| SYNOPSES The Witches of Gambaga (U.S. PREMIERE)
Yaba Badoe, Ghana, 2010, 55min.
Co-presented with Human Rights Watch Film Festival
A haunting documentary about a community of women condemned to live as witches in Northern Ghana. This disturbing exposé is the product of a collaboration between members of the 100 strong community of "witches," local women's movement activists and feminist researchers, united by their interest in ending abusive practices and improving women's lives in Africa. 
The Deliverance of Comfort (N.Y. PREMIERE)
Zina Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria, 2010, 8min.
A short satirical fable about a "child witch" called Comfort. The film is a critical and densely-layered response to the belief in child witches in some parts of rural Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. 
Taharuki (Suspense) Ekwa Msangi-Omari, USA/Kenya, 2011, 12min.
Set against the backdrop of the start of the devastating post-election violence that took place in Kenya in 2007/2008, Taharuki is the fictional account of a man and woman from opposing ethnic tribes who are working for an underground liberation movement. 
Phyllis Zina Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria, 2010, 14min.
This low-budget silent explores the gothic possibilities of Nollywood through the story of a psychic vampire who lives alone in Lagos. 
Besouro Joao Daniel Tikhomiroff, Brazil, 2004, 95min.
Co-presented with Cinema Tropical
Besouro is the emotional true story of the legendary capoeira fighter from Bahia, who was rumored to fly and leads an uprising of agricultural workers against an exploitative landowner. 
Ebony Goddess: Queen of Ilê Aiyê Carolina Moraes-Liu, USA/Brazil, 2010, 20min.
Ebony Goddess: Queen of Ilê Aiyê follows three women competing to be the carnival queen of Ilê Aiyê, a prominent and controversial Afro-Brazilian group with an all-black membership. 
Africa First Shorts: Dirty Laundry (U.S. PREMIERE) Stephen Abbott, South Africa, 2010, 15min.
It's 1:08am and Roger is doing his laundry at The Wishy Washy. For Roger this is merely routine, but tonight there's something strange in the laundromat's water. 
Umkhungo (The Gift) (U.S. PREMIERE) Matthew Jankes, South Africa, 2011, 26min.
A disillusioned Johannesburg street thug rescues an orphaned child with uncontrollable supernatural powers. On the run, he must help the boy master his gift before a superstitious family member finds them. 
Tinye So (U.S. PREMIERE) Daouda Coulibaly, Mali, 2010, 25min.
At the intersection of tradition and the modern world, Tinye So traces the quest of the ancestors as they struggle to be heard by their people. 
Mwansa The Great (U.S. PREMIERE) Rungano Nyoni, Zambia/UK, 2011, 23min.
Eight-year old Mwansa, in an attempt to prove he is a hero just like his father, accidentally breaks his sister's mud doll. Mwansa goes on a journey not only to fix his sister's doll, but to finally prove he is in fact destined for greatness. 
A Trip to Algiers/Voyage à Alger (N.Y. PREMIERE) Abdelkrim Bahloul, Algeria/France, 2010, 97min.
Co-presented with ArteEast
In 1962, a young woman has lost everything during the war for independence in Algeria. A Frenchman who is leaving the country offers her and her six children his former home. An unscrupulous government official is trying to take the home away from her. 
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