/Haiti, 2020, 52 min. In French and Spanish with English subtitles)
Kafe Negro: Cuba & The Haitian Revolution  is a film that explores the social, economic & historical ramification of the Haitian Revolution on Cuba. Kafe Negro tells the story of migrations around a small grain that became the second most important raw material on the global market. This film tells the story of the waves of migration of Haitian workers who, over time, profoundly transformed the culture and demography of Cuba and developed coffee growing on the island.
Streaming Online from February 18 to 21

SONS OF BENKOS
(Lucas Silva, France/Colombia, 2003, 52 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
An entertaining documentary that explores the African culture of Colombia through music. The film presents the music of the Sons of Benkos, one of the most important Black leaders in the fight for freedom during the times of slavery in Colombia. The film also shows the evolution of Afro-Colombian music over time through the fusion of Cuban and contemporary African rhythms with traditional Afro-Colombian music.
Streaming Online from February 18 to 21

SUGAR CANE MALICE
(Juan A. Zapata, Spain, 2021, 76 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
Far from the eyes of the countless tourists who seek relaxation in the Dominican Republic’s verdant tropical resorts, tens of thousands of undocumented Haitian immigrants labor in the fields of the former sugar colony. Through interviews with, and observational footage of, several families, this film explores a vicious cycle that devalues those who make up a major part of the island’s workforce, stripping them of the chance for empowerment or opportunity and forcing them to endure instability, poor living conditions, and meager pay. Even still, workers and community organizers seek change and accountability from the private sugar companies that rule one of the island’s key industries with near impunity, while a new generation of immigrant children strive for a better life, encouraged and bolstered by the sacrifices of their parents.
Streaming Online from February 18 to 21